Customer Reviews

Saeco A-SPV-BK Spidem Villa Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Black

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Length:: 1:16 Mins

I have to say I was skeptical about buying a super automatic machine and especially this one since it was one of the cheapest models. I bought this for my mom and it had to be as easy as possible to use for her. I love it and I found out that the inside machinery is basically the same as the models that cost 2-3 times more. I have been using it for 3 months now and have not had any problems at all it just takes a little bit of learning and trial and error don't forget to read the manual there are many little things that you should know so the machine will work properly without problems. It really only takes about 1 minute for the machine to be ready in the morning from a cold start to make an espresso or boiling water for tea. The only thing that takes some time is to get the grind size and amount of coffee correct for the type of bean you have. You wouldn't think so but Dunkin Donuts whole orig beans work great and taste amazing for espresso I even talked to Saeco customer support and they said it was a great bean for it since it wasn't too oily. Dont think Twice about buying this machine it is amazing and will pay for itself in a couple months of not going to the coffee shop. I even like the fact that this machine isn't complicated it is very simple to use. If you end up buying one of these try to get the solid black model since it isn't painted it is solid black plastic so there is nothing to chip and when the coffee or milk splashes you don't see the spots so it looks clean all the time unlike the silver models. Some people complain about the water and coffee capacity but unless you put this in an office you will be fine the water makes about 12-15 shots and coffee makes about 30 shots so you should be fine for a normal household. I also noticed that if you use bottled water you will have hardly any problems with the machine since most problems arise from calcium buildup from hard water and not to mention bottled water tastes so much better. I hardly ever write in depth reviews it's just that I am so happy with this machine and it saves so much money. We are a family of 3 and we used to get 3 Coffee's lattes etc. every day costing about $12-$15 daily and we had a instant boiling water dispenser in our kitchen sink that from what I found out costs about $30 a month to keep going since it is always on and now we turned that off and just use this machine for the boiling water for tea, cup a noodles, etc. as well.

I picked this unit up about a week ago for $379. It appears Amazon has now raised the price. Like others, I was skeptical about the quality of this machine for the price. In the end I decided instead of paying $1,000 or so for a machine that generically seem to break down a fair amount, I'd try this one since the reviews were pretty good. The logic being that if this one self-destructs I'll only tear out half my hair. If it happened with a $1,000 model, I'd pull it all out!

As for the Villa Spidem itself, after a week we're very pleased. The operation is not completely intuitive so you definitely need to read the manual (even though the manual is not a sterling example of clarity). Once you get the hang of it though, which doesn't take long, you're in for some fine coffee. From a cold start (that is if you have the machine turned off), it will grind and brew a cup in under two minutes. If the machine is already on, your cup will be ready in about 30 seconds. All this by just pushing a button. By using the dial on the front of the panel you can vary the brew from a tiny espresso to an Americano and every gradient in between. We are using Altura Cafe's French Roast as our first bean and the result is very tasty.

Complaints: All minor at this point. If you want to go from brewing to foaming some milk, the machine will balk until you vent a bit of the hot water out first...takes about 5 seconds. Also as has been pointed out, both the bean and the water hopper in particular are a bit on the small side, but for one or two users I'd call it a non-issue. If you have a family of 4 or 5 heavy users, you'll probably go through two waters and one hopper of beans in a day. Finally, it is a bit noisy. Like one of Pavlov's dog, I've grown to like the sound because I know it means satisfaction is moments away, but I suppose if I was hosting a party and making a bunch of coffees it would be distracting.

A promise: The machine is virtually all plastic and it's hard to believe that it will last. Countless reviews on super-automatics testify to the inherent weakness of these machines in general. If this machine breaks down I will edit/update this review. If you're reading this with no update you can assume it's still making our delicious daily coffee.

My university had the Concordia 2500i (approx. $15k per unit - light commercial, really) in various locations, which started my super-automatic obsession. I very nearly bought that unit for myself when I found it on liquidation for $5k, but decided that the sheer size of that unit would not be feasible in a household (about 3'x2'x2').

