Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It's been nearly 25 years since I got my first Espresso maker--a totally manual machine--and I've had quite a few machines since then. I hate to say what my current Jura Super-Automatic machine cost, but I can say that in all those years, I haven't been able to make an Espresso at home that was as good as I could get at a cafe. Well, except with my manual machine, but that was back when I was young, single, care-free and had time to pull a shot (and clean up the grounds, water and general mess afterwards). While my Jura machine makes excellent coffee, the Espresso just isn't satisfactory, regardless of the roast and grind (harsh, with thin, watery crema that dissipates in seconds). I had wanted to get a pod machine, but I've tasted a number of them and they just don't hack it. Keurig, as well as most of the pod machines, don't really make Espresso, just a small cup of strong, pressure-brewed coffee, rather like my Jura machine. Except for the Nespresso machines (which are too messy and time-consuming for me), none of them brew with adequate pressure or temperature to make a true Espresso. I was skeptical of the Verismo when I first saw it, but the local Starbucks was giving demonstrations and free samples, so I thought I'd try it and this is definitely The Real Deal. The Espresso is hot, rich, full-bodied and mellow--even the dark roast. Although it doesn't quite produce the thick, dense crema of the best Espresso I've had, it is far superior to anything else out there I've tried and considering how simple and easy it is, I've got no real complaints. I also disagree with the people who think the milk pods taste bad. I've used them for making lattes and hot cocoa and find them quite good and natural tasting (far more natural tasting than any other pod machine "milk"-based beverages). I actually find them a little rich tasting and so I run a little more water through the milk pod when frothing (which actually makes it frothier). I wonder if people are frothing the milk using the "coffee" button rather than the "milk" button, which will burn the milk, as the coffee is brewed at a higher temperature. After brewing an Espresso, you can manually run the water through an espresso pod for a few seconds longer and get a good long shot (the higher end Verismo machine can do a long shot automatically). I would say the low-end machine is a bit overpriced, while the high-end machine is quite overpriced, but like buying an Apple product, you are paying for the name as well as a better product. I've had no problems with leaking or noise. It heats up incredibly fast, it takes up little space on a countertop and is easy and quick to clean up. The mechanism is shockingly simple compared to the other pod machines--no motorized or automatic dispenser, just a big lever you pull to drive the coffee pod into the brewing chamber. If you move the lever too hard and fast, or bobble the lever while moving it, the pod will not seat properly and will fall through into the dump bin (you can easily retrieve it for re-use, as it's obvious when a pod has already been used). It would be nice if there was a low-water-level indicator, as there is on the higher-end machine and it's surprising to me that even the higher-end machine doesn't have some sort of automatic mechanism to load the pod, either motorized or spring-loaded, to avoid pod seating problems, especially considering the price. All in all, though, it makes great Espresso with little effort at a reasonable price and that makes it easy to overlook the minor annoyances. Just an update: If your machine is truly leaking water, i.e., water is coming out somewhere other than the spout or ends up anywhere other than in the drip tray, then your machine is defective and you should exchange it. Either the pump/hose has a leak or the seal around the pod is bad. My machine has no "leaks" whatsoever after several weeks and hundreds of espressos. Not a drop of liquid anywhere other than in the cup or the drip tray. If people are talking about "leaks" in reference to liquid in the drip tray, that is normal. Any liquid that drips from the spout without a cup under it ends up in the drip tray and any liquid left in the pod/chamber when the pod is ejected ends up in the drip tray. This is an inherent side-effect of having a collection container for the used pods inside the machine, rather than requiring you to empty the used pod with each brew. It is true of all superautomatic coffee makers, for example, which are even messier to clean up, as you have to deal with loose grounds as well. I dump out the spent pods and empty the drip tray once a day--takes me maybe a minute and there is no mess (I do keep the machine next to the sink, though, so I don't have to carry the water reservoir around and spill water). As far as the pod continuing to drip coffee after brewing, all you have to do is eject the pod before you remove your cup and the dripping stops immediately (of course the pod will then leak into the drip tray, but that's what the drip tray is for). Believe me, I am not some sort of Starbucks fanboy--I rarely go there unless I want an espresso and it's on my way, as I can make great coffee at home with my Jura machine (better than Starbucks, IMHO), but I am totally satisfied with the Verismo and it's ability to make Espresso. Another update: I've had this product for many months now and have made many hundreds of Espressos. IMHO there is no better home machine for Espresso than this, other than manually pulling your own shots. None of the other cup-at-a-time machines even come close other than Nespresso and this is better and easier. Just to clear up some misunderstandings that seem to be around: 1. Starbucks didn't invent this machine, it's a slightly modified version of the Swiss K-fee machine popular in Europe and Australia, replacing the bottom "Rinse" button with the "Milk" button to reconstitute the milk pods at a lower temperature than for brewing coffee. Starbucks' contribution was their clever method of manipulating temperature and pressure to allow you to brew coffee, produce espresso and steam milk with one machine (as well as fine tuning the system to match Starbuck's "flavor profiles". 