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I've owned and used this machine daily for 9 months now and thought I'd give a review as there are quite a few things I would have liked to know before buying my first espresso machine. I feel like it is beginner friendly, having enough settings to adjust and customize without being too overwhelmed. You can easily make cafe quality espresso at home.1. Making a great espresso shot takes a lot of trial and error. However once you dial in your settings it's quick and easy. Different roasts do require different settings. When starting out find a coffee you like and stick with it before branching out.2. Pre heat! This machine uses a thermojet which advertises espresso in 3 seconds.... While the water may be hot in 3 seconds the machine is not and you will notice if you turn the machine on and immediately pull a shot it will be sour and taste awful. I run 2 blank shots through an empty portafilter with the pressurized single shot disk walled basket to warm up the machine and parts so that the water temperature at the ground coffee is actually hot enough to make espresso. (I did buy a second portafilter so there isn't a delay from the blank shots heading the machine up to the espresso shot. it's a bottomless MHW 3Bomber 54mm in the video)3. Use a scale to get machine dialed in. I found the basket works best with 17-18grams of coffee in it. Find your ideal weight of espresso for both grinding time and brew time then save those times. Amount out and grind setting varies on type of bean. With the double shot, single walled basket that comes with the machine I found it needed longer extraction time 35-40 seconds compared to the bottomless one I purchased on Amazon. (That one seemed to line up better with all of the research I did of have an extraction time from 25-30 seconds)4. Regular maintenance is key. I run a descale cycle and group head clean once a month and clean out the grinder every two weeks, and change the water filter every 3 months. While this may be overkill, I have not had any issues grinding or making shots.5. Frother - the auto frother works very well! I haven't even felt the need to try it manually. I use 2% milk for lattes. If using oat milk use higher quality, higher fat content that is meant to be frothed.6. My only criticisms would be that you can't brew and froth at the same time(Machines that can are dual boilers which cost twice much. Those also require more time to warm up). The brew temperature settings range from -4 to +4. I would rather be able to adjust the actual temp not just more hot or less hot. Also I wasn't able to pull shots with similar extraction numbers from the "experts" online with the portafilter that came with the machine. Eg 18 grams ground coffee in that brews 36 grams espresso in 25-30 seconds. (That might just be me, but after I switched the portafilter my numbers lined up and the espresso was excellent(that's the only thing that matters))
