Espressione Café Retro Espresso Machine, Red

It has been a while so I came back to rethink my first review.I have changed my rating from 4 of 5 stars to just 2. Why? Because the machine recently stopped working. It requires backwashing the filter (shower) head. But guess what? Unlike a professional machine, there is absolutely no way to remove the filter head for cleaning, or backwashing the system. The pump worked perfectly as did the entire machine save for the plugged filter. The upshot is that I threw it in the dumpster after several days of pondering. It was beautiful to look at. Fun to use. I could have sent it back for service, but at what cost? All for a $10 dollar plugged filter head. Another issue was that the boiler could never be drained when not used for a period of time.I have a 20-year-old professional Pavoni lever operated machine. Guess what? It can be dismantled down to every bolt, widget and nut. And! All the parts are available by mail so the entire machine can be repaired, even completely restored by its owner. I like that. And that is a very important point to consider when purchasing any machine, no matter what it does. So my advice is to hang the picture of this machine on the wall and buy a professionally rated machine, or a cheaper throwaway.My First Review:It has a small reservoir in the rear and consumes a lot of water. I bought it to replace my aging lever operated Pavoni Professional. I was basically going backwards in machines and not being able to "feel" the resistance, I was running blind, so the learning curve was high for me. But, it is fast to warm up and works quite well.Despite being panned from some reviewers, it is a good machine. Yes, they WILL drip. That is the nature of the beast with high pressure pumps. And they are slow return to brewing temperature if you have been steaming. But that is the law of physics. Its a beautiful looking machine that will get its share of compliments from visitors to your kitchen.

Although the box arrived in good condition and the machine was well-packed inside, the machine arrived broken. Makes me wonder when/where it was dropped! The front plate and knob were broken off. Since this affected the aesthetics only, we just glued it back on.When my husband began to make our first lattes, the machine began to smoke. I dreaded the thought of having to pack it back up and go through the return process. How disappointed I was, especially since it was a Christmas gift!Thank goodness my husband is good at fixing things! He removed the back cover to take a look at the insides, and low and behold, a couple of wires were not connected. Evidently, they became disconnected at the same time the front plate and knob were broken off. So he connected the wires and it has worked fine ever since Christmas.For the price, it's a little disappointing to have to rewire and glue it back together. But it sure does look cute on the counter, and the latte's are exceptional!

I really loved this baby and researched it throughly. I finally went for it and bought it, it arrived and it really did produce the greatest cup of cappuccino ever! Two weeks later it just stopped working, it was hard to return, thankfully I saved all the boxes, since they were so large,I planned to use them for storage. So I was told I would be given a refund which was upsetting as I just wanted an exchange. So I got my refund, no problem but when I went to buy a replacement, I could not find the same color for the same great deal I got before. I would have to spend another 80$ and so I no longer drink espresso at home and have switched to tea. It was a 10 year love affair with espresso and I traveled to Italy and tasted the best. I finally brought it home and then my dreams broke, so I am a little bitter. But all in all it was the greatest machine I ever owned and I utterly loved what it created, as it was heaven in a cup. So take the risk and good luck! - Nik Stamps

I ordered the Espressione 13850 Cafe Retro Espresso Machine back in April, but was in the process of moving, so didn't get a chance to set it up and use it until recently. I was worried that waiting too long to use it could be a potential problem, especially if something happened to be wrong with the machine, or if it turned out to be of poor functionality as some of the reviews have claimed. Well, all of my worries vanished the minute I tasted my very first cup of home brewed espresso. What a delight! It was incredibly easy to use, and my espresso tastes as good (or better)as the ones I sampled during trips to Italy. YUM!!!Goodbye bitterness, hello thick and frothy crema! It also looks great on my brand new granite kitchen counter.I ordered mine in orange. Couldn't be more pleased. For those of you who are having problems, I suggest you make sure the coffee you're using is of the correct grind. It makes a big difference. I totally recommend this product.

This looks so cool in my kitchen and it makes great espresso. The temp dial really helps to perfect the process. I picked 4 out of 5 stars because the water container is a pain to use and is too small for my liking. That being said, most small units with way less eye appeal have equally small and clumsy water reservoirs. Once you learn not to over fill the filter holder with grounds this machine works great I have owned at least 5 small espresso machines over the years this is by far the best looking ,functioning and priced unit to date. As a foot note, after re reading reviews of this unit, I realized that several are not about this machine as said problems / component issues, do not relate to this units aspects.I would recommend this to friends