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More on this product: Features | Accessories | Similiar Products | Editorial Review | Description
Customer Reviews of Saeco A-SPV-BK Spidem Villa Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Black
Customer Rating:  Summary: great product, great vendor Comment: The machine works great. The vendor sent it on time with free shipping. I LOVE free shipping! Customer Rating:  Summary: Quite the workhorse - Amazing value Comment: My university had the Concordia 2500i (approx. $15k per unit - light commercial, really) in various locations, which started my super-automatic obsession. I very nearly bought that unit for myself when I found it on liquidation for $5k, but decided that the sheer size of that unit would not be feasible in a household (about 3'x2'x2'). So, I settled on the Jura-Capresso F9, a slick-looking chrome-plated super-automatic for $1800. The coffee was great, not quite as good as the $15k commercial machine, but infinitely better than regular pre-ground drip brewed. Realizing I spent nearly as much time at work than I do at home, I decided to purchase a super-automatic unit for my office as well...the drip-brewed coffee in the kitchen was simply unacceptable! Knowing that with 100 other people roaming around the building it would probably get abused a bit, I decided on the Spidem Villa machine purely due to price--I paid about $350 for it on sale. I figured at a fifth of the price of the Capresso, if it was destroyed in a few months, no big deal and lesson learned. After 6 months, this machine has proved to be a pretty amazing addition to such an environment. The good: *At first I thought so much plastic was a little awkward, but it has made cleaning a snap--it's so simple to just pull all of the pieces out, rinse off in the sink, and put it back together. With all of the use this machine gets, easy cleanup is a must. *Has knobs for both "grind" and "dosage" settings for beans in the hopper area, so taste is fairly customizable. *Coffee is excellent. I would rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, the coffee produced of the following machines: Concordia: 9 Capresso F9: 8 Spidem Villa: 7 Cuisenart Grind 'n Brew: 4 Standard drip coffee maker w/ Folgers: 1 *And, in my opinion, the BEST feature is the removable brewing block. The entire bottom portion of the front (below the line you see just above the "Villa" wording) swings open to reveal the inside, and the brewing block has a handle to pull it out with. It's sturdy, and I've had no problems simply rinsing the whole block in the sink under running water. This makes cleanup after semi-oily beans feasible (which makes using cheaper, semi-oily beans feasible - try the 3-lb bags of Starbucks French Roast from Costco for $20). This is MUCH simpler than my F9 unit, which is completely closed and self-contained, cannot handle any oil on beans whatsoever (I generally use Illy for that at $28/lb), and requires expensive cleaning tablets and auto-cleaning cycles that take 20 minutes. *I never turn the unit off - seems to work just as well, and is always ready to make a cup of coffee. *Has made 1 to 2 dozen cups of coffee a day for about 6 months and shows no signs of slowing down. *Very simple to use. The F9 has 17 buttons, and each button seems to do a dozen different things. This unit has 3 buttons and 4 knobs, and all have a specific purpose. Some might say "lack of functionality", but that was exactly what I was looking for. Makes espresso, coffee, and steams milk. The knob on the front to change the quantity of coffee made is especially convenient (ranges from about 1 oz for espresso to 8 oz for a full cup of coffee). To use just turn the knob to the desired quantity of water and press the button - that's it. Bad: *No warning for running out of water in the reservoir. The F9 won't make coffee without water, and this one will just continue, run dry and make awful noises. It is difficult to see how much water remains without lifting up the lid since the reservoir is in the back of the unit. *Errors - for the utter lack of functionality this unit has numerous things that can go wrong, and all errors are denoted by the same red blinking light, whether it has run out of water, run out of beans, has the drip tray not properly seated (this happens a lot - have to push the tray in all the way), unit not "primed" (simply requires turning the hot water/steam knob on the right side to get hot water running through the unit), etc. *The "puck drawer" where used grounds are disposed of is not designed very well. Pucks will be dumped into the drawer, and if not dumped regularly, will exceed the height of the drawer so that when it is pulled out any grounds higher than the walls of the drawer are swiped off into the inside of the unit. This will happen after even 6 or 7 pucks are dumped (since they're all dumped on top of each other on one side of the drawer and stack up) which requires a lot of cleaning and brushing to get all of the grounds back out. Dump the puck drawer often! I hope this info helps. I found buying my first super-automatic a very frustrating experience with so many brands, models and price points and not knowing where to begin. If price isn't an issue, go with a nice Capresso - they're very slick looking and make excellent coffee. Go to Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table where you can test the various models first. If you're just entering the super-automatic market and want to try something more reasonably priced, this is an awesome machine to start with. If you already recognize the taste difference between pre-ground Folgers and a Cuisenart Grind 'n Brew, I would 100% absolutely recommend saving up the little extra money for this machine in lieu of the grind 'n brew models. Customer Rating: Summary: Awesome Cup of Espresso Comment: A friend of mine had a Spidem Espresso machine and when he made me a cup of coffee from his machine, I just knew I had to have one. Easy to set up, easy to use. Had to tweak the grinder a bit to get the coffee to come out with a nice crema. (I'm using the Lavazza Super Crema bean.) But once I got it right, that was it. The coffee is uniform, tamped just right and you could be a complete novice (like myself) and make cafe' quality coffee. It's a neat machine, specifically, the grinds end up in a side compartment instead of all over the counter, just pull it out and dump it in the garbage. Wash out the drip tray under the kitchen sink, wipe it down and you're ready to go again. Love this machine ! You will too. Customer Rating: Summary: Great machine for the price Comment: After returning from my first trip to Europe and falling in love with the way they do coffee (espresso, cafe lungo, etc), I was determined to have the same coffee experience at home. I chose this model because it has most of the features I wanted and the price was in my budget. Just love the coffee, and I'm having a great time experimenting with different beans, varying the settings, etc. I have become a coffee snob, and will pass up a stop for coffee on the road, just to get home and savor a cup from this machine. The only thing I would really have preferred is a stainless steel model since they look so nice, but I'll live. Customer Rating: Summary: FANTASTIC!! Comment: Absolutely love it! Fresh coffee almost immediately with practically no clean-up! Just what I was looking for. More Reviews Enter into the world of the Saeco Primea Cappuccino. You will be captivated by its unique design and refinement, its advanced technology and functionality, and its practical ease of use. Thanks to the exclusive integrated Cappuccinatore, Primea models are the first to be capable of preparing two cappuccinos or two latte macchiatos at the same time. The new Saeco Primea Cappuccino line offers to any connoisseur the very best in technology, design, and of course, taste. 
Choosing Appliance -> Whip / Whisk Many still consider a whip as a "gourmet" piece of kitchen equipment. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is as essential as a kitchen stove and should be in everyone's kitchen. Nothing works better for mixing a multitude of different preparations or for making sauces or gravy. Buy a solid stainless steel whip with moderately stiff wires. Very thin wires are for mixing delicate things like egg whites or whipped cream. Very thick, solid wires are for mixing stiff dough. Choosing Appliance -> Do I need a dishwasher? If you enjoy washing by hand, no! However modern machines use less water, detergent and power than ever before and wash hotter using really powerful cleaners giving a hygienic wash result. You can save around 500 hours a year so it is worth thinking about. If you have a small kitchen or live alone, choose a slimline model. Saeco A-SPV-BK Spidem Villa Super-Automatic Espresso Machine, Black
Tips How to Maintain Appliance -> Granite Care Materials NOT to be used on Granite:
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