A staple in Europe, the Spidem Villa is a super-automatic home espresso machine that retains the features made popular by its predecessors, the Vienna super-automatic machines. Spidem Villa by Saeco puts Saeco’s patented removable brew group technology into an easy-to-use interface. You can now make espressos, cappuccinos, lattes, and tea all using one machine that grinds, tamps, and brews gourmet coffee. The steam and hot water wand has an exclusive pannarello to make frothing m (more…)
Possibly Related Posts:
- Factory-Reconditioned Saeco V’spresso Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Dark Graphite
- Jura-Capresso 13187 Impressa E8 Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Black
- Factory-Reconditioned Saeco S-Class Incanto Rondo RS SBS Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Black
- Saeco 21103 Royal Professional Fully Automatic Espresso Machine, Silver and Blue
- Saeco Nina Cappuccino Espresso Machine
#1 by Maddock on July 30, 2009 - 9:25 pm
I live in Florida and was in Italy this past summer. The company I worked for had one of these machines, except theirs was the $3K model with the refrigerated milk attached. I fell in love with Italian espresso after that. So far I have had no problems to report, but I’ve only had it 3 days; so far so good! I was a little nervous about being the first to review and comment. I am normally the one that does my DD and reads up before I make a purchase this large. Right out of the box I threw in some beans and water and just like magic I had espresso. The steam valve/frothing wand is great and very easy to use and clean. To prime the machine for the first time after having no water in it you have to open the steam valve and let some water come out (priming the pump). After that you are done priming. It took me 5 minutes of reading over the instructions to finally figure it out. Probably because I was excited to get going. I’ve made about 10 cups already. I would have stayed with the black model and saved the $50 now that I have the silver one. You will be amazed at how much of your $500 is plastic. Very much a thermoplastic exterior, but it is very easy to keep clean. I had to get the manual to finally see that this is a 15-bar pump, which works great. I was concerned because that detail was left off all the descriptions I could located on the web. The three plastic push-in buttons on the top left (on/off, brew, and steam) are simplistic in design, but for the price I would have expected more quality. Nevertheless it works very well and does exactly what it was designed to do. One last note, when I brew a cup of java and then froth my milk and then try to switch back to brew an immediate second cup I get a warning light (for overheating). The manual says to bleed some steam out through the steam valve, which only takes a couple of seconds. Then the unit allows me to brew the next cup by giving me a steady green light. That is odd, hope I do not have to do that every time. I am thinking it may be the new operator in me and it really is not that big of a deal. The unit comes with a safety thermostat, which obviously works and a boiler pressure safety switch. I am happy the unit rotates on its base because it makes it very convenient for cleaning. I get more excited every day that I use this. I hope everyone else enjoys their machine and I am sure I will read some awesome comments from others soon. They are emailing me with the brand of beans they used in that machine in Italy; can’t wait to get some good beans. I will update this entry in the future and let you know how it is going. ASIN:B000VD3YFY Saeco Spidem Villa Silver Super Automatic Espresso Machine – A-SP-SV
*UPDATE: Okay, I have had the machine for 3 months now vs. 3 days from my first review. It is still working great. I have had some good beans and some okay beans, but finding the best bean is now my quest. I have been through 5 bags of various beans. The best part about this machine, besides the automatic bean grinder, is how easy it is to clean. I am still blown away that all I have to do is push two buttons every morning. No more mess with grinding my own beans. This is one purchase that I will keep patting myself on the back for. BTW: It takes less than a minute to dispense a shot of espresso from this machine.
#2 by Lin on July 30, 2009 - 9:47 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great coffee maker!
Love this machine – makes perfect coffee easily and conveniently – like as if it’s from my local Peets (am using their great espresso beans).
#3 by Yates on July 30, 2009 - 11:01 pm
5.0 out of 5 stars
great coffee
Easy to use and makes great coffee. Adjust levels to make espresso or American brew.
#4 by Shmuley on July 31, 2009 - 3:42 am
I was originally going to buy one of the “Incanto” models but the price on this one really attracted my attention. It worked adequately right out of the box with a dark French roast. However it was a bit watery and slightly bitter. I made a couple more shots and increased the dose to full. It was a bit better so I started making the grind finer. this doesn’t show up immediately so you need to run a couple shots. It got a bit better but I kept noticing that the last half of the brew cycle was producing almost clear water. I made the grind finer and it wouldn’t push the water through. I played with this for about a week before deciding that I needed to contact Saeco support. I called the repair center and one of the guys thought that the water was probably not getting hot enough he said return it. I am tempted to upgrade but I have decided to let Amazon replace the unit. If the next one produces the strength I expect I will be very happy.
New info:
The replacement unit arrived and is about the same, it will handle a finer grind, but if you select anything more than 1/2 full on the portion dial, the remaining fill is just water. I believe the shortcoming is in the instructions, they fail to explain that a simple shot is a lower setting. The portion dial only seems to control the water and anything beyond about 1/3rd full starts becoming an americano. That is fine once you understand it. I like taking a 6oz. cup and filling it. It makes a very strong americano with a good crema top. The frother on this one doesn’t seem to produce the same pressure, it basically stopped frothing
about 20 seconds into it without the pannarello attachment.Doesn’t seem to do this with the attachment, but I hate the attachment. It may just need a nozzle to keep the pressure up. Since I rarely froth anything I don’t really care.
