The looks are only surpassed by the performance, run don't walk to get your's now.
Positive Product Points
solidly built machine, large drip pan, two portafilter handles, easy learning curve compared to some others in it's class, looks awesome in the Kitchen, very consistent results,
Negative Product Points
Removal of side and rear cover's are awkward. I am only giving this a 9 in usability because of the cover removal process, otherwise it would be a 10.
Detailed Commentary
Although I am not an expert barista I have owned and used previous machines enough to know this machine rocks. The learning curve seems to be alot less. With other machines in particular The Pasquini Livia and rancilio Lucy the temperature surfing was a must to acheive optimum results. With the Millennium I just turn on the machine wait 20-30 minutes then purge a little air through the steam wand to prevent an airlock then run a few ounces of water through the brewhead and portafilter. Now Grind and tamp then lock in the portafilter. lift the mini lever about 3/4 of the range, let the preinfusion work for a couple seconds then lift all the way up. after you have the desired amount of espresso push the lever all the way down to release the pressure.
For me this machine had many advantages over the Livia that I previously owned. I will list some of them here, The drip tray is much larger, it is larger and more impressive looking, it has two portafilter's intsead of one, it has pre-infusion, it has the proven E61 grouphead, it is more consistent with less effort, the pump is quieter, the machine is quieter with no rattle's.
The consistency of this machine was very noticeable, the fine tuning of the grinder i used to have to do almost daily when using the Livia and Lucy is almost nonexistent.
I would not hesitate to buy another Millennium especially from Chris Coffee. I used to sing the U2 song "I still haven't found what i'm looking for" but since the purchase of the Millennium I only sing it because I can't find the right song that should say something like "I finally found the machine I was looking for, now i can spend my research time on other things in life" whoa that doesn't go with any tune I can think of.
Buying Experience
It would be hard to have a better buying experience than with Chris Coffee. This was my second machine I purchased from Chris and as great as the first purchase was the second was even better. Chris goes beyond all my expectations as a reseller.
