CapressoCafe Select Professional Stainless Steel Espresso & Cappuccino Machine

I love this machine!! I had the previous model for a few years and after using it multiple times every day the switching mechanism started to give out so I upgraded to this one. I love the design changes they made. My last machine was so reliable and such a staple in my kitchen I’m sure this one will be too. I worked as a barista for over 3 years and am picky about being able to control my shot time and steaming - this machine is perfect for that and such a great price!

Second one. First one lasted over 5 years - which is remarkable for us.

Only produces half a shot before turning blonde regardless of the grind. Pump seems to already be going out after two months of usage.

I usually don’t write reviews, but I felt it necessary in this case. Bought this for my wife. This item is not worth the money. First, it is not automatic but manual. It does not shut off for a predetermined amount of water. It keeps brewing and brewing until you push the button to turn off.The frothing portion never frothed. It just heated the milk to boiling. We have purchased other machines for about $100.00 which were more “professional” than this item.On a positive note, they refunded my money immediately upon return, which I was pleased with.

I’m not a barista but I love coffee and I have owned Capresso espresso machines (EC 50) for the last 9 years, actually two machines one for 7 years and the other 2 years. I decided to upgrade a little bit and see what Capresso may ofer me after those years, so this review is my take so far on Cafe Select after 3 weeks of use in comparison to EC50.Pros and cons:- looks great and expensive on kitchen countertop, not that big or small- easy to use and ready in 35 seconds, but steam (full power) will be ready in 40 seconds after brewing- well-built except the main knob; it looks and feels cheap- heavy stainless steal portafilter ~ 1lb; looks and feels great- enough space between the dripping tray and the portafilter to put a digital scale and 12 oz coffee cup- steam wand is comfortable to use and long enough to froth milk easily.- It uses less water to brew and steam than EC50 even though they both have the same water tank capacity.- brewing temperature is optimum, hot enough not steamy in contrast to EC50 which gives too hot water.- no need to empty the dripping tray very often (this was a problem in EC50) as no water/steam opening inside which allows any extra water/steam to flow.. but that option makes the machine loud when switch back from steaming to brewing as the steam is trapped and needs to go from the grouphead. The steam takes 3 noisy seconds to be fully exhausted and the machine becomes quieter and ready for brewing again. I feel that EC50 was a little bit quieter in general.- water can be added to water tank passing the max line, gives you 15oz extra of water.- the steam power is ok, I don’t feel it’s any different from EC50 but the wand is an advantage for steaming and texturing milk.- you can make delicious espresso, latte (with latte art) or mocha, just use great coffee beans and ground your coffee yourself.Disclaimer: I didn’t use the pressurized basket that comes with the machine nor the plastic tamper instead I’m using a naked basket (~$10) and tamper/distributer tool. If you interested, I ground my coffee beans (medium roasted) using a cheap coffee grinder (~$20) plus good espresso making practice to have a great cup of latte to start my morning in 7 min from start to finish includes cleaning.I suggest Capresso spend a little bit time/money to have this machine with better grouphead that gives an equal water flow across the screen/shower as channeling is still a problem. But for now, just change the cheap plastic knob!

This is a PHENOMENAL product!!!!!A GREAT made machine !!!!!!!!OUTSTANDING value for the SALE price !!!!!WOULD RECOMMEND purchasing !!!!!!

Super easy to use. Seems very sturdy and well built. Feother works great for me, even with whole milk. First time I used it to actually got the milk too frothy. Can't imagine a simpler or easier unit without going super auto.

The jury is still out on this one. I am a novice barista so don't know if its the machine or me. As for pulling espresso - I cannot for the life of me get this machine to pull a shot that takes more than about 5-7 seconds. It gets totally blonde (clear and thin) after that. I have experimented with dosing, grind (fine vs. course) and tamp. Yes I have a conical burr grinder. I suspect it is channeling, especially at the finer ground settings. I can get a tolerable espresso out of it at higher doses and finer grounds but I can't imagine it is extracting efficiently in only 5-7 seconds and it still doesn't seem thick enough to me. The crema seems OK but I'm no expert. I need to try some different coffees also but I can't imagine it will affect the pull time drastically.The milk frother is perfectly fine; in contradiction to some other posters about this unit. It took me a little while to figure out how to froth properly but now I am consistently making great froth. If you can't get a good froth out of this machine you are either not doing it right or your unit is defective.I suspect this machine has some issues with the "group head" and "shower screen" as another reviewer mentioned. I may try to do the recommended fix but I shouldn't have to do that on a brand new machine. Could totally be me.

The media could not be loaded.  Me gusta su construcción en acero inoxidable de buena calidad, hasta ahora ha hecho bien los espressos y el espumar la leche es fácil haciéndolo de la forma correcta (siempre leche entera fría). Por lo demás pues en relación precio calidad es buena, si la ocupas para negocio es para baja producción pero para una cafetería pequeña en la que tengas que hacer 5 capuchinos de golpe pues te servirá (un poco lenta pero lo suficientemente rápido apara sacerte del apuro) hay que apagar la maquina entre cada generación de vapor para darle tiempo de crear vapor nuevo, es una buena maquina básica con grandes tintes profesionales (claro, si esperas resultados profesionales tienes que ser un profesional) hasta ahora todo bien y la uso varias veces al día.