It's a decision I'm very happy with, in spite of the relatively high price. We received good value for the dollars spent.
Positive Product Points
Relative ease of use, even for a novice. The look of the machine is awesome.
Negative Product Points
None yet, after 09 months of use.
Detailed Commentary
I am absolutely a beginner. But this machine is pretty user-friendly. I can make a decent shot at this point, although still much to learn. My wife and I have found that the quality of shots is fairly good, even with the factory settings, so I have not spent the time to "improve" the quality of shots by adjusting temperature. I have played with the grind just a bit. I do feel that with the PID adjustments, it will be quite easy to start playing with minor adjustments if I choose to. I opted to plumb in the water supply and have an electrician change our kitchen outlet to a 20 Amp plug. I suspect that we will be using the machine this winter when entertaining, and I am confident that the machine will handle whatever we throw at it.
Typical use is one double shot for my wife every morning, followed by 2 double shots for myself (a nice big latte to go). Evening use is limited to 3-4 times per week. We've found a couple of the blends from Dillano's coffee in Washington State to be our favorite at this point. The steamer has excellent pressure, and I'm really happy I opted for this dual boiler machine. It might be a little bit overkill, but I'm confident the unit will serve us well for many years to come.
I have a relatively inexpensive 20A timer that we are using, and it is working out well. The machine comes on every morning slightly before 6:00 AM, and again in the late afternoon, shut-off at about 2-1/2 to 3 hour intervals. On those rare occasions when I want to manually turn it on, it seems that it is pretty much ready to go after 15-20 minutes.
Buying Experience
After reviewing all of the positive comments regarding the buying experience from Chris' Coffee, I opted to buy from them, even though the were closer options for us in central California. I will gladly add my name to the extensive list of satisfied Chris' Coffee customers. Chris spent a decent amount of his time addressing my concerns and questions when I called his company to make those last -minute inquiries to be sure I had not missed anything in my research. They are very practical in their advice. I highly recommend using them if you are new to this like me. They were great.
