Coffee & Espresso Makers Tips

I recently purchased this coffeemaker to replace my previous one which I had for four years and was also a Black & Decker Spacemaker. This is the fifth one I have had. I like this one much better than any of the others. There is a feature which keeps the coffee nice and hot which my previous one didn’t have (on and off switch). The markings on the water reservoir are on both sides now instead of on just one side, so I don’t have to turn it around to see how far to fill it, and also there are deep indentations for my fingers on the reservoir which makes it so much easier for my arthritic hands to carry. My filters seem to fit into the Brew Basket better than in my previous coffee maker’s basket. They no longer overlap. The pot doesn’t drip while pouring as my previous one did. It took a long time for my husband to install but after several hours he did a good job doing it. He had to go to the hardware store to buy longer screws with a finer thread. Now it is installed securely and is very satisfactory. Others may have no problem with installation. It is a pleasure to use, and I am so glad that I bought it.

The Cuisinart TTG-500 Two to Go Coffeemaker has been specifically developed for people on the Go, and it makes that very clear from its title. Very often people have complained about the mess that normal coffee machines cause as a result of pouring the coffee into Travel mugs and then cleaning the pot itself. The Cuisinart TTG-500 Two to Go Coffeemaker is targetted towards these people and in my assessment keeps the promise that it makes.

Whats the Product all about?

The Francis Francis X3 is a road to repair, expense, aggravation, waiting and less. The x3 broke annually. The boiler is too tiny. Check out Machines in the 1000-1500 dollar range. If you buy an x3 fro 600.00 before long you’ll be spending well over a thousand dollars anyway. So wait.. Research, get on line and figure out the basic fundamentals of expresso. It’s a bit of a challenge and an art. If you dont figure out the basics of how to properly grind and fill a portafilter which you can view on youtube, the you will be playing with a machine which is very very easy to destroy. If for instance you are short on water, or the coffee is added with too much pressure then the next day you’ll be puting your x3 into a box and 5 weeks and $150.00 later you have another chance to break it. To me it is just not dependable. Leave it on by accident and bang will be an audible sound of the boiler popping. The way around this is the pod method which is lame and will not give you the the traditional expresso as the Italians created. Not too mention the ouch of 65 cents per cup. Might as well enjoy the service of a waiter. The problem for me is that if you are talented in the repair dept. then the fact that the Francis Francis is strictly proprietary .. This means $75.00 for time plus parts. $600.00 for the X3 is monumental in light of the later cost’s. The big design and the combination water-steamer coming out of a boiler the size of a small coffee cup is a disaster waiting to happen. When you taste a real expresso from a real expresso machine in the 12-1500.00 range, my guess is that you will do with your coffee maker or europress until you can pay the money and have something wonderful. There is nothing like waking up to the most fabulous machine which is dependable, beautiful, pours out steam like a locomotive, and pours out a cappuccino like a Barista from itally, You’ll be thrilled about the $600.00 you saved by not buying a damn Francis Francis machine.

I have a Jura Capresso F9 and love it. I could not justify spending that kind of money on a machine for my vacation cabin so I bought this one instead. It has never worked right. There is not enough pressure to force the water thru the coffee. I called Capresso Service and they brushed me off, but told me to use a different grind of coffee. I left the machine at the cabin, and came home. Next trip to the cabin brought more coffee but a different grind (followed Customer Service directions). It still didn’t work. Called Customer Service again, same run around - I must be doing something wrong. Next trip to the cabin I took 2 lbs of beans and a very good burr grinder with me. I ground over a pound of beans at different settings and none of them worked. I called Cappresso service again. We started from scratch finally came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the grind, so they suggested cleaning the machine. I had already done that, so they got short with me and said I may have to send it in. I finally brought the machine home, tried it again, it didn’t work and called customer service once more. I told the woman “I had tried every conceivable grind, I had de-calcified the machine, I had cleaned the seive, it didn’t work and I wanted to get it fixed”. She said it would be $60 just to look at it. I said the machine isn’t worth $60 to me. Her reply was “F— you” and she hung up.

I emailed customer service and explained what had occurred. A VP for the company emailed back (they had my phone number but chose to respond by email) and apologized for the customer service rep. She indicated they would send out a new seive for the machine, asked that I try it, and they would also send out a “call Tag” so I could send the thing in for “free” repair. The seive didn’t make any difference and they did not include the call tag so I could send it back. I have tried for hours to get thru to customer service, but they don’t answer.

I had the first model of the Cuisinart Grind and Brew for several years, and while I was happy with the coffee, it came with a price. Taking apart all the parts and cleaning was a pain. Eventually the basket got stuck, so it was time to replace & upgrade.

