My first choice was this machine the Breville IKON, but as budget was not an issue for this purchase I went for the Cuisinart Cuisinart EM-200 Programmable 15-Bar Espresso Maker, Stainless Steel. I spent over two weeks and two pounds of beans trying to make this machine spit out a good shot. The beans I use are Tully’s decaf espresso bean and they are bit oily, so it does take some expert manuvering to get a good shot…however this machine failed miserably. It worked well with Peets’ Espresso Forte bean, but this is not the beans we use for my wife’s mocha so it was of no issue, other than the machine obviously performed fine with “normal” beans.

I decided to return the machine and go for the gold…I bought the Jura E9 Jura-Capresso 13204 Impressa E9 Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center. This machine is AMAZING, it too however had a real hard time pulling a consistent shot with the Tully’s Decaf Espresso bean. If it wasn’t for this damn bean I would have kept the Jura in a heartbeat. As I stated before the main purpose of our new machine was to pull Tully’s Decaf Espresso shots and nothing else. I had to return the Jura…which I kept for a week and made as many shots as possible. I loved this machine and it was hard to give up…self-tamping, self-cleaning and with any other bean a perfect shot everytime.

I decided to go back to my first instinct and purchase the Breville IKONBreville BES400XL Ikon 15-Bar-Pump Espresso Machine. From the first shot, and now 36 shots into it, it has pulled a perfect shot everytime. Using the Capresso Capresso 560 Infinity Burr Grinder, Black Burr Grinder set to 1.5 the Tully’s Decaf Espresso bean actually tastes better than in the store…an outcome we did not anticipate.

I cannot speak more highly of a $300 espresso machine…if you do not have the budget for a Jura, this is the next best thing….yeah you have to tamp and clean yourself, but you also save $700.

POSITIVE FEATURES
1. Design: It’s amazing how much thought went into this machine. The frothing wand swivels out, the machine is tall enough for normal size coffee mugs, high quality materials, cup warming try, Assist plug to make unplugging easier, visible water tank the removes extremely easily, easy to dump waste tank, all the tools needed to clean the machine come packaged with it, hidden tray behind the waste tank to store cleaning tools and filter pods, small sign that displays to let you know when the waste tank is full, hot water dispenses out the steam wand for hot tea if you wish, simple three button operation, powerful pump, etc…do you see my point? Anyone who puts this much thought into making a neatly organized and easily operated machine will spend just as much time making sure it’s designed to last.

2. Ease of Operation: It’s simple. You want espresso? Fill the filter pod with espresso grounds, tamp them in, attach the filter, push the coffee button once. Got enough espresso in your cup? Tap the button again and it stops. Same type of deal for creating steam to steam milk for latte’s. Want hot water for tea? Turn the dial on the steam wand to max and hold the coffee button.

3. Excellent results: I use Starbucks espresso grinds and Starbucks syrup. I will never pay for another cup of coffee unless I’m out with friends! The steam wand produces thick, rich foam. Use cold milk and cool your frothing pitcher before use. Also, use a thermometer and you will get good results. As for the reviewer commenting on his espresso cooling to room temperature by the time he cleaned the wand….froth your milk first. Then make the espresso. While your espresso is being made wipe the wand off. By the time you wipe the wand off your espresso is done and ready to be added to the milk (which if you heated it to 160 degress or more like you should it will still be hot!!).

I can’t say enough about this machine!!

Bad things:
1. Poor troubleshooting in the manual: The troubleshooting basically offers answers like…do you have water in the container? or Is the machine plugged in? Useless information when I couldn’t prime the machine. I held down the coffee button to bring water out of the steam wand and no water would come out. It turns out that I didn’t have the water container pushed all the way in.

2. That’s it….I can’t think of anymore.

BUY THIS MACHINE!!