Good Value! Purchased in 1996 - so long lived for daily use Can be repaired for not a lot of money in Seattle
Negative Product Points
Messy - water all over the counter if you overfill it Picky about grind. Too fine a grind when the filter basket is oily and you have a no flow situation Don't let it run out of water. Priming the pump is a pain.
Detailed Commentary
Ok, first of all I bought this in 1996 to replace my umpteenth Krups Disposable. I use it every morning and it was the first thing I laid claim to when I left my marriage in 99. "I'm leaving you and I'm taking the espresso machine." Overall this machine has performed really well for the money. I have a non starbucks branded model with the prehistoric filter basket so some of my issues with performance may have been related to design. This can be one messy machine if the filter basket gets stopped up and back pressure develops. Cleaning coffee grinds off the ceiling is no fun. Mine sprung a leak up where the filter basket attaches to the machine and the nice people I found in Seattle who fix these things resealed it and did some maintence about a year ago. I was told by them that the older ones were good quality and to hang onto it. Apparently the more modern filter basket has some issues. If I do replace it, a Rancilio Silvia looks like the best replacement. I don't think I'd be happy with the new ones and I really don't want something with the starbucks logo on it. Ugghh.
Buying Experience
I distinctly remember, even almost 10 years ago, that the starbucks people had no clue how to use it.
