Got this on sale second hand. As a discounted item, its not too bad. The coffee part itself is actually fairly reliable, and as long as you don't overfill it (I actually only fill mine halfway I find this works best), you should be satisfied. My problem is with the milk frother attached to it. Not only did I find it pretty confusing (and I've used at least a few other espresso machines so I get the basics), but it lets out a considerable amount of water while its both getting ready to steam and while its steaming, so you can end up with a much more watered down drink than you expected. I have seen others comment on this issue but it seems to just be a feature of this particular machine. Personally, I use a seperate milk frother because I just don't think the one attached is worth the pain for what you get. I also found that it doesn't really get the milk quite as hot as you'd want. It would barely get past luke warm. Maybe a good first machine (on sale), but I'm sure if you shopped around you'd find a better machine for a similar price.

We got this from the lovely Breville PR to review. My first thought was what a nice looking machine it is. It is small so it takes up very little counter space, stainless steel, and comes with two matching espresso cups and saucers, a frothing cup and even a Pod holder so you can make it lazy style with those little packets if you want to.

Mountains of foam and several bags of espresso beans later we have come to the conclusion that we do like this sweet little machine. Brains and beauty, this one! It is easy to clean and the steamer just needs a quick wipe down at the end vs. the Krupp steamer, which needs a toothpick to get off all of the gucky milk residue. Big bonus points for that.

My only beef is that the espresso comes out so fast that it is not quite as strong as I like it. It does have a good kick and a beautiful crema with every shot, but I think if it came out slower it would be more concentrated.

Overall, it is fast, efficient and ridiculously good-looking.