Illy X7.1 Espresso Single-Serve Machine, Barista Quality Espresso Machine for iperEspresso capsules with Milk Frother Steam Wand (Black)

I really like this product. Using the new capsules makes for no mess at all.The machine is ready in minutes and if you want a quick espresso its so so simple.I tend to pull a couple of shots before switching to the steam function for foaming the milk.It gets up to temperature pretty quickly. I find it takes a good 2 mins to get the milk up to the right temp.It makes good foam and I can make better drinks at home than places like starbucks.It doesn't beat the coffee shops I frequent but then it wont. A decent coffee house that uses $14,000 machines, good grinders, excellent beans and knowledgeable barristas will win everytime.But for that quick fix at home its great.Its a small unit and it looks great on my kitchen counter. People comment on how it looks all the time. It looks more expensive than it is.My first recommendation is that if you want to switch back to pulling a shot after steaming milk do not just press the cup button else it will take a while to cool down to the temp needed to pull a shot.Instead press the cup button and immediately press the steamer button. This will expell hot steam through the wand and cool down faster. I dont think this is noted in the booklet but its a great feature.Another recommendation is that you clean the wand right after steaming the milk. Its best to keep that as clean as possible and is easier to clean right after its been used than later on when its all sticky and clogged.All in all a great machine for the money. Totally recommended and believe me I am a coffee snob and will only drink great coffee.

When turned on, the machine takes some time to heat -- and then goes straight into a red blip mode under the ! logo. What is odd is that all instructions are followed by the book. It's not like you have many options on what to do when starting the machine. So you switch on and off and restart anywhere between 3 to 7 times to actually get it into the blue mode in the central big button - which is ready for coffee. VERY disappointing and time consuming. The defect was clear and the process to get the machine replaced was awful: slow, confusing, repetitive and frankly below standards. But the coffee is good, when it gets out.

Simple to use with perfect espresso draws every time. The capsule system works great and reduces the hassle of using ground espresso. This does come at the expense of less control over the brewing and less selection of individual coffees that you have using ground espresso and possibly increased cost per cup. Then again in a side by side comparison the pod machine did as well or better then the ground espresso unit and was more consistent and less messy. Also tried the Nespresso system which was nice and offered more coffee capsule options, but the Illy machine produced better tasting espresso despite trying different coffee types in the Nesptesso unit. Also the Illy machine produced espresso that was identical to the draws from the ground espresso machine which wasn’t the case with the Nespresso unit. The milk frother works great and clean up is a breeze. The machine is well made for the price and doesn’t take up much counter space. Unless you are OCD about your espresso this is a great way to go.

So the machine itself is very simple and easy to use. Only complaints are the water compartment is hard to remove to refill, I wish you could just open a compartment to add more water. Also it doesn’t seem to pull the shot as hot as I would want. Lastly the steam wand doesn’t have enough power in my opinion, I would prefer a normal steam wand not panarello. Overall for the price this is a great machine for a casual espresso drinker or first machine.The iperespresso pods are expensive but make it simple to make espresso at home.

While coffee snobs are probably scoffing at this little beauty you need to remember two things: first, they paid thousands of dollars for their equipment that they spend hours of their life roasting and grinding beans for, and two, when they finally fire up their espresso machine to make a cup there's a huge mess to clean up.I'm more than happy to trade off a smidge of authenticity, a smidge of freshness and a smidge of higher quality bean for the simple fact that I can turn this baby on and have an incredibly tasty shot of espresso in my hands in about 60 seconds - and that includes the amount of time it takes to throw away the pod. And yes, it's uber tasty. All this has done is create problems with my wife, though, because I've become an espresso fiend. It's so easy and quick that I find myself spending all of my free time drinking these beautiful little blasts of bitter coffee goodness instead of doing chores around the house. And don't even get me started on a shot of dark roast topped with frothed whole milk that is fresh from the farm a few miles up the valley from my house... If that isn't the perfect breakfast I don't know what is. There's a Tim Hortons about a two minute drive from me and I haven't visited it once since this wonderful little angel was set down on my countertop, so I guess one other negative is that it's hurting the local economy.

These machines don't get enough love. They have become an indispensable part of my routine. 4 yrs since I first started using x7.1 and iperpresso capsules, I have settled in with the espresso blend that I love. It's a no frills machine that served me well.Last month the water tank sprung a leak at the bottom. That's one piece of the design they should consider changing. You slide the tank in every time, so it was only a matter of time that this would happen. Either a thicker base or a better mechanism to prevent the slide-in design would do the trick. The tank's material is also not resistant to algae, so you should clean it in soap regularly.Still giving it a 5-start because it's been used extensively for 4 yrs and after returning to a Keurig for few days, I just realized that I need my Espresso more than I could imagine. I am ordering a water tank replacement and will post whether that fixed the issue.