Saeco 10008 V'spresso Superautomatic Espresso Coffee Machine

by Saeco

Product Features

• 1,250-watt superautomatic espresso machine with stainless-steel housing and backlit digital display
• 1-touch-button technology; adjustable conical burr grinder and coffee strength; 3 programmable brew buttons
• 15-bar pump; 67-ounce removable water tank; 10-ounce bean hopper; removable brew group
• Rapid Steam technology; Pannarello steam wand; dual-spout dispensing head; hot-water nozzle
• Ships within US only; does not ship to Canada

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.3 x 14.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 35 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0002CEL4C
• Item model number: V'spresso
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #218,349 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Gaggio Montano, Italy, 1981. In a small Apennine town in the Italian province of Bologna, Italy's passion for coffee partnered with Swiss precision to create the perfect home espresso machine. Sergio Zappella, an Italian espresso machine manufacturer, and Arthur Schmed, a Swiss engineer, spent four years testing and perfecting their design for the first fully automatic espresso coffee machine. After seven years of successfully marketing their machines in Europe, their company, Saeco International Group, came to the States through their subsidiary, Saeco USA Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Design, July 14, 2006

By 

J. S. Green - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saeco 10008 V'spresso Superautomatic Espresso Coffee Machine (Kitchen)

I have had this espresso maker for about 2 weeks. I am worried about reliability (from reading the other reviews before purchase), but I have an extended warranty. Hopefully I won't have to use it.

From my reading, I think this machine has to be well maintained (cleaned) to continue working correctly. The newest models of this machine do not have a "brew group key", so you don't have to disassemble the brew group to clean it.

The machine is rated for no more than 20 cups of espresso per day. This isn't a problem for me, but keep it in mind if you are considering a small office installation. According to the warranty information, using it for anything other than home use invalidates the warranty.

PROs:
- The housing seems sturdy, made of steel. The door and trim items are plastic.
- It offers a cup heater on top, which I haven't used. It is set to OFF at the factory.
- Makes excellent americano and espresso. We don't make cappachinos, so I haven't used the frother.
- Fast heat up. Goes from cold to coffee poured in under three minutes.
- Dual boilers - don't have to wait for steam!
- You can also select to deliver hot water instead of steam.
- You can select the temperature of the water, from low to maximum. We use "medium" and it seems plenty hot.
- You can change the grind of the coffee.
- You can change the amount of coffee used between 6 and 9 grams.
- You can program the buttons to put as much water through the machine as you like. So my "large cup" button puts out 9 ounces, while my "medium cup" is still set at the factory 4 ounces.
- Pressing the "cup" button twice puts out a double shot, and the machine pre-grinds the second shot while the first is brewing.
- If you are doing several shots at a time, you can set the machine to pre-grind shots while the current shot is brewing. Since this leaves ground coffee in the chute, it is not recommended unless you need to make a lot at once. I have not tested this.
- The machine offers a "pre-soak" setting to wet the ground beans. It can be set to short or long, but I have only used the short time (got to have the coffee).
- The machine offers a setting to rinse the coffee brew group with water before a new brew begins. Note that this is only done if the machine is turned on, not before each cup.
- The grinder is very quiet.
- The machine warns you if any of the parts are not in place, or there is no water / coffee beans left / discard tray is full. I have seen these warnings come up and then they clear once you fix the problem.
- The components are easy to clean.
- The machine supports a water filter. A new filter is included in the box. It lasts about 3 months and costs $10 or so to replace. It can be used without the filter if desired.
- The display tells you when to descale the machine, based on your own water hardness level. They provide a test strip to determine the hardness of your water.
- You can bypass the grinder and put in pre-ground coffee instead.
- It has a small size (for a fully automatic espresso machine).
- It automatically goes into power save mode after a period, which can be set from 15 minutes to 3 hours. Mine is set to 15 minutes. Note that you have to hit the "M" key to get the machine going again, even if you powered the machine off while it was in power save mode.

Cons:
- It is expensive to buy.
- The machine makes three loud "WHACK" noises for each cup of coffee. It is startling at first.
- The tray is a bit difficult to remove.
- The machine has to be manually primed the first time you use it, and possibly if not used for several days. It is easy to prime (turn on the hot water and pour some out while the unit is heating up), but it is still a bit of a hassle. The machine also came with a manual prime plastic device, but I haven't had to use it.
- The hot water delivery is a bit slow.
- The coffee grinder setting must be done when the grinder is running. I haven't changed the default, but it seems this might be hard to do.
- Setting the grinder to maximum fineness is "not recommended". One wonders why the manufacturor left the setting in if they don't want one to use it.

Summary:
So far, this machine is everything I wanted in a super-automatic.

*** UPDATE ***
After 5 months, I am still enjoying this machine. I have had it warn me about every possible problem - no beans, low water, dredgedrawer full. In each case I fixed the problem and the machine worked perfectly. I even forgot to prime the machine after I changed out the water filter. It gave me the "VENTILATE" error. I primed the machine and everything was back to normal.

I now use the "Long" setting on the pre-brew. It uses about 3 seconds rather than the "short" 1 second delay. I have also tried the espresso, which is as good as the Americano.

***** Update *********
I have now had the machine over a year. So far it has performed well. I clean it approximately every week, usually after 2 dredge-drawer fill ups. I haven't had to descale it yet.

***** Long Term Update *****
It has been two years, and the machine is still going strong, still haven't had to descale it, though I bought Saeco descaling solution a long while ago.

***** Three Year Update *****
I have descaled it once, and everything is working fine on the machine.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this Espresso Maker!, March 29, 2005

By 

J. Cooper (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Saeco 10008 V'spresso Superautomatic Espresso Coffee Machine (Kitchen)

As much as I love coffee, I have always been a little afraid of using an espresso machine. Well, we just got the V'spresso in our office and we love it! It is so easy...just hit the button, listen to the grind of the beans, the tamping of the grounds and within moments, a nice shot of espresso, or my favorite; a long coffee with a nice crema. I have always enjoyed cream in my coffee, but this coffee tastes so good, it doesn't need it.

The care of the machine is also easy...with 9 of us + customers using it every day, ours gets a workout... the machine basically tells you what you need to do. Whether it needs water added or the dredge drawer dumped...it just tells you what to do. Very nice for such a variety of users.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good Machine - When It Works!!!, September 16, 2005

By 

Coffee Guy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saeco 10008 V'spresso Superautomatic Espresso Coffee Machine (Kitchen)

This is an easy to use machine and produces great coffee, but there's a big problem with Saeco. We bought one a few months ago, and after 1 month the wiring all burned up inside and we had to return it and wait several weeks for a replacement. Then we used it for another couple of months, and it decided to stop working again. Even this would be all right, but Saeco provides horrible warranty service. First you have to go through a big runaround to get an RMA, then you have to pay for the shipping to them, AND THEN THEY KEEP THE MACHINE FOR TWO MONTHS! I don't know about you, but if I'm paying this kind of money for a coffee machine, I would expect them to turn it around in a few days, not a few weeks. Bottom line - they don't seem to make them to last, and they definitely don't provide the kind of service they should when it breaks.