Built in coffee makers

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Okay, that's more than a coffee maker.

That's a superautomatic espresso maker with Saeco guts in it.

We are on our third Saeco free standing machine. What I am about to say may sound discouraging, but trust me when I say it: we LOVE these machines.

They are high maintenance. They are VERY high maintenance. They WILL fail if they are not descaled when the Descale * * NOW * * light comes on. If you screw up and the machine fails, repairs are *never* less than $300 and 3 weeks unless you are skillfully handy, not just ordinary handy. The good news is that they are, in fact, repairable.

I've actually seen that model and the guts can be removed from the chasis, so that's a plus as far as sending it off for repair. (Forget finding local service There are only a relatively few repair places in the US.)

The grounds need to be emptied every so many brews. I never counted, but I think we get maybe 10 or 15 cups between emptying. Water use is dependent on what you're making. An espresso still makes one puck of grounds, but an expresso uses waaaaay less water than does a big cup.

Are you sure that model is plumbed and not using a removable reservoir? Whatever you do, get a water filter option if it available.

By the way, apart from the cool factor, they make great coffee.

But they are VERY VERY V E R Y HIGH MAINTENANCE.

Oh, and did I say they're high maintenance.