KRUPS EA8250 Fully Auto Espresso Machine, Espresso Maker, Burr Grinder, 60 Ounce, Black

We have had this for about 3 weeks and are now hooked so I hope the machine lasts since I got it on sale. I had read some bad review about reliability, but, should it break and if warranty were not honored I would buy again full price because we love it. We had a kuerig for the last year or 2 and before that full pot drop machines. We also had a French press we would use once in a while but couldn’t stand cleaning it and was alway nervous the grinds were going to eventually build up and clog my drains (again). This machine makes the absolute best coffee and espresso. Very customizable. 3 levels of coarseness for grinds, 3 temps for water, option to make espresso, strong espresso, double strong espresso, coffee, double coffee all with option to select how many once’s of water are used to fine tune you flavor and strength. The frother tube is convient and easy to use. The milk steamer thing is too much work for me. I use the frother to warm the milk up a little and that is easier- I am not really good at making froth so it is pretty much just warmed milk when I am done half the time anyway. You can also get hot water and select how many ounces from 1-8 I think? I use this to make americano and sometimes to get some hot water for tea or my occasional pour over when I want to have my Texas pecan decafe in the evening. It is not very fast for heating water (we have a fast heat kettle as well) but I have gotten used to the wait and use the extra seconds to take a deep breath and stop for a minute.That said- it is a little loud. If you live in a small place with thin walls and plan to use before everyone is house is up you might start some fights. We live in good sized two bedroom apartment and it not too loud when bedroom door is closed but I still hear it. Fortunately, the excitement of a delicious brew is actually a motivating factor to get up so the noise is actually a good thing in my house;)It is also not super fast. Having gotten used to the 30-45 seconds of the kuerig this takes a little longer. However, the result being a perfect cup instead of over priced watered down crap of the kuerig is totally worth the extra seconds. And being a real cup of coffee the pep from caffeine happens much faster with fewer cups! I also love being able to try all the different beans! We Have been so limited with kcups. Yes, we are not putting any dark or flavored roasts in the machine because of oil and want our machine to last but I have found my HEB grocery store has an incredible selection of whole beans with at least 10 varieties each of light, medium and dark roasts sold by the ounce so I can try them first before committing to full bag. We have also been checking out our local coffee shops and trying their beans too.Beware- if you have never had and espresso maker like this before, you will not be able to go back to a regular coffee maker of any kind. You get better than coffee shop quality (since you can fine tune you settings to find you favorite cup depending on your mood). It is faster than a full pot brewer, cheaper and 100x better then kcup. Easier and less mess than French press. Have the internal grinder means almost no mess of beans or grinds to deal with other than empting the grind bucket into trash which is 2 seconds. You get fresh ground beans for every cup with no extra effort other than waiting the extra 10 seconds for machine to grind for you.

to cut to the chase, I have had a Saeco Magic Deluxe for 10 years and it no longer makes hot coffee. I could replace the boiler but decided I would be better off with a new machine. I wanted another Saeco but reviews indicate that quality and service are not good so I did an extensive review and came up with the Krups EA82 which I purchased and have been using for a week. I was concerned as you neither can clean the brew group nor the grinder - this machine is fully automatic. About the only thing it doesn't do is buy your coffee.Pros:adjustable volume of coffee and grind (fine, medium, coarse)- you cannot change the amount of coffee used in each cup. You end up with an excellent brew.totally automatic - you need to clean the ground draw, the coffee cleaner and the drip tray - the drip tray and grounds draw are not huge so they need to be cleaned about every 8 cups. The task takes 30 seconds.set up - a total breeze. The machine walks you through each step - if you can rotate a knob and push a button you will be finequality of the coffee - excellent you can also adjust the temperature of the coffee.Negatives:it has a milk frother and milk container but the instructions to use it are inadequate also the instructions for removing the frothing wand are absent. There are several videos on youtube which show how this is doneotherwise there are no negatives that I havethe machine recommends not using a dark roast coffee as they are often too oily but then provides a funnel which goes in the coffee bean hopper for their use - this seems contradictoryHow I use the machine- I have tried many different coffees over the years including very expensive Italian ones. For me Starbucks French Roast is perfect. It is a dark roast coffee which so far 50 + cups has worked just fine without the dark roast coffee funnel in the bean hopper. Krups recommends using a Claris water filter in the water tank - these are around $20 per filter and last 2 months. I use a Brita with a Brita carafe and fill the water tank from my Brita carafe. Costco sells these in Costco quantity at very reasonable prices and does the same for the Starbucks coffeeAddendum: I have now been using the Krups for 2 months - first it continues to make excellent coffee - additional dislikes: the puck draw and the drip draw need to be emptied after every 8 cups of coffee an annoyance; the cleaner needs to be cleaned after every 8 cups and filling the water reservoir is tedious - a swivel on the base of the machine would make that task easier. In spite of these annoyances, the object of the machine is to make great coffee and this machine does it - end of story I would buy it again.Addendum:At just over 1 year, the machine stopped working; to their credit Krups honored its warranty and repaired the machine at no charge including shipping both ways, telling us to stop using French roast or oily coffee. We used a very dry non oily coffee from then on. About 1 month ago the machine started to make a whine while grinding coffee and then today failed completely. It is now well out of warranty and I am not going to repair it, nor can I recommend purchasing it based on my experience which is poor reliability. It is a shame as to its death it made a great cup of coffee.