So, I settled on the Jura-Capresso F9, a slick-looking chrome-plated super-automatic for $1800. The coffee was great, not quite as good as the $15k commercial machine, but infinitely better than regular pre-ground drip brewed. Realizing I spent nearly as much time at work than I do at home, I decided to purchase a super-automatic unit for my office as well...the drip-brewed coffee in the kitchen was simply unacceptable!

Knowing that with 100 other people roaming around the building it would probably get abused a bit, I decided on the Spidem Villa machine purely due to price--I paid about $350 for it on sale. I figured at a fifth of the price of the Capresso, if it was destroyed in a few months, no big deal and lesson learned. After 6 months, this machine has proved to be a pretty amazing addition to such an environment.

The good:

*At first I thought so much plastic was a little awkward, but it has made cleaning a snap--it's so simple to just pull all of the pieces out, rinse off in the sink, and put it back together. With all of the use this machine gets, easy cleanup is a must.
*Has knobs for both "grind" and "dosage" settings for beans in the hopper area, so taste is fairly customizable.
*Coffee is excellent. I would rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, the coffee produced of the following machines:
Concordia: 9
Capresso F9: 8
Spidem Villa: 7
Cuisenart Grind 'n Brew: 4
Standard drip coffee maker w/ Folgers: 1
*And, in my opinion, the BEST feature is the removable brewing block. The entire bottom portion of the front (below the line you see just above the "Villa" wording) swings open to reveal the inside, and the brewing block has a handle to pull it out with. It's sturdy, and I've had no problems simply rinsing the whole block in the sink under running water. This makes cleanup after semi-oily beans feasible (which makes using cheaper, semi-oily beans feasible - try the 3-lb bags of Starbucks French Roast from Costco for $20). This is MUCH simpler than my F9 unit, which is completely closed and self-contained, cannot handle any oil on beans whatsoever (I generally use Illy for that at $28/lb), and requires expensive cleaning tablets and auto-cleaning cycles that take 20 minutes.
*I never turn the unit off - seems to work just as well, and is always ready to make a cup of coffee.
*Has made 1 to 2 dozen cups of coffee a day for about 6 months and shows no signs of slowing down.
*Very simple to use. The F9 has 17 buttons, and each button seems to do a dozen different things. This unit has 3 buttons and 4 knobs, and all have a specific purpose. Some might say "lack of functionality", but that was exactly what I was looking for. Makes espresso, coffee, and steams milk. The knob on the front to change the quantity of coffee made is especially convenient (ranges from about 1 oz for espresso to 8 oz for a full cup of coffee). To use just turn the knob to the desired quantity of water and press the button - that's it.

Bad:
*No warning for running out of water in the reservoir. The F9 won't make coffee without water, and this one will just continue, run dry and make awful noises. It is difficult to see how much water remains without lifting up the lid since the reservoir is in the back of the unit.
*Errors - for the utter lack of functionality this unit has numerous things that can go wrong, and all errors are denoted by the same red blinking light, whether it has run out of water, run out of beans, has the drip tray not properly seated (this happens a lot - have to push the tray in all the way), unit not "primed" (simply requires turning the hot water/steam knob on the right side to get hot water running through the unit), etc.
*The "puck drawer" where used grounds are disposed of is not designed very well. Pucks will be dumped into the drawer, and if not dumped regularly, will exceed the height of the drawer so that when it is pulled out any grounds higher than the walls of the drawer are swiped off into the inside of the unit. This will happen after even 6 or 7 pucks are dumped (since they're all dumped on top of each other on one side of the drawer and stack up) which requires a lot of cleaning and brushing to get all of the grounds back out. Dump the puck drawer often!

I hope this info helps. I found buying my first super-automatic a very frustrating experience with so many brands, models and price points and not knowing where to begin. If price isn't an issue, go with a nice Capresso - they're very slick looking and make excellent coffee. Go to Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table where you can test the various models first.

If you're just entering the super-automatic market and want to try something more reasonably priced, this is an awesome machine to start with. If you already recognize the taste difference between pre-ground Folgers and a Cuisenart Grind 'n Brew, I would 100% absolutely recommend saving up the little extra money for this machine in lieu of the grind 'n brew models.

