Makes very good espresso, easy to use for someone like me and my husband who want a fast cup in the morning. No waiting at all for the boiler to warm up (1 min. tops) and the steam is ready when your cup is finished pouring.
Negative Product Points
Completly made of plastic, inside and out. The plastic knobs for adjusting the amount of coffee you want have about a 4 point "play". So you have to just turn until you feel the tention on it. Sounds like you really have to keep up the maintenance. The grinder has to be cleaned by taking the thing completly apart. The brew group has to be cleaned by completly taking it appart and you have to descale also.
Detailed Commentary
Let me just start by saying, we are not coffee geeks!! That is why we wanted a superautomatic because we don't care for all the fuss. This machine is very easy but I have to say that $600 is WAY too much to pay for it. Saeco is getting rich on this baby. I would say that they should be selling it for $150 tops. We were getting tired of the watered down taste of our drip Melitta machine. I kept on adding more coffee and less and less water. That just didn't work. So we looked into the superautomatics but we thought the prices were really high for us. The semi autos just took too much time and fuss. Getting the Saeco Vienna de Lux was a bit steep for us but I went ahead and did it anyways. (Ssshhhh, my husband doesn't know the full price I paid) Anyways, the coffee tastes great. We like to make lattes in the morning and this machine does a great job. I don't know if that justifies the price but we will give it a try. If not, its back to the old Melitta.
P.S. If you get this machine, make sure someone in the household is handy with gears, O rings and taking things apart and putting them back together again because if not your going to be lost.
Buying Experience
I went with Bed Bath and Beyond because they sent me a 20% off coupon in the mail and I happen to see it on there website. The cassette that comes with the machine to teach you how to use it was all crushed, but Saeco is sending me a new one.
Three Month Followup
Well we've had this for 3 months now and I really have to say I can't wait for my latte every morning. I may have given this machine a pretty bad review as far as product quality, cost etc. but what a sweet cup of java this thing makes. We've had no trouble at all with it and I'm hooked on Lavazza Gold espresso beans. I still wish there was something made of metal somewhere on it but all in all its working and I can't complain.
