Good machine, missing a few minor "perks"
Written: Jan 23 '05 (Updated Jan 25 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: An easy espresso maker, and a good coffee maker
Cons: Lacking clear cup markings on the carafe and reservoir, no auto-off, no timer
The Bottom Line: For the money, it's a good buy. If you have more $$ to spend, you might look in the next category up for more features.
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| mom4robert's Full Review: Krups Caffe Duomo 985-42 Espresso Machine & Coffee... |
We requested this machine as a Christmas gift, as a result of seeing the reviews here. So far, we're very pleased. Our goal in getting it was to have a way to make frothy specialty beverages every once and a while, which we have, and it does a great job in our opinion.
Neither my husband nor I have ever used an espresso machine before, and after nervously reviewing the directions a couple of times, we went for it, and presto! It worked! We were proud of ourselves. I had some flavored syrups on hand and we made some tasty lattes. We are very happy with the espresso side.
On the coffee side, which I use every day, I'm also pleased with the coffee output...very good coffee. My 3 complaints on this machine (as it compares to our previous, coffee-only machine) are a) it doesn't have any cup markings on the carafe, so when you're filling it with water, you're filling blind, b) the cup markings on the inside of the water reservoir are just raised, black on black, and you have to look at it at the proper angle to see to which line you're filling, and c) it doesn't have an auto shut-off feature. These are things I miss about my other coffee maker. I do miss the timer feature, too, but not as much as the aforementioned three.
Overall, I'd recommend it. However, if there was another machine out there with these features, I might have weighed them in if I knew then what I know now.
UPDATE: With regards to filling the coffee side...I've actually gotten pretty good at filling to almost the exact same spot on a daily basis -just a matter of getting used to it, I guess!
Also, I've been asked about cleaning the filter basket. It is a swing-out style basket that uses small cone filters, which are simple to remove and throw away. I recently removed the whole basket however, and it was quite easy, it just lifts straight up off a short pivot pole.
Lastly, it's interesting that I just posted this review a few days ago, and yesterday I used the espresso side for the first time in a few weeks, and had a major problem! In prior uses, I was just preparing enough for myself. This time, I was doing a 4-cup measure for myself and my mom. Well, the espresso only perked up to the 2-cup measure, and the frothing was quite lackluster. Not wanting to post this update without a follow up, I contacted Krups this am, and they were quite helpful. We concluded that either a) I did not properly secure the top to the reservoir or b) there might be a small clog building within the machine or the frothing arm. The rep gave me a simple cleaning regimen of vinegar and water, and I'll try that.
I suspect my problem was more operator error than anything. Like with most new appliances, you have to do a little dance with it until you find the sweet spot that works for you.
Cheers!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mom4robert
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Member: Debbie
Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Stay-at-home mom of one son, I enjoy crafts, knitting, scrapbooking, entertaining and cooking.
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