This review is for the Maetro Plus version. Vertical drop for grinds into container, very good for not leaving stuff to muck up the taste of the next shot. A compact unit with a simple grinds container, no doser/doserless issues..

Found the grind powdery, not able to make good espresso with a Silvia. Tried to get a shot in 25 sec, was able but drink not tasty-bitter overextraction. Top burr is in soft plastic and not held in place, jostles around and produces more powder than my old tweaked delonghi (which only lasted 11 weeks, but that's another story). Too slow to grind into portafilter, but i would have liked to just fill container and spoon, so really just the powder is the thing..

I'm another of the goofs that buys a Silvia and waits to buy a good grinder. If you're another I advise this, which you will hear elsewhere - the grinder is key for espresso. Otherwise you have expensive bitterness! You spend money and get bad espresso! Your significant other will complain! Have searched and hounded the discussion boards, have been told (as of this writing) that gaggia mdf is really good-rocky good-and at the same price as maestro. I am shooting higher for nuova simonelli, want less plastic to be able to break on me. You can really spend money chasing good espresso getting nowhere-get a mdf or rocky or better, go cheap on a cheaper gaggia or saeco machine if anything. I am spending money to mail a ~10 lb box to my home and back to the retailer-this is what NOT to do..

retailer is a straight professional operation.