I love this machine and would recommend to anyone who is serious about making coffee at home.
Positive Product Points
This machine makes very good espresso with a nice layer of crema easily and quickly with no cleanup. It has more features and takes up less space for much less money than comprably equiped automatics. Spidem machines are manufactured by Saeco, but are less expensive (Saeco quality and not Saeco price).
Negative Product Points
The downsides are that this machine has a plastic housing (instead of metal - but it has the same internals as its metal cousins), shorter warantee (1 year vs 2 years), and sparse directions. But again you save $300 dollars for not having the metal housing or instruction video while not compromising on the quality of the espresso or milk froth.
Detailed Commentary
This product has met and exceeded all of my expectations for quality of both the espresso and light milk foam required for cappucino. This unit is very easy to use, is aesthetically pleasing, and has a much smaller footprint than any of the Capresso/Jura machines. This is the only machine for under $600 that has a dual-boiler rapid steam system and bypass doser (which I use regularly for decaf). This machine has grind settings and cofee dose settings which I have changed consistently based on the kind of beans in the hopper; I can't imagine buying a machine that doesn't allow this level of control. Also, I believe this machine has the same internals as the Starbucks Saeco Italia and the Saeco Incanto Rapid Steam from much less money.
The directions are pretty sparse, although it is a pretty simple machine to operate. The warantee for Spidem is shorter than it is for Saeco; I hope this doesn't come back to burn me later. Both the Saeco Italia and Saeco rapid steam come in a metal housing, while the Spidem Divina has a plastic housing. The Saeco Italia even has stainless steel front and drip tray. While these things don't make the coffee taste any different, the other units just look and feel more sturdy (although the metal exterior will cost you an extra $300 for the other models). Also, the cup warmer is a joke, you will not seriously use the cup warmer.
Finally, the biggest downside is that I have tripled my coffee intake because the coffee tastes excellent and is very easy to make.
Buying Experience
Excellent buying experience. I bought this from Roseanne at www.qualitykitchen.com. Roseanne talked to me for half an hour about which coffee machine was right for me.