This machine lived up to expectations and more. I have used it for two weeks and love it. From a regular cup of Americano to espresso, it brews fast and consistent. I add water every other day, coffee beans twice a week and clean it, which takes about four minutes, once a week. I now have a cappuccino every afternoon, which I never did before. When you want a coffee, select your brew, push the brew button and 30 seconds later you have it. I have no complaints about this machine. The engineering is amazing.

A good value for the money, this machine makes great coffee, albeit not as simply as more expensive automatic machines. This model is a little delicate in operation - it's easy to get the dreaded red warning light for a wide range of issues: no water, over temperature, no beans, wrong sequence of actions. But once I understood the full range of how to proceed, it does make a terrific cup of coffee. Cleaning is relatively simple and it fits a small footprint.

I've been watching on the sideline for many years to get a super automatic espresso machine. Reliability and cost were issues that I had to analyze before pulling the BUY NOW button. When Amazon offered this unit for 379 a week later when Costco had the silver one for 399 + shipping and tax - I decided to trust the Amazon reviewers and go for it!

This is the BEST money for the bang purchase I have made. Be CAREFUL and don't overdo it when you get it. I received the unit on a workday and immediately tried the machine to adjust the coffee and water dosage of my espresso shots. After 4 shots it was fine - but couldn't get get a full night of sleep due to the caffeine! Next day I had 7 espresso shots before going to work and I've never quivered so much! After 3 weeks of use I have lowered my dosage to 2 shots in the morning and I'm looking forward to try some decaf beans. Might have to buy another machine to keep it stocked with DECAF beans.....

ADDICTIVE!

I live within easy walking distance of three coffee shops - one just across the street. All of them produce disappointing espresso. After reading the rave reviews of both this machine and its silver sister I decided to take a chance.

I was not disappointed. The very first shot right out of the box at the default settings was a thing of beauty and as good or better than my neighborhood shops with their experienced baristas and giant costly machines. Since then I have enjoyed tinkering with the grind, dose and beans and appreciating the differences in taste and intensity that result.

The Pluses
Machine is fast to warm up and completely automatic. It grinds, tamps, pulls the shot, and then ejects the grounds into a hopper. Adjustments include the size of the grind, the size of the dose, and the volume of coffee produced, and the beans you provide. It does not require customized inserts (aka pods) and so doesn't tie you into one supplier.

The Minuses
The machine is very tall and dominates its space on the counter. If you have a crowded counter you would do well to measure ahead of time. The grinding and tamping seem a little noisy in a quiet house at 6:00 in the morning. I have also had limited success with the steamer wand but honestly have only tried using it a couple of times.

In summation I am completely satisfied with this machine and use it a couple of times a day. It is a good value and if you are stopping off to buy coffee you could be making at home, a good investment.

I would give 5 stars if it was not for the cheap plastic look. I have to admit you overcome this after the first cup of espresso :) I'm Bulgarian and I'm used to drink strong coffee in huge amounts -10 or more a day and this machine really spoils me. It's really convenient and with the right beans make great espresso with excellent crema.

My wife and I saw a similar model at a B&B we stayed at and loved the coffee so we bought one for ourselves.

Pros: Love the coffee. Incredibly convenient.
Cons: water reservoir and coffee reservoir smallish. As noted in other reviews on the internet, it takes a lot of priming to get it to run the first time. After that, no problems.

I've bought a few high end do it yourself machines and they all broke down in one way or another. Tiring of constantly fiddling with them I went for the full-auto. Like other reviewers have said, despite the plastic exterior and parts, this machine does exactly what it promised to do - makes great espresso with no fuss. Just put in the beans, add the water, push the button and out comes delicious espresso. And it heats up quickly so you can make multiple cups if you have guests. I should have bought this from the start but wanted to have the feel of making it "from scratch". Now that I've done that, I can live without the tedium of making it, and get straight to drinking it.

The only "drawback" I can see with this machine is the plastic parts - its not a beautiful machine compared to the chrome wonders that are out there, I'm actually amazed it works as flawlessly as it does given all the plastic parts, but it works beautifully and that's what matters. If they made it with chrome and steel it would probably be $1,000 or more. Its a really remarkable machine, I love it and would say it beats out a lot of other high end machines that look great but break down and are a hassle to use.