Capresso Mini-S Espresso Machine In Black - 30201

This is a great little product. I was unsure due to the price - but I'm really thrilled with it. I use it primarily on the weekends (regular brewed coffee monday thru friday) and feel like I'm spoiling myself. Overall it is easy to use. I felt kind of strange following the instructions step by step the first time, but you should do it. After that, it's a piece of cake to use. I've got it down to a science. water in, coffee in, machine turned on - while it is heating the water, I have time to pour and prep the milk. When I'm done with the prep work then it's time to steam! And I don't feel rushed. It's nice, since I'm drinking the latte to relax (I know...caffeine, relaxing, oxymoron). Steaming and frothing the milk is easy once I just let go and went with what seemed natural rather than follow the instructions. I steam everything enough that I usually don't have a lot of water/steam left over to release. That's where instructions really need to be followed - releasing of excess steam. Steam - hot - ow - burn. Yeah...follow the instructions on this one! My one complaint...and it's probably no fault of the machine...is cleaning the frother tube/straw. It doesn't detach and you really need to work hard on getting the milk off of it. That's it. Only complaint. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a simple latte for a pleasureable morning or afternoon. Good for one person...probably a little small for two or more. I wouldn't use it for a party.

Easy selector switch and accessories make immediate use simple. Steamer fits well into any size cup. This product is of great quality, easy to use and an excellent value! We love it!!

I give this appliance 5 stars because I think it's the best in its class. Hey, it's a [$]espresso maker so it's totally unreasonable to compare it to higher priced true pump models.No it doesn't make crema. So maybe a true espresso aficionado would not even consider this an espresso machine. But it does make one heck of a good coffee drink. A whole lot different than drip or French press. I love it.And as for quality, we've had our's going on three years now and the only thing I've ever had to get from Capresso was o-rings and a tip for the frother. They even sent me a few free ones at first. Probably my only complaint, and a minor one, is that the frother o-rings and tips don't seem to be consistent in quality and wear out fairly quickly. On the other hand they're cheap also. The dual frother action works great, but some rings and tips allow milk back up the tube, making it harder to clean, and some do not. Truth be told, I don't really care because half the time I'm in too much of a hurry to make steamed milk, and just put the milk in the microwave. I warned you, I'm a coffee drink maker, not a purist.The three way valve on the Capresso makes it much easier to operate than any other inexpensive model I know of. The ones where you have to open the steam valve while the espresso is brewing (our daughter has one) are a real pain. Plus, with this machine you can put 4 shots of water in it, stop the flow after 2 shots (flow stops almost instantly), pour this off, and have "espresso" from a steam driven machine that hasn't been exposed to the main volume and heat of the steam. This results in a much less bitter drink, and you just toss the rest of the water away after running it through.As I said we love it, we love its product, and it's held up well.

I really like this little machine. Think of it as a personal espresso maker not a party machine. Sure you can make four demitasse cups of espresso but that is a small party. I use it for one large mug of capucino. I use an 11 oz mug and it makes just enough. I only wish the water container was a little bigger to steam more milk into foam. That's a personal preference. It definitely makes enough steamed milk and foam. I am very pleased with this machine.

For the price, this mini expresso machine is superb! Do NOT be fooled by the price - it is excellent. Every time I use it I feel like I am on holiday.

Being able to switch the steam to brew coffee or steam milk is great.