Customer Reviews

Saeco Magic Deluxe in Silver SuperAutomatic Espresso Coffee and Cappuccino Machine

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

 

 

Hello all:
This is the 4th espresso machine I've had in the last 7 years. I loved the last Saeco machine I had. It was a more basic `manual' model sold at a popular coffee shop and worked well, but my counter was always full of coffee grinds; it was so messy. I decided to buy this about a year and half ago to eliminate that mess and because I knew Saeco makes a quality product.

This machine has been great, really wonderful. It makes such great espresso, has adjustments so it can be just how I like it, and is really so much neater. It is very convenient to make espresso and lattes as you desire.

When I bought this machine, my good friend bought a similar Krups make of automatic machine. She's had a couple of big hassles with it breaking and sending it back to the maker - one of those nightmare consumer stories. Another friend bought one of these machines after I raved about it, and she has loved hers too.

I know it is a big leap to spend so much on an espresso machine, and it feels pretty extravagant, but it is a luxury that is really worth it for me. Since I make all my own drinks daily, and really limit buying coffee out, I think it really isn't so expensive. I know folks that buy an espresso drink or two a day at $3.00 a pop. That adds up quickly too. So I've basically made the trade-off and justified the expense that way.

This machine lives up to its `Magic' name. It really is amazing how it grinds and tamps and makes the espresso so automatically. It really does surprise your guests. The espresso is really delicious and the steamer is fast and powerful. The Saeco Magic Deluxe is quit a machine!

Just a word on espresso method of coffee:
For the last 7 years I've only drunk espresso coffee. Surprisingly, as strong (and delicious) as it is, it has less caffeine and less acid than drip brewed coffee. This is because the coffee is in contact with the water for only about 45 seconds. As the water is pushed through with pressure so quickly, the flavor and richness is extracted without the acid and caffeine. The other end of the spectrum would be `Cowboy Coffee' brewed by boiling the grinds in water over a fire - this has so much acid and caffeine. Well, while I didn't drink the cowboy drink, coffee was bothering my stomach. When I switched to espresso, that stopped because of the reduced acid. For me this was a wonderful discovery because I do love coffee. You can check this out; I've read it so many times since I discovered this on my own.

I have a similar Saeco to this (mine is a few years old) but in reviewing the features, it's pretty much the same. Mine was a gift (I never would have spent this much myself) and I have to say after having it, I could never have anything less.

What I love --
- Good power for brewing & steaming
- Makes GREAT latte's, cappuccino's, americano's, etc.
- Integrated grinder with dump bin -- a MUST that makes clean-up more efficient

Tips for the best latte ---
- Always steam your milk first and have it ready to pour over the espresso as quickly as possible (if you let the shot sit, it turns bitter)
- When switching from steam to espresso, to speed up the cool down process, open up the steamer all the way (I do it into a cool glass of water to clean the frothing unit at the same time). It's much quicker than waiting for it to cool off on it's own.
- Invest in a thermometer. I prefer 160 degrees, but that's a personal choice.

What I wish it did --
- I wish the bean holder was removable -- it's a pain if you want to switch between regular & decaf (you have to manually pull them out then suck the remaining beans with a vacuum cleaner - or get out the screwdriver & remove the entire thing). I haven't seen a model yet that does this.
- Would be nice if the steamer arm was lower (I prop my milk up on an overturned mug to raise it up so I can let it steam & walk away).

This is a perfect gift for any coffee lover on your list -- or a great way to spoil yourself.

We have had the Saeco MD for about 6 months and it has totally eliminated our trips to "that" coffee shop.

I agree that two boilers would be more convenient, but only marginally so. All you need to do to cool down after frothing is to run the water through the frother for about 10 seconds and its ready. Really NOT an issue.

We had a morning brunch for about 25 people and easily served 40-50 espresso drinks in two hours. This would have been unthinkable with our old machine. I think we sold 10 of them that morning.

This is really an excellent product worth its price.

I bought one of these last fall and have had reasonably good results until a few weeks ago. The grinder has ceased to put coffee into the system for brewing, resulting in a "bean out" warning light even when the hopper is full. Now I grind the coffee and use the bypass chute to make coffee - less than "SuperAutomatic". I am finding that the system sometimes simply dumps the coffee grounds without making a cup of coffee for no apparent reason.
My wife also dislikes the positioning of the steaming wand; it should be on the side with a greater separation from the body of the machine.
I sent an email to Saeco's US Warranty station a week ago asking about a fix for this problem and have heard nothing. If there is no support for the product, it is not worth buying, even at a good price.
Caveat Emptor

We had this machine and loved it until it started leaking all over the place. We sent it in for repair assuming that all parts were covered under the 1 year factory warranty. Apparently not. [$$$] repair costs already charged to our credit card and 3 months later, we still have not had our espresso machine returned to us by Saeco.

I purchased the unit in January '02 and started to leak water after about 8 months. I had to call the customer service department repeatedly to get a return authorization number. I was informed that it would take approximatley 4 weeks to repair the unit even if it was under warranty. By the time they called with the RMA, I had already returned the unit. The machine is easy enough to use, but I question the reliability. I was also very disappointed with their customer service.

I purchased this machine in August and it lasted until October 31 before the motor gave out. I telephoned Saeco and, after waiting on hold for ten minutes, got to a "customer service" representative who told me to return the machine to them for service and they would return it to me in six to eight weeks. I responded that this was too long for a machine that was ten weeks old and this expensive. There was no response.

For as long as the machine worked, it produced great coffee, espresso, etc. I would not, however, recommend this product to anyone.

After owning this unit (Saeco Magic Deluxe) for the past 3 months, I wanted to report back in:

What a cool, cool technological wonder: perfect, award-winning coffee every time. And no more dealing with the left over grinds! Worked perfectly straight out of the box, but I did (especially after reading some of the reviews) take the time to go through the manual beforehand. Took a few minutes to figure out how to customize the 3 custom-size- strength buttons, but once it was set, I've never touched the settings since.

I researched quite a few of these before choosing this model. I think it has a great bang for the buck ratio. I actually got mine slightly used, which brought the price down considerably.

A couple other pluses that I hadn't read about:
** this thing SAVES you on coffee usage. I use half the amt of coffee
**Both the water and used coffee plug containers are large enough so that they don't need filling/emptying but every few days.
** if you have ground coffee, it accepts it (only one scoop/serving at a time, no more) in a hopper on the top; you then push two buttons (instead of the normal one) and the unit chooses the ground coffee instead of the normal whole beans.

For regular coffee drinkers: Note that you can't really make a LARGE cup of really dark coffee, but that's the way it is on any espresso machine, simply a function of the maximum amt of coffee that the coffee holder will hold per serving. I no longer mind, since making another cup is easy, but I did wish it accepted more water-per-serving sometimes.

One side note: because of the quality of the coffee this produces, I would encourage anyone to get one of those $8 coffee cup warmer plates that plug into any wall socket and have an on/off switch. A friend suggested one soon after I purchased the Saeco and it's the first thing that I turn on when getting into my home office. My cup sits there throughout the morning hours, keeping my java hot and delicious.

be aware that a machine with one boiler will become a problem if you want to make an espresso, froth the milk and want to go back to making an espresso. you will have to wait until the machine cools down which is a PITA!
Invest in a machine which has two boilers one for the espresso and the other for the frothing of milk etc.

In a nutshell...........makes good coffee while it works.
Customer service is none existing. If you have a problem it will
take half a day on the phone and then 4-8 weeks to get it fixed.
They really don't seem to back the product. Suprised Amazon is pushing the product.