I am ready to send this machine back to the manufacturer at my expense for burrial.
Positive Product Points
The ability to grind right into the coffee holder is great. No or little mess. The uniformity is excellent.
Negative Product Points
This machine needs to be cleaned after every 2 or 3 grinds. The burr ring does come out easily, but cleaning out the exit hole requires an straightened coat hanger. It is a very messy ordeal. You end up with grinds all over the place.
Detailed Commentary
Pressurized air might work for cleaning the exit area. But again you are looking at grinds all over the place.
An irritating aspect is to have cleaned the machine a day or two earlier and you ready to grind for that wakeup in the morning brew. You set the timer for the requierd time and listen to the burr doing its thing and then look at what you have produced in grinds. Nothing!!!. You adjust the grind setting to a coarser grind, hoping to get lucky, set the timer, listen to the burr go round and when it stops, still nothing!! You dump the beans and remove the burr ring to clean it and spill grinds all over the place. You put the cleaned burr ring back in, refill the hopper with beans, set the timer and still nothing! Here I am thursting for java; and know that I now have two choices (1) give the machine a thorough cleaning that takes about 10 minutes and lots of swiping up the spilled grinds or (2) open a bag of store bought ground coffee. Here I am in the kitchen, barely awake. I opt for the less rewarding brew that comes from a bag labeled Pilon Brand Cuban Style Espresso that I have learned to keep on hand for emergencies when the Maestro fails to perform.
I went back to the web sites to see if there was something that I was overlooking and all that I could find was the advertisements that say "easy to clean!" Possibly I am missing something. If so, please let me know since the positive points are great.
I complained to the vendor and manufacturer via their email links. It has been about a month and neither has replied. I am prepared to send it back to the manufacturer at my expense and let them deal with its disposal (burrial).
Buying Experience
I have a Saeco that I use every day for drip coffee. It needs cleaning about once every 2 months. I purchased a small blade grinder to replace the Maestro. It will work until I can find a reliable grinder for expresso.
