Gimmi Coffee NOW!
Written: Nov 19 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast, great tasting, flexible, easy to use, Ultimately cheaper than a daily Starbucks.
Cons: Big, Mostly plastic, Just over $500.
The Bottom Line: Coffee house quality in the time it takes to brush your teeth! Wait should I brush before or after? Hmmm...
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| ashmason's Full Review: Saeco Vienna SuperAutomatica Espresso Machine & Co... |
Intro
Why buy a fully automatic coffee machine? This is a question I had to answer both to myself and to my wife, and you may be asking the same thing.
Now back in England I was brought up with Instant Coffee, Nescafe to be exact and I enjoyed it. Then I moved to the US and bought myself a jar of American Nescafe, nothing like a familiar hot drink to settle the nerves and help you get moved in. Then I made a cup… and didn’t finish it, Ack… what is this stuff? Same label, same company, but definitely not the same taste. After trying various brands I can only conclude that it’s the same as Chocolate. Sure you can get a Mars bar here, and it looks, smells and feels like the same, but it’s not made the same way as the English one and tastes very different. Sigh….
So I spent copious amounts of cash at Starbucks. It used to be ok, but I noticed the quality has gone down hill and more often than not I get a very average coffee that’s certainly not worth the $3+ I pay. We do have a drip coffee machine that grinds and makes coffee on a timer, but we usually only clean it when we are ready to make more, and I have the nickname of Instant Ash, I can’t wait the twelve mins or so for it to brew, let alone the hassle of cleaning it first. Besides which I am usually running late and don’t have time anyway.
So the problem was to get a good cup of coffee with minimum fuss. I looked at an espresso machine soon after my discovery of nasty US Instant coffee, but that was back in 97, in fact I almost bought a Starbucks Barista, but they just seemed to be too much hassle. Fast forward to today and after monitoring the amount both my wife and I spend at coffee shops I was able to justify the high cost of one of the new super automatics. Even then I hemmed and hawed over it, then my friend (in England) got himself a Gaggia Syncrony and raved about how easy it all was. So I did my research, the model he got wasn’t available in the US but the Saeco Vienna Deluxe seemed to do the same thing. I went as far as putting it on my Amazon.com wish list. And there it sat until this month, when my wife finally bought it for my birthday.
My Coffee Tastes
I just want to post the caveat about my coffee tastes. Yes I do appreciate great coffee and will guzzle 100% Kona when I can, that said I also drink the filter coffee at work. It’s wet, warm and is the right color, and if you put enough sweetener and creamer in it, then it’s not half bad. I do have colleagues who refuse to drink it and bring there own in. So please bear this in mind when reading. A coffee connoisseur I am not.
Out of the Box
The thing arrived and had double sticky tape sealing it up. My first thought being it was an open box item. Not impressed. Then online it looks solid and nice, in reality as I lifted it out, it’s silver colored plastic that doesn’t feel all the sturdy. That’s one against it. Despite my misgivings about the packaging, all the instructions were in heat sealed bags, so maybe it was not a returned or open box unit after all.
The English instructions are somewhere in the middle of the booklet, and they refer to numbers that seem to belong to a diagram. Took me a while to figure out that this diagram was on a fold out flap inside the front cover, duh. That said it only has three buttons and two knobs and they are pretty clearly marked.
I followed the instructions, fill the water reservoir, Check. Put the beans in the hopper, Check. Prime the steam wand…er.. this is where I hit a snag. The instructions say to Press button 32 and turn the knob 14 until water comes out in a steady flow. I pressed button 32, and turned knob 14 and got a spit of water then the thing just clicked ominously. I read the instructions again, then re-read them, no change, still clicking.
Thinking back to the open box type packing you can imagine I was starting to feel bitter disappointment.
Still, I decided to soldier on and just make coffee and see what happened. The instructions say to place cup under nozzles, wait for light 2 to stop flashing, adjust quantity using knob 12 and press button 19 once for one shot and twice in succession for two shots. That’s it? Ok, the machine made some interesting noises then 30 seconds later produced a shot of espresso, cool! Now to try the steam wand again. Fill a jug with milk (forever the optimist) stick the wand in and turn the knob. No clicking now, it’s working…. YES. No, Wait the milk level is getting higher, though it is getting warmer. Yes folks button 32 selects hot water not steam. Ditch that milk and try again, ok, now it’s giving me steam. One large latte coming up.
Now for the taste test. Smooth…..
Usage
Ok so what can you actually do with this thing and how long does it take to make a coffee?
The Time Trial. It takes about 2 mins to heat up enough from a cold start before you can hit the gimmi coffee button, and another 30 seconds to grind, press and give you coffee. Not bad!
I don’t want Espresso, can I just get coffee?
Sure, dial in the amount of coffee you want, put a mug under the nozzles, hit the coffee button then top up to taste with hot water from the steam wand. Add milk and sugar as desired.
I ran out of milk, what does the espresso taste like? Ok so this isn’t a real question but let me say this, into a cold cup (Yes I know that’s a sin, so sue me) it tasted so smooth and good with one spoonful of cane sugar, that I had to have a second cup! Just like the little ones you get at street corners in France. Delicious, or should I say Tres Bien! I should also note that I was so wired nobody could understand me for almost two hours.
Size matters not! Not true, the one challenge we have is they damn thing won’t fit under the kitchen cabinets. It will just squeeze under if you take the coffee bean lid off, but then I have to drag the machine out every time I want to add coffee. Not good as every counter has cabinets above it. The long term solution will be a coffee cart or sideboard. Something to consider before buying, and this thing is not small either. Be sure you have a spot for it, check the dimensions first! Hindsight is always 20/20!
All complaints aside this is so easy, as I said there are three buttons. Power, Gimmi Coffee and Hot Water/Steam. A knob to adjust dispensed coffee quantity, and another to control the steam/hot water. There are two additional adjustment knobs in the coffee hopper, for grind and quantity. I just left it sat at the factory default, but it’s nice to know I can fiddle if I want to.
Cleaning the thing is a snap. Here the plastic is a bonus as nothing gets too got to touch and it all slides out easily. The grinds are automatically dropped into a draw, the front tray slides out and is easily cleaned, the front door opens and the whole automatic black box coffee producing unit comes out for simply. Very good design in this aspect I think. The machine itself will not work unless all these components are back in place which is good to know oh and the base has a built in swivel stand so you can spin it around easily without having to pick it up and move it, very accessible.
Other reviews note that the coffee grinder is loud. I don’t think it is, not compared to the chainsaw in our old Cuisinart! There will always be noise associated with grinding stuff though.
Finally, steam… I expected the thing to spit steam from every vent or crack and was worried about the finish on my kitchen cabinets. In reality it does not steam (except from the steam wand) and it doesn’t even get any more than warm to the touch. So it’s pretty safe to be around which is a good thing.
Conclusion
To wrap up then, it makes a great cup of coffee (in my Epinion anyway) it’s fast, I have no reason to go to Starbucks now, and it’s easy to clean. Bottom line if you want the coffee without the ritual, this is a great buy. I do have an open question about the durability, time will tell. Research shows that you have to spend twice the price for stainless steel or metal Super Automatic.
Oh and it impresses the heck out of your friends!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ashmason
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Member: Ashley Mason
Location: Torrance, California
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Arrrgh, I'm turning into an American!
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