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

A year ago, I purchased one of these for my fiancee. My initial impression was very positive, but I didn't want to rush into writing a review without putting it through the wringer (so to speak). Well, after countless latte's the Caffe Bistro is still pumping out quality espresso and foaming great quanities of milk. It's very solid in construction and brain-dead simple to use, even without its very well written owner's manual. I do have a few comments to make, however, that might serve as minor caveats to anyone seeking to purchase a combo espresso/coffee maker:
[1] While the manual states that the handle assembly is dishwasher safe, I would strongly recommend *against* putting it in the dishwasher. I'm not sure what it is about my fiancee's dishwasher crystals, but after one go-around in the 'washer, the aluminum portion of the handle assembly turned very dark grey (almost a slate color)--completely oxidized. This doesn't affect performance in the least, but it does make the it somewhat less pretty to look at. Wash it by hand and all should go well. If you forget and find yourself with an oxidized cup, simply go at it with a brillo-type (mildly abrasive) pad and your favorite dishwashing soap (e.g. Palmolive, Ivory, etc.). After a few minutes of scrubbing, the aluminum cup will be back to its original lustre.
[2] The manual makes frequent mention of a "perfect froth attachment" but doesn't really explain what it is or what it does or why it's there. In short, it's the second little miniature stem to the side of the steam stem whose purpose is to funnel in cool air from the room via the top of the attachment via the Bernoulli effect (the same principle that perfume atomizers with the squishy rubber bulbs use), thus providing the "perfect" amount of air needed to make foam. While cleaning the frother, the little rubber tip on the top of the attachment rolled under the stove and was effectively lost. The next time I tried to froth some milk, I got a whole bunch of air and very little steam, resulting in just a rapidly moving cup of slightly warm milk (and a whole lot of noise). I figured out that if you just remove the "perfect froth" attachment, you can get "perfect froth" by simply holding the nozzle just a tiny bit above the surface of the milk--just the way one would do with a machine without such an attachment. I'm now actually glad we lost the tip of the PFA since now the steam nozzle is much easier to clean. :-)
[3] Regular cleaning of your frothing nozzle is imperative. I like to keep a straightened paper clip next to the machine to clean out the tip after every use. If you don't clean it regularly, old milk and hard water deposits will result in a partially or completely blocked nozzle. You should also use a small wrench to remove the tip of the nozzle once a month and make sure you clean it from the inside--a paper clip can only get so much.
[4] The nozzle on this unit is just a bit too long, even without the PFA in place. We purchased a stainless steel frothing pitcher from Fourbucks, er...Starbucks, and found it to be just about 1/4" too tall (or the nozzle just about 1/4" too long) to fit under without tipping either the pitcher or the machine. I'm sorry I don't have a measurement handy, but it's only a very minor annoyance, nothing worth losing sleep over.
[5] I am concerned about the use of aluminum in the unit. The grounds cup, the handle assembly and apparently the tank in which the water is heated are all made of aluminum, and aluminum is a known neurotoxin (i.e. it's bad for you) and it is thought to be a contributing factor in the contraction of Alzheimer's Disease. If I had known that the Caffe Bistro used so much aluminum in the parts that contact the water, I probably would not have purchased it, but buying an espresso machine with stainless steel parts would have been prohibitively expensive. :-(
In short, it's a great unit and has served wonderful lattes and coffees for the past year or so, and it's a great value...that is, if you don't mind ingesting material that is a known to do the body harm.

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Product Description:
This dual function Krups coffeemaker brews ten cups of coffee or four cups of espresso/cappuccino at a time. Programmable with a digital clock, auto power off, deep brew, and stop and serve function. The espresso/cappuccino function serves directly into cups or carafe. The steam-pressurized system has asafety valve and makes perfect froth. Includes manufacturer's limited warranty. Style 867-42.

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Emerson Combination Machine Review

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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Product 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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