Great Buy

Love this product. I read all the other reviews before buying so I knew it didn't come with a steaming pitcher and ordered one to go with it. However I didn't realize that it didn't come with an espresso tamper either. I would have ordered one had I known now I have to wait for the one I ordered to come in and hope it fits this machine. Would have given it 5 stars but as a former barista I know that to make a good latte I need a steaming pitcher and a tamper. So for an espresso machine not to come with these items is like getting a pair of sneakers with no laces. I have had no problem with leaking and as long as the user READS THE INSTRUCTIONS they shouldn't have any problems either. For $40 I've already gotten my money's worth in the last week. And anyone interested in buying I would say "GO FOR IT!!!" but order a steaming pitcher and espresso tamper along with it.



Note: P.S. Get a 49mm espresso tamper to go with it. Doesn't fit "perfectly" but its as close as I could find that wouldn't be too big.More detail ...

Best Single Cup Brewer On The Market

I recently purchased the new Keurig B-70 Gourmet Single Cup Home Brewing System that was released on October 1st 2006 and have been very happy with it. The machine is extremely well designed simple to operate aesthetically pleasing and most importantly brews an excellent cup of coffee. I am very impressed with how quickly it is able to brew a cup of coffee the selection of brew sizes and how simple clean up is.



There are a variety of single cup brewers on the market now many utilizing pre-packaged coffee "pods" for brewing. Personally I was not comfortable purchasing a product where I would be locked into the selection and pricing of a specific manufacturer or one that would only brew coffee and not tea and cocoa. This is just one area where Keurig really shines above their competition.



Keurig has gathered support of a variety of gourmet coffee tea and cocoa manufacturers and there currently there are over 140 different types sold pre-packaged in K-Cups including Green Mountain Diedrich Gloria Jean's Timothy's Van Houtte Tully's Coffee People Newman's Own Celestial Seasonings Bigelow Twinings and Ghirardelli. Not only is there a large selection to choose from there are a variety of resellers online offering K-Cups and pricing is extremely competitive.



In addition to the pre-packaged offerings Keurig offers the My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter allows you to use your own gourmet ground coffee in your Keurig home brewer. This option provided the extra level of comfort I personally needed to make the jump into a single cup brewer. Frankly I don't find myself using it very often as I had originally thought as there are so many options available in pre-packaged K-cups.



The pricing of the Keurig brewers are extremely reasonable and brews gourmet coffee in just a fraction of the cost of purchasing it from a Starbucks Coffee People or similar. I expect that my machine will pay for itself in savings in just a couple months of use.



The only suggestion I have for Keurig is that the My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter be included with the sale of the brewer and not an optional accessory. It is such an inexpensive accessory that I am surprised it was not included. Overall the Keurig brewers are excellent value and quality and would recommend them to anyone interested in a single cup brewer.More detail ...

Capresso 303.01 4-Cup Machine

For the money this is an excellent machine for non-commericial use. My spouse is totally hooked on lattes. We usually make 2-20 ounce lattes at one time; although we have made 3 sets of 2-20 ounce lattes back to back. The Capresso is fast. The espresso is flavorful and hot. The steamer quickly heats the milk to perfection and creates as little or as much froth as you prefer.



During the last 20 years we have had 6 or 7 different espresso machines ranging from $40.00 to $180.00 in price. This one which retails for $105.00 (we paid less on Amazon)is the best. It is easy to use and creates exceptionally good coffee drinks.



A word of caution for any machine you purchase: READ the INSTRUCTIONS. The directions for each machine differ slighty. My caffeine addicted hubby overfilled the water chamber on a very expensive espresso/cappuccino machine and broke it.



The Capresso 301.01 is the machine I would recommend to friends and family. We are extremely happy with this machine.More detail ...

An excellent coffee maker

Because we're serious about our coffee we sold our old $100+ Cuisinart coffeemaker to be replaced with this much better designed and much easier to use coffee maker.



A motel room we stayed at had this model coffee maker. We used it twice a day for 10 days. The coffee was delicious and we found no minuses at all so I bought one. We've been using it daily now for about three months.



