Wow! I am a student, so money is not too abundant; however, my wife and I love coffee and dig good espresso, but don't like paying $4+ for a latte. When I saw this combo unit I was skeptical that I could make a good espresso. Machines that friends have are $500+. However, it does a great job.
Pros:
1. Coffee has an automatic brew timer.
2. Good sized water reservoir, especially if you are making a load of espressos.
3. Has a frother. The frothing wand could be longer.
4. The PRICE is the best out there for a good beginner espresso machine. I've had cheaper ones that break easily and do not produce a good espresso WITH crema.
5. Simple operation. You'll read some reviews about the instructions, but come on-it's not rocket science...it's coffee. Water in the water reserve. Check. Grounds in the mesh filter (no more paper-yah!). Check. Push the on button. Check = Coffee. For espresso: Water in reservoir. Push espresso on button. Make sure that you are set for the cup and not steam (pictures). Pump should be off. Put empty portafilter in machine and turn the pump on when green indicator light is on. Run water through for 5 seconds and then turn the pump off. Remove portafilter and put finely ground beans in. Lock portafilter into machine. Turn on the pump. Here is the confusing part: How long do I run the machine for? The manufacturer does not say. I run it until the brown crema gets too light (yeah, subjective-I know). Turn the pump off and turn the machine to steam production. Wait until the green indicator light turns on and then turn the dial ever-so-slowly to flush out water in the line. Then bring your milk to the frothing wand (that you have perfectly placed the rubber tip onto according to my advice below) and turn the steam on ever-so-slowly. When the green light turns off, it's still ok to keep running the steam (if you check, sculding hot steam is still coming from the machine) unless you go way too long. You should be able to steam and foam with this machine in one pass (I started out requiring two warm ups of the steam boiler to get this right, but I guess I really wasn't getting it right-it should take you one pass).
6. Looks attractive.
7. 15 bars of pressure is competitive with very expensive machines.
8. Has a removable drip tray under the espresso machine.
Cons:
1. Only makes 10 cups of coffee.
2. The frothing tip is rubber and sits over a single-walled metal wand. The wand gets very hot, which can burn the milk (so I am told by "experts"-can't tell the difference except for the dried milk that requires a quick and easy rub with a wet rag for clean-up). Nonetheless, the metal part does not have a side spout, which is needed for microfoam production. So, if you want microfoam, you have to place the rubber tip over the wand ever-so-perfectly. Looking inside the rubber tip, there is a groove along the inner cylinder. If the metal tip is just a little higher than this inner cylinder groove exit, then you can actually produce microfoam with this machine and do it quickly-complicated? Sorry. You'll understand when you make a dozen lattes and can't understand what you're doing wrong and then start to experiment.
3.If you get leakage out of the portafilter (the part where ground espresso goes) then you are probably not tamping the grounds down hard enough (requires ~30 lbs of pressure) OR have grounds in the groove. The machine is sensitive in this regard. Also, make sure you do not remove the portafilter until the pressure dissipates (just leave it off for a few minutes) otherwise when you unlock the portafilter grounds are shot into the groove and makes a small mess.
4. There is not a carafe temperature control knob.
5. There are no temperature gauges to tell you what the operating water temperature is (good to know for perfect espresso).
6. Portafilter is fairly small, so making double shot espressos is hard.
Tips:
1. Get coffee flavoring-vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, mocha-whatever you prefer and put 1/2 a shot glass amount into each latte. It really changes everything.
2. Tamp a little ground cinnamon onto the final product for a little extra. It adds flavor and a good smell.
I hope this helps. I do not usually write reviews, but this machine is very impressive for the price, so I wanted to help you out by giving more details.
Follow-up 2/14/10: Unfortunately, the Emerson boiler broke just a few months after purchase. I was still able to produce coffee, but could not make espressos. I contacted the manufacturer and they gave me a return number. I packaged everything up and mailed the entire unit to Emerson's repair department. I didn't have all of the required documentation of purchase, but they did not hassle me. The representative was very polite and effective. She understood the problem and just told me to send it back with a note on the defect. About a week or two later, a brand new Emerson arrived on my doorstep. Haven't had any problems since. Great customer service. The only complaint I could muster if forced to was that I had to eat the shipping cost to Emerson for the unit (~$20); however, they have a $15 charge for all returned products for mailing back to your home. They waived this fee without me even asking about it!
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Emerson Combination MachineProduct Description: Keep warm plate will keep coffee warm for 2 hours with automatic shut-off Pause and serve feature lets you enjoy a cup of coffee before brewing has finished 1-touch espresso and cappuccino buttons Built-in steam nozzle to create froth for cappuccinos Digital clock with timer 14 7/8 W x 14 5/16 H x 10 3/16 D Includes 12-cup glass carafe filter basket measuring spoon nylon filter espresso filter and espresso portafilter with thumb bar
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I received this coffee maker as a gift some time ago and it works GREAT!