This model is designed very well, clean up is no more time consuming than a regular coffee maker. I have the stainless thermal pot, and even without prewarming the pot coffee is very hot, hours after it has been made. I’m not sure if my model is different than previous reviewers - but I like HOT coffee, and this works great for me!

We received this coffee maker as a wedding gift and the coffee make was both stylish and worked well for a while. Never had a problem with leaks other then user error (not putting the filter basket in correctly). Would have preferred for the automatic timer alarm to be either optional or adjustable in volume, but my wife minded that more then I did (on the newer model i saw at the store it does look like there is an on/off switch for the alarm). Over the course of a year though, the coffee maker slowly died on us until after a year it stopped working completely. At first, the backlight for the timer went dead, but that wasn’t a huge deal since it still brewed a hot pot of coffee. We do drink a lot of coffee i’d assume compared to the average, but were making on average no more then one pot a day. I’ve read a few other reviews for this maker and similar Mr. Coffee’s that had the exact same problem we had, after one year, the maker just stops working. Being the curious engineer that I am, i took it apart to see if I could determine the problem and possibly fix it. After taking the machine apart and hooking up my voltmeter, I can say with certainty that the heating element has failed. The heating element that heats the glass carafe is the same heating element that heats the water for the brewing process. All of the electronics and circuitry were fine and the expected voltages were being delivered to all components, but the element never warmed up at all. I don’t think it will be worth my time to replace it, so I’m off to wal-mart/target to find a new one. It most likely will not be another Mr. Coffee.

I’ve owned five (yes, 5) of these machines, three here at home and two in a vacation condo. On one hand, it makes a great cup of coffee. On the other hand, it’s very finicky. It takes a while to master the technique, and even then, it’s just not going to last. Previous reviews are also accurate. (1) You can’t use typical espresso grind. It’s too dense and the machine will blow its relief valve trying to push water through the filter. I now use the same grind as I’d use for Melita drip coffee, and I don’t tamp it hard. This is the big trick. I returned two units thinking they were broken before I figured this out. (2) It’s not going to last. I’ve now made about 500 double shots on my home machine over four months, and this fifth machine is in trouble. The pump is making strange sounds and about one-third of the time the flowmeter doesn’t shut off earlier enough. (3) I bought all of mine from Macy’s who has (at least within the first month) been extremely good about exchange or refund. I keep the receipts and get a new one no questions asked. You *cannot* send it back to Cuisinart. You must go through a retailer, so buy from one with good customer service. Despite all these problems, when the current machine dies, I plan to exchange it for another one, not ask for my money back. If it has to back for repairs, I might even get a second one and just assume I’ll be swapping these things in and out of the shop. My sense is that all espresso machines are high maintenance, and this one certainly isn’t an exception. And the coffee really is good once you get the right grind.

This is my second Capresso coffeemaker, and it’s still the most satisfactory grinder/maker I’ve found. They even lowered the price from the first one I owned

My first was a Capresso 453, which I bought slightly used in 1995. It lasted for nine years before being damaged during a move. The only issue that ever happened during nine years of moderate use was that the coating on the hot plate started to come off in a couple of spots after about eight years. For me, this was a record; I’d never had a coffee pot last more than 2-3 years.

I had purchased four other espresso machines within a three month period before I found a good machine, this one. The Delonghi L’espresso machine is wonderful! I have had it for about half a year now, and it makes wonderful espresso with a rich orange crema! It heats up very quickly, and dispenses beautiful dark espresso. I have made hundreds of cappuccino’s using it, and I even have fun using the frother. These can generally be tricky to use properly, but this model is easy to use. It doesn’t spatter hot milk all over you like some models do. I really love the removable drip tray, which has partitions in it. I wondered what these were for, then I understood that it keeps the liquid in the tray from sloshing out! Ingenious! It is easy to pack the filter, and insert it in the machine, and your espresso is ready in less than a minute! I would definitely recommend this model. Oh, yes, it also came with several filters and a coupon for free coffee pods from Starbucks.

When Starbucks recalled the 8 cup Aroma Grande, we were told the 12 Cup was included by our local Starbucks. Anticipating a simple replacement of my beloved 12 cup Aroma Grande, I was instead offered this DeLonghi. From the very beginning the difference in both quality, design and ease of use were apparent.

The snap lid attachment broke within 48 hours rendering the pot unusable. The coffee was not hot enough, and the flavor of the brewed coffee was atrocious. This in spite of the fact DeLonghi offers a wand like filter that stays inserted in the water well.