The carafe is made of heavy duty glass and doesn't drip at all. The hole to pour water into is large and easy to get to. There are convenient and accurate water level windows on both sides of the unit. The controls are convenient easy to understand and easy to use. The basket is easily removed for cleaning easy to position and uses standard flat bottomed filters. The time and function displays are large and bright. All of these are comparative problem areas in the Cuisinart.



Programming works perfectly and is so simple to use we didn't need the manual. To set the time of day press the "Hours" button until it reaches the current hour and then the "Minutes" button. To set the "Auto on" time press the "Program" button and then set the start time the same way. Press the "Program" button again to go back to time of day. For auto start press the "Auto on" button which lights up. That's it.



In addition the water enters the drip chamber in a shower rather than a stream resulting in consistently smooth and uniform tasting coffee. I can't comment on the warming plate because we put what we don't drink immediately into a Thermos for all day use. The warming plate shuts itself off after two hours if you forget.



The negative reviews are a puzzle to me. We found none of the problems mentioned.



This is an addendum in mid Nov 2007. The coffeemaker still makes perfect coffee and everything works like new. The only negative I'd add is that the warming plate is quite rusty probably because I put a pot of tap water on it at night to have chlorine free water in the morning. Often the pot is damp. When we need to replace this coffeemaker I'll paint the new warming plate with bar-b-cue paint before the first use for rust protection.



This is an update dated 11/20/07. The coffeemaker still works perfectly and still looks good. I sanded the rust off of the base plate painted it with bar-b-cue paint and as expected there is no more rust problem. I don't think the rust would occur for most people. I caused it by putting a wet pot on the plate overnight seven days a week.More detail ...

they fixed it! Great Unit!

I really love it! You fill cold milk into it push the button and after about a minute you get warm and very stiff cappucino-milk foam.



The newer Aeroccino Plus is an improved version of the older Aeroccino (no plus). It works great and - honestly - there is no reason to buy the old Aeroccino anymore (i own both)!



The Plus is larger the milk doesn't burn to the floor of the kettle anymore it can now be submerged into water (but no dishwasher!) and it can also do cold milk foam which looks great and stiff (hold the switch for about 2 seconds - the light turns blue instead of red).



Finally cleaning is really easy and can be done with water sometimes a little soap and with the hands - there is no burned milk anymore (as with the old version). They also improved the coating so nothing sticks anymore.



If you love cappucinos or cafe-lattes get one!





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Didn't need but had to have! Love it!

I have a perfectly good Cuisinart DCC-1200 but after spotting the 2000 at a local store I couldn't stop fiddling with the floor model. Well my wife was lurking as I was fiddling and with my birthday coming up - and my affinity for coffee - she thought she'd found the perfect gift. Boy was she was right!



Now let's be honest carafe-less designs have been around forever - Farberware's stainless steel coffee pots are staples in offices and at parties - they just haven't been this much fun. I'm not going to repeat everything that's already been written but suffice to say the 2000 is a unique coffee maker. Does it make coffee better than my 1200 did? No not really. But it does keep it hot longer without the bitter burnt taste that would often accompany the coffee from my 1200 when left on the warming plate for over 30 minutes. I normally have two cups every morning (not the puny 5-ounce "cups" that every coffee maker seems to think is the norm for whatever reason) but I've found myself having about three (maybe not a good thing?) since getting the 2000 because that third cup about 1-1/2 hours later still tastes great. That wasn't happening with the 1200. Sometimes I'd try the third cup but the burnt carafe taste made it unfortunate.



One of the complaints I'm reading here is that you need a separate container to fill the 2000. I can't be the only owner that owns a Pyrex 2-cup (or more) measuring cup can I? I just fill it up once twice - gasp! - three times and pour it in while watching the water level on the side. Honestly it's not that hard. Cleaning is no different from any model with a carafe. But instead of washing the outer carafe you remove the inner "carafe" to rinse it out or give it a thorough cleaning. That's the only difference. The coffee gauge is kind of silly and inaccurate and I rarely ever look at it but it adds to the allure of the 2000.



I'll be keeping my 1200 at the ready for my sister to use when she comes over to make her dreadful flavored coffees so they don't contaminate my new toy. But until the next great design advance comes along to which I can't say "no" I'll be enjoying the 2000 to the fullest. It's neat it's fun and it makes great coffee.More detail ...

