If you need parts, get ready to ship your machine. Using the steamer: for 12oz of milk to go from 40* to 160* takes over 3 min. FF customer service is juvenile at best.
Positive Product Points
Pretty and it has a small footprint.
Negative Product Points
Inconsistant shots. Steamer is a bad joke. Parts are not sold, you must ship the machine
Detailed Commentary
Well, I'm on my second machine. After 3 - 4 years, the first one started to blast hot water and coffee grinds out of the group assembly (changed the gasket an no luck). Sur La Table was a dream to work with. They instantly exchanged the machine for another. This new machine (I've had for a couple of years) has issues out of the box. The steam wand constantly leaks, and my temp gauge went out. Called FF for parts and they said they can't sell parts, you must ship it to them to have it fixed. The bubble gum smacking *chic* on the other end said you really don't need the temp gauge anyway. Well that may have been true when I first discovered home brewing, but now I have some experience of what it's like to pull bad shots rather often because the machine is not temp stable and must be finessed to achieve perfect temp for extraction. Try doing that without a temp gauge. Never buy a machine that you can't monitor the temp. This machine is now worthless. Buying a Brewtus 2. Do some research on dual boilers, e-61 groups, importance of temp stabilization, and you will see this is just a prettier version of Mr Coffee. Oh, have you ever fallen asleep while steaming milk? The Brewtus (and other machines like it) steam 12oz in 50 sec or less. Literally, the X1 steams 12oz in about 3 to 4 min. And forget about microfoam unless you are the Dalai Lama. What a turd. Keep in mind, I've used this damn machine(s) since 2002. I have pulled shots daily for 6 years on a X1. I will admit that I can pull a mean shot (not consistantly). Just tired of mediocrety. This machine is great for a beginner until the beginner samples a god shot and realizes some machines can do it consistantly. I paid $550 and am happy with the cheap machine's performance, but I see the X1 is nearing $1k. They are crazy.
My model year is 2003 with a brass boiler.
Buying Experience
Great experience at Sur La Table. Love the store. They took back a nearly 4 year old machine in exchange for a new one.