2. If your machine leaks, it's defective--return it. No liquid should go anywhere other than in your cup or the drip tray. You must empty the drip tray before it overflows, but other than at parties, I've never had to do that more than once a day. I have absolutely no issues with liquid clean-up--not one drop. 3. As explained in the manual, when you turn the machine on, you must run a rinse cycle, which is why only the top button lights when you first turn it on. This is a good thing. It cleans the machine out and warms your cup. It adds maybe 10 seconds to making your first cup of coffee. I also routinely run a dummy cycle without a pod to warm cups that just came out of the cupboard--it works great in the winter when my cups have been sitting in the cold cupboard overnight. 4. As explained in the manual, you can turn the machine off manually by pressing and holding the power button until it turns off (about 5 seconds). 5. I've used the milk pods to make lattes and hot cocoas for dozens of people and no one ever complained about the milk--even when I prompted them and asked them if the milk tasted funny (I don't think it tastes funny, I think it pretty much tastes just like frothed 2% milk). To me, the best lattes are made by running the milk cycle a few extra seconds (which produces a larger serving, makes the milk taste a little less rich and froths it more), then brewing two espresso pods into the frothed milk. Like I said, no complaints, only compliments from dozens of people I've served at parties. 6. Although it took me a day or two to get the hang of closing the lever consistently with no mis-feeding of the pods, I haven't misfed a pod in months. I think maybe people make the mistake of trying to do it too slowly and carefully once they are sensitized to the issue, which is not a good approach. Or else they try to slam it home, thinking it takes a lot of force. It takes a smooth, natural motion, not too fast, not too slow. I honestly have no problems with it at all now, although it's certainly an aspect of the product that could be improved. Six Month update (May 2013): I still love it. I use it several times a day, every day. No leaks, hardly ever misfeed a pod any more, easy to use, easy to clean--no issues. I see a number of people complaining about having to rinse the machine so often--I must have glossed over that part of the manual. All I ever do is rinse the machine whenever I turn it on (unavoidable, as it will only allow you to run a rinse cycle when first turned on) and once before shutting it off for the night. Although I will typically run a dummy cycle in order to warm a cup up before brewing, if the cup is already warm, I don't bother. I never rinse the machine between brews. If I make a latte, I follow the instructions and brew the milk first, then brew the espresso into the milk. When I do this, I never have residual milk getting into the next shot. Interestingly, I just got a call from Starbucks to participate in a Verismo survey. This was a real survey, not one where they just get the answers they want by limiting the questions they ask and the responses you can give. They asked questions about how it operated, how it tasted, the noise level, the price, any problems with the machine, and they listened to my feedback (we actually discussed ways to eliminate the pod-loading issue!). Even though I don't have problems with pod-loading any longer, it's still a less-than-professional aspect of the machine. Hopefully this means Starbucks will eventually introduce a cheaper machine with an automatic loading system and low water indicator. Either that or they'll just give up on it--although I hope not! (2014 and another update.) I was looking for more variety, so I got a Nespresso "U" D50 pod machine to try out. There's a lot to like about this machine compared to the Versimo: It's smaller than the Verismo and allows you to position the water tank in back or to multiple positions on either side for easiest access. The water tank is very easy to remove/replace and has a lid to prevent spills. It warns you when you are running out of water or if the used pod container is full. It automatically loads and ejects the pods, so there are no jamming or "fall through" problems. You can reprogram the amount brewed for the different cup sizes It has all of these clever magnetic catches that hold the water tank and cup rest in different spots and hold the used pod container/drip tray in place. On the downside: If you think the Verismo is noisy... Although the pump noise is a bit quieter than the Verismo, it is more high-pitched and shrill, so more annoying to my ears. The pods make a loud noise when they fall into the used pod container (possibly due to Nespresso using aluminum rather than plastic pods) Honestly, the Versimo noise doesn't bother me at all, but the D50 noises are more harsh. There's a fair amount of waste water. After brewing 4 Espressos, the drip tray was pretty full. I might be wrong, but it seems to me the drip tray would overflow before the used pod container was full. But perhaps I should have put this first--the simple fact of the matter is, none of the Espressos I've tried yet (the D50 came with 16 different samples) were anywhere near as good as the Espresso from the Verismo. They have all been less mellow with thinner crema. The saving grace might be that, unlike the Verismo, there are user-fillable pods available for the Nespresso machines, so I'm going to experiment with my own coffees. The primary reason I'm doing this is to try to get to a much lower acid Espresso than the Versimo (Kona, maybe), but I was disappointed the Nespresso pods have been off the mark so far. I'm also starting to enjoy the Versimo Chai pods...