Follow these tips for a unique coffee

Every family in Italy owns one of these machines. Here are a few tips:

1. In Italy this is NOT called an espresso machine but a Moka machine. An espresso is what you would drink in bar made with a steam or high pressure machine with the crema on top.

2. Smaller size Moka machine tend to make better coffee.

3. Never wash the Moka with detergents just rinse it under tap water

4. You've gotta use it often for a good coffee.

5. If you haven't use it in a while make a weak coffee ("lungo") and discard

6. DO NOT put the MOka in the dishwasher.

7. Use drinking water. Avoid tap water especially if very chlorinated

8. Never compress the coffee.

9. For a strong coffee fill the filter with ground coffee and make a small cupola that slightly protrudes beyond the rim. Do not press down.

10. For best coffee heat at very low heat. It's ok if it takes 10min.

11. As soon as coffee reaches the top remove from heat

12. Do not let the coffee boil

13. Use good quality coffee not too strong medium grind (try Illy for a good commercial brand)

14. Sip while still hot enjoy!More detail ...

In defense of the Grind & Brew

Ye gads. I forgot all about the fierce partisanship amongst purchasers that this wee little machine invokes. Last year I dutifully combed through all of the reviews and was almost pursuaded to look to another machine. Thank the stars I was not. Like many I was won over by the lure of (1)the thermal carafe (2) the auto grind&brew feature and (3) the shininess. I also trusted the Cuisinart name and had been previously pleased with the Brew Central. I noted however that many writers were highly displeased with (4) the noise and (5) the mess. So after a year here are my experiences:



(1) The thermal carafe rocks out loud. Yes pre-heating the carafe seems to keep the coffee hotter for longer but on the crazy work-mornings that I use the auto-grind&brew function I do not pre-heat and find no need to as I am out of the house at light speed. Note that the coffee is still scaldingly hot. People seem irritated/perplexed at the slowness with which coffee is dispensed from the carafe as well as the steep pouring angles necessitated by the carafe. I am not at all disturbed by either; however a relative in need of immediate coffee discovered that one can get faster pouring by just removing the lid. Which defeats the awesome vacuum-packed thermal hotness but seems a likely remedy for those with a fundamental aversion to slow pours. As far as weird geometry issues I have nothing to offer.



(2) The auto grind&brew is very convenient. It has always worked flawlessly for me and really amazes and pleases guests who may rise before residents.



(3) It is damn shiny.

(NB: I have a lot of stainless in the kitchen and through trial and error have found that the Method stainless steel cleaner keeps it all damn shiny and keeps me from going stark raving from the constant buffing and rubbing).



(4) The noise? Really not that unusual for a coffee bean grinder. I did not notice that it was any louder than other grinders. If the "grind" portion of the auto grind&brew is waking one too early I would imagine that one could either pregrind or use ground beans and just skip the "grind" function. While it is intriguing to imaging a space age machine with stealth grind mode I would urge potential buyers to neither expect silence nor let lack of silence keep you from buying this machine.



(5) The ire over the mess was what nearly kept me from purchasing this maker. And I completely forgot about the issue until just now when I re-read some of the reviews. I guess that I don't understand what "mess" they mean. There are seven parts to this thing that I clean: carafe/lid filter/basket/lid and grinder base/lid. I rinse the carafe and filter with hot water and clean the rest with hot soapy water. It all takes approximately 2.5 minutes. I never have to clean the rest of the machine. I usually tilt the top-loader lid open to let condensation out after brewing is done. I occasionally wipe the inside of the machine down with a damp cloth. I have replaced the water filter a couple of times. But altogether clean-up is not that big of a deal. Maybe others are not getting a tight enough seal on the the grinder parts?



SUMMARY: I have had this machine for over a year and have never had a single problem with it. It makes delicious hot coffee. I was almost deterred by the problems that others have had with it but am glad that I opted to take my chances. I gave it four rather than five stars because so many people have had problems with it. Even though I have not experienced these problems the negative feedback must nonetheless be taken into consideration.



cheers!



~currer bellMore detail ...