it's not the fanciest looking machine but it makes an excellent expresso and you can vary the settings according to your taste, needs, and preference.
the very first shot right out of the box at the default settings was a thing of beauty and as good or better than my neighborhood shops with their experienced baristas and giant costly machines.
just love the coffee, and i'm having a great time experimenting with different beans, varying the settings, etc.
once you find the proper setting for each you'll be unlikely to change them.
*has knobs for both "grind" and "dosage" settings for beans in the hopper area, so taste is fairly customizable.
there is a setting to make iced coffee!
be careful when setting up - i did not read the instructions carefully :( and did not lock down before priming and almost broke the handle.
for coffee, put the cartridge in the holder, flip the locking lever down, and push the water selector to the hot setting.
3) it has no adjustable temperature setting (but the default is perfectly fine at about 192 degrees).
i love that there is no waste now and no coffee setting in the pot
of course, since it doesn't have a built-in cup warmer, that means you have to drink the coffee right away or it will get cold, so i wouldn't recommend setting it to brew and then going to take a
2nd it has a strong and regular brew setting.
if you use the highest heat setting you do have to wait a few minutes before drinking...
the only complaint is, i cannot use coffee that is ground on the "espresso" setting because it is too fine and the water cannot seep through.
i am grinding my espresso using the fine setting on my capresso infinity burr grinder and it will fit two full scoops into the larger filter.
however this has only one setting to make your coffee.
it never fails to produce crema, as long as we don't try packing the coffee down too hard; indeed, simply evenly distributing the ground coffee in the holder is enough, as long as you have found the
it does take some experimentation for the first few cups to achieve your desired brew/grind settings.
i recommend a good quality burr grinder also, like i have read in other reviews.go to the starbucks site (http://www.starbucks.com/flash/sirena/default.htm) and watch the videos on setting up & using
the machine then remembers that setting until you change it again.
(i have found it to work best on the double setting and with the double amount of grinds.) the steam wand has an adapter end that is meant to automatically incorporate air for frothing.
but when you find the right beans, grind setting, tamp pressure, quantity, and how to ride the thermostat, this machine will pull an excellent shot of creamy espresso.
no problem for my wife and i at one 'mug' a setting.
buy your coffee freshly ground at the coarsest setting and you will love the "clarity" of the coffee (less sediment & grounds) and the flavor is incomparable.
for the some strange reason, the clock didn't start working after setting it until i turned it to brew for the first time.
i was so tired of that burnt coffee smell and taste if the coffee sat for even just half an hour at the lowest heat setting on my last coffee maker.
that reminded me that this coffee maker could really use a battery back-up to keep settings intact.
i haven't used the programmable setting yet because as soon as i set the pot up for the morning my girlfriend decides she needs a pot for the night!
the timer is a very nice feature, as is the setting for 2-4 cups of coffee.
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