Another strike against this unit is that the small hopper fails to feed beans consistently. It will run out of beens during the grind cycle, you can tell by the sudden higher pitched noise of the grinder running empty.
If you don’t tap it a couple times, it will stall on the cycle and then reset by cleaning itself for the next cycle. This wastes the coffee that
had been ground before the feed stopped. I would say this happens 1 out of 7 cycles on average.(I think removing the idiot proof grinder cover will stop this problem) I am almost tempted to send this one back and get a better model, but I only paid $399.00 for it and think it is worth it.
if I had paid over $450.00, I would send it back and upgrade….
The bottom line is this thing makes a good espresso or americano, is easy to deal with and will really spoil you. I hardly ever buy coffee when I am out and about because it is so much better at home. I have already run over 2 lbs. of coffee through this machine in less than a month! I will probably move this one to my shop and get an upgrade for the house..
Stay tuned, I will make a video of the cycle in action…
Pros
1.Very simple adjustments.
2.No complicated menus or displays.
3.One touch espresso.(did I mention great crema)
4.Very easy to clean.
5.Fast warm up and brew cycle.
Cons:
1.Small water capacity(I refill more than once a day.)
2.Coffee hopper can’t really be emptied without some disassembly.
3.If the machine runs out of water or stalls during a brew cycle you can’t resume the cycle, you must start it over and it will purge the current puck.
4.Relatively slow water flow, not enough force to mix the shot contents during the pour, you need to stir it after it’s done.
5. Pannarello produces too much froth and is a pain to clean, I will extend the bare tube with some brass tubing and chuck the plastic fitting.
6 Bean hopper fails to feed when partially full, probably due to
the cover that is supposed to keep morons from putting fingers into the grinder. Rapping on the side of the machine under the hopper will resume the feed if you catch it within about 5 seconds…
#5 by Anonymous on July 31, 2009 - 4:32 am
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delicious fast brew, but could be packaged better.
We bought this unit to replace a Saeco Vienna Black machine we had for 5 years. The brew group is the same quality as the Saeco Vienna (it appears to be indentical) In fact all…
#6 by Fritzi on July 31, 2009 - 5:29 am
I have to say I was skeptical about buying a super automatic machine and especially this one since it was one of the cheapest models. I bought this for my mom and it had to be as easy as possible to use for her. I love it and I found out that the inside machinery is basically the same as the models that cost 2-3 times more. I have been using it for 3 months now and have not had any problems at all it just takes a little bit of learning and trial and error don’t forget to read the manual there are many little things that you should know so the machine will work properly without problems. It really only takes about 1 minute for the machine to be ready in the morning from a cold start to make an espresso or boiling water for tea. The only thing that takes some time is to get the grind size and amount of coffee correct for the type of bean you have. You wouldn’t think so but Dunkin Donuts whole orig beans work great and taste amazing for espresso I even talked to Saeco customer support and they said it was a great bean for it since it wasn’t too oily. Dont think Twice about buying this machine it is amazing and will pay for itself in a couple months of not going to the coffee shop. I even like the fact that this machine isn’t complicated it is very simple to use. If you end up buying one of these try to get the solid black model since it isn’t painted it is solid black plastic so there is nothing to chip and when the coffee or milk splashes you don’t see the spots so it looks clean all the time unlike the silver models. Some people complain about the water and coffee capacity but unless you put this in an office you will be fine the water makes about 12-15 shots and coffee makes about 30 shots so you should be fine for a normal household. I also noticed that if you use bottled water you will have hardly any problems with the machine since most problems arise from calcium buildup from hard water and not to mention bottled water tastes so much better. I hardly ever write in depth reviews it’s just that I am so happy with this machine and it saves so much money. We are a family of 3 and we used to get 3 Coffee’s lattes etc. every day costing about $12-$15 daily and we had a instant boiling water dispenser in our kitchen sink that from what I found out costs about $30 a month to keep going since it is always on and now we turned that off and just use this machine for the boiling water for tea, cup a noodles, etc. as well.
#7 by Yamal on July 31, 2009 - 6:34 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome
I got one for Christmas and have been using it for 4 weeks now. It makes the best coffee with the added bonus of just a single cup at a time in about a minute.
#8 by Kevork on July 31, 2009 - 11:25 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
We love it!
We absolutelly love this machine. Me and my family love espresso and this machine gets them pretty close to the ones you drink in Europe.
#9 by Humbert on July 31, 2009 - 5:20 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great machine!
I just recently purchased this machine as an xmas gift for my parents and got it at an unbelievable friday sale price ($399.00 + free shipping).
#10 by Ryker on July 31, 2009 - 10:59 pm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great device, small water drip in drain
I bought this on deep discount. I’m happy with the purchase. The coffee is well-made and comes out quickly, and it heats up to steam quite quickly as well.
#11 by Oraefo on August 1, 2009 - 3:36 am
2.0 out of 5 stars
BIG DISAPPOINTMENT
This Espresso Machine sounded great from the product description and other reviews. The reality was quite different.
#12 by Addison on August 1, 2009 - 7:36 am
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bellisimo
I received this November 1, 2007 and I have definitely caffeinated myself since. The product is awesome. After traveling to Italy, I became a fan of “dry” cappuccinos.