Customer Reviews

Saeco 10008 V'spresso Superautomatic Espresso Coffee Machine

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Had this machine for 3 months when it started leaking water. Sent the machine back for warranty work and after 7 weeks and numerous phone calls they have finally repaired the broken faucet and are shipping it back to me. For the price you pay for these machines the turnaround on warranty repairs is unacceptably long. I would never buy a Saeco product again.

I have never, ever, ever been driven to write a review of a product on this site before but I *had* to put in my two cents on this one. We have had this machine in my office for probably a year now. Believe me, this is a NICE work perk. In fact, I'm looking at this item on Amazon right now because I want to buy one for my husband for our 10th anniversary... a self-serving gift, indeed!! The digital display makes running the machine child's play and -most importantly - it brews delicious, aromatic shots with beautiful, thick crema. The 13 or so highly-caffeinated women and men that work with me have given this machine a serious work out. I just checked the machine's "total coffees brewed" count (yes, the Vspresso can even tell you how many coffees it has brewed ... I swear, if I actually read the manual I could probably program it to change the copier toner!) We've made well over 1000 espressos on this machine and we have never had a complaint. In fact, even when I did something stupid (poured pre-ground coffee into the bean hopper...d'oh!) the customer service folks at Saeco were really nice & helpful and didn't even laugh at me although I deserved it. (It was simple to fix that little mistake and there was no need to take it/send it anywhere.) One more thing -- the little slot where you can use "alternate" pre-ground beans (like decaf or <shudder> flavored coffees) is genius! Who wants to taste the ghost of your co-worker's favorite Irish-cream-raspberry in your otherwise-perfect Americano? What can I say - it's easy to use, reliable, and makes absolutely wonderful espresso. I recommend it without reservation!!!

We are on our second unit in just over a year (our first one was shipped 4/13/2007) and they have both suffered the same fate, the perpetual "Ventilate" message. It took almost a month to get the first one replaced by Saeco, and its shelf life was less than the original. All told we are less than 300 cups brewed, and we are out of service again. Do yourself a favor, spend your money at Starbucks instead, believe it or not it is cheaper...

While this machine does have some operational flaws and lacks flexibility, I have had it for about two years. However, a series of cascading failures, most likely due to the various leaks in the machine damaging the motherboard, have caused it to become non-functional. After only two years, I am going to have to spend a lot of money and get another system. This super automatic is not designed for durability.

I have had this machine almost two years now. I agree with the other reviewer that this is a "luxury" item and we expect better in both service and reliability. I had it about 6 months when a gasket failed and it leaked all over the place. Saeco was very responsive back then and picked up the machine and repaired it promptly. However, after getting the machine back and following new instructions about maintenance (particularly, turning off the machine if gone more than a couple of days), I found that the led display began to break up. This continued each time the machine was turned off and back on till the present where you can no longer read the cues. I had intended to wait until our next vacation trip (so I wouldn't miss the home brew) to have it repaired at a local shop but just found out that they no longer will do Saeco repairs because it takes them so long to get parts. Then I found out from Saeco today that there is only one authorized repair place in this state--300 miles away. Great. Just what one wants to hear after laying out a bundle on a fancy coffee machine. Now I wish I'd bought the Gaggia instead. It was great while it lasted but one would surely expect more than a year and a half out of a machine that expensive; must be the first time in my life that purchasing an extended warranty might have been a break even deal. Wish I'd never seen this particular machine. Grrr.

This is not my first Seaco product. I owned the Saeco Vienna Deluxe for about 6 years. We loved the ability to brew a great cup of espresso or a large cup of coffee in less than a minute with no waste. My Vienna deluxe has finally become unreliable (probably due to my lack of routine maintenance) so we have bought the V'spresso. So far I am pretty happy with it. One of the most welcome differences is the bypass doser. My wife likes to add chicory to her ground coffee. I suspect adding chicory to the beans added to the problems we had with our Vienna Deluxe. Now she can grind her own beans and add the ground beans and chicory to the bypass doser chute.

Another welcome feature is the auto off timer. I use to get frustrated with the fact that our old machine was left on for hours sometimes. This new one turns off anywhere from 15 mins to 3 hours later. We also like the speed and sound level of this machine. It is much faster and less noisy than the Vienna.

One thing I don't like is the orange/yellow display. It is as bright as the sun and stays full bright even when the machine is in "energy saving" mode. It is a heck of a night light. I have recently been concerned with how many devices in my house are electricity vampires and I wonder how much electricity this thing sucks down when it is "off." You can use the switch on the rear panel to completely turn it off however, if you want. I have not yet tested if there is a warm up difference in either case.

I think I am going to like the V'spresso if it remains reliable. Saeco technical support was wonderful in helping us try to get our old machine back to it's old self. They sent us many parts free of charge. In the end however, we just decided to upgrade. I think you will be happy once you get over the fact that you spent so much for a coffee maker.

*****UPDATE*****Nov 2011

Well it has finally broken for good. There is an internal leak so every time we try to make coffee it leaks all over the counter. It lasted about 5 years so I guess that is OK. I could send it in for repair but my wife wants a smaller one cup machine. We are looking at Keurig now.

This is my fourth (and worst) fully automatic Saeco machine. I was curious to see how others faired with the V-spresso and read the reviews. It appears that 50% have had problems and needed customer service. In my case the machine has been schizophrenic from the start and has needed to be serviced twice. As someone else wrote, the thing makes great coffee when it works, but its a crap shoot if you're getting a reliable machine. The worst part is the service from Saeco. They are very polite, but very inefficient. They don't get the fact that this is a luxury toy and their average customer is someone who expects service commensurate with the high price. I'm afraid that with a 50/50 shot at getting a good machine and a corporation with little regard for their clients, my next purchase will not be Saeco.