Cuisinart Espresso Maker EM200U

...between £100 and £200 cheaper than my previous machines, I'm really impressed.

There's also an offer on with Cuisinart at present - you can download a form from their website and mail in your receipt to get a free burr grinder.

Very happy!  ... more

I'm hesitant to write a review so soon after receiving the machine but I have to say I'm impressed.

I've owned Rancillio, Gaggia and DeLonghi machines previously and after being used to using a professional machine I've found them all disappointing... especially when it comes to steaming milk.

I do have some reservations about the machine...
1) The plastic insert in the portafilter is not exactly the most authentic and
2) the steaming wand has a metal sheath over it with a little hole that seems designed for inexperienced users to get some kind of froth more easily. I found it useless though.

So, I ditched the metal sheath and found a pretty conventional metal steaming wand. Not the little short stubby kind that you find under Gaggia's panarello attachment either. Very pleased.

So I filled it up with water (which is stupidly easy on this machine with the removable, back-mounted resevoir) and switched on. I've not got access to a decent grinder at the minute so I can't test it properly but it has produced some pretty decent espresso's so far.

It has a manual button so you can control the flow of water yourself or there's a one cup and two cup setting like you'd expect on an automatic professional machine. The espresso appeared with a decent crema (even if the water seemed to flow a bit too freely through the coffee... need to experiment more there) and it tasted good. Not a "god shot" but it was pallatable.

When you're done making espresso, press the steam button and wait for it to heat up to temp which is quite quick. When the light stops flashing you're good to go.

Now I wasn't initially too impressed by the pressure of the steam but after a couple of trials I got a good microbubbled froth that was good enough for a bit of latte art. It also **seems** to constantly reheat to make sure there's a constant supply of steam. I've not yet run out of steam. My previous coffee machines have stuttered and stammered after a bit and the steam power drops to zero. This seems leaps and bounds ahead in comparison.

It's worth mentioning (as it's slightly unconventional) that when you turn the steam knob to the off position, the machine immediately ditches the built up steam you've not used so if you want to froth more milk straight after, you'd need to press the steam button and wait a minute to let it heat back up again. The only annoyance I've found with this is that I like to blow the milk from the wand afterwards but you can still do this with a bit of hot water rather than steam.

The machine itself is very study feeling. My Gaggia Classic had a tacky plastic drip tray whereas this has a metal one. Downside is that the metal gets hot but even so... it looks and feels much better.

The only caveat is that I need more time to experiment when I get my new grinder but so far I think this seems like the best compromise I've owned for home. It looks and acts as much like a pro machine as it can.

When you consider that this is between £100 and £200 cheaper than my previous machines, I'm really impressed.

There's also an offer on with Cuisinart at present - you can download a form from their website and mail in your receipt to get a free burr grinder.

Very happy! 

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