Krups 867-42 Il Caffe Bistro 10-Cup Coffee/4-Cup Espresso Maker, DISCONTINUED

I purchased one of these about 12 years ago at an auction, and fell in love with it. It worked beautifully for 12 years [making coffee at least once per day, and espresso several times per week]. When it finally died, I searched for it, but wanted to see if I could just buy something cheaper. I bought Krups and non-Krups machines - and returned every one of them and opted to go back to this machine despite it slightly higher price. This is the best coffee ever, and the espresso is perfect!

product came broken

Thank you

This is a very disappointing product! I can't believe Krupps put it's name on this inferior product. First, the expresso maker is so,so. The milk steamer is tricky to use. The red light indicators went out. And now the coffee maker does not work. Life of expectancy of product when used daily: 4 years.

This is one great Coffee maker for the price. Espresso temperature isn't too hot, but the cappucino maker is fantastic. The instructions are very straight forward and I was able to make a good cup of cappucino on my first try.

the first one I owneed lasted sevn years. I amm on my second one that has lasted as llong and still going. Pain to clean but worth it

I have been making espresso and cappuccino for nearly two years, first on a Delonghi pump espresso maker, and now on a Gaggia Baby. While I was waiting for my Gaggia to arrive, and I had already given away my DeLonghi, I borrowed this Krups. It makes normal drip coffee as well as any $30 machine, but for the extra money, it is incapable of making espresso. In order to make espresso, you need a pump to pump water through the very fine grind (espresso is a grind, by the way, not a roast), and you need a boiler with temperature (thermostat) control. This unit has neither! For temperature, it merely passes water over a heat coil (called a "thermoblock") which merely heats it up randomly until it has enough pressure to steam through the tube, thus charring your espresso grounds and producing a black burnt watery substance which bears no resemblance to caramel-striped espresso. Considering you can buy a Gaggia Carezza for around $189 here at Amazon, a top of the line semi-commercial Italian machine similar to what you'd find in a cafe, and any old coffee maker for $30 or under, there is no reason to buy this Krups. I can only imagine that 90% of its cost is pure profit -- it certainly isn't justified by its innards.

I have the "cheaper" version of this machine that I bought used. The only difference is the lack of timer and adjustment for espresso strength, so I can't comment on that.However mechanically, they are identical and I have some design comments.1. On the American coffee pot end. The fact that you can remove the thing that holds the coffee grinds is great. I also find that if you don't have one of the more expensive triangular filters, that you can push one of the cheaper pleated style filters in there just fine. Just make sure it is even or you could end up with coffee grinds between your teeth.2. Whoever came up with this design for a coffee pot should be the person wiping up my counter each time I spill stuff all over it. I had one pot of a similar design and if you try to pour just a little bit faster, you make a mess. It is nice however that Krups made the top removeable, as it is easier to fill and clean.3. Also, the coffee pot I have is the slowest I ever owned. It takes easily 15-25 minutes to do an entire pot.4. On the espresso end, I have no complaints about the espresso machine part, it seems to work well.5. The frother. Like the Espresso Bravo I previously owned it is a pain to clean, you have to disassemble it and clean it well. Including using a needle to be sure the opening is not plugged. However, on this one you have some other issues. See below.6. Besides just cleaning the easily removable parts on the frother, you need to unscrew the end and clean out the back side, using a needle to be sure the orifice is not plugged. Maybe it is hard water build up or whatever, but if you don't do this monthly, it will plug and you will not be able to use it. I don't think milk can get in there due the pressure, so I'm assuming it is the water residue causing this. If you have soft water, you might not have this problem.7. Also, the location of the frother is horrible. Mine only has 3/4" from the center of the frother to the side of the back of the machine. However, this arm comes forward to where the machine arches out for the espresso pot. You have very little room in which to hold your frothing pitcher.The machine in general makes good coffee, but slowly and the espresso machine makes good espresso and cappuchinos, if you keep up with the frother maintenance.