Not a machine; a personality which will reward you if you are prepared to invest a lot of time..
Positive Product Points
Extremely beautiful, especially so my version with wooden details. Really great shots (when you do everything right..) Good steamproduction.
Negative Product Points
Steep learningcurve, took me 6 months to figure it out. Gets to hot after pulling 1-2 shots. Lightweight base with cheap plastic bottom makes it unsteady. Impossible to service yourself with gaskets etc.
Detailed Commentary
This is a machine that you only should buy if you are prepared to invest a whole lot of time in your hobby. Iīve had mine almost 3 years and I donīt think of it as a machine, it is a living creature.. To get a good shot everything must be right: grinding (only absolutely fresh beans) very fine (the finest I can get with my Solis Maestro), tamping really hard and almost filling the portafilter, I use only the double (actually I tamp twice; filling the portafilter halffull, tamping, filling again, tamping again), right amount of water (approximately 2/3 of the water level glass), warm the grouphead with a small amount of water, pulling firmly so it takes appr 25 sek to get a single shot.
If you do ANYTHING wrong in this chain the shot is useless. This isnīt a machine for big dinners, the grouphead gets too hot after pulling 1-(2) shots and you have to let it cool down. But I like her, I roast my own coffee and when everything gets right the espresso really blows you away ! Be prepared to spend a lot of time with your machine, it doesnīt work "right out of the box" and the most important thing is to be patient and realizing that it will take some time before you get everything right.
Buying Experience
I bought mine online from the factory in Italy and it worked out well. The problem where I live (Sweden) is that there are very few servicecenters.
