A really excellent espresso machine for home use
I have used Krups espresso machines for over 25 years. This is my third Krups and it is stunningly superior to the previous models I used. (The last one lasted 18 years and was still in usable condition when I upgraded to the XP5280.) The taste of the espresso made by the XP5280 is vastly superior to that produced by the previous Krups model I owned, and to the espresso made by other brands of machine that my friends own. The coffee also arrives in the cup with a wonderfully thick crema. The taste is, I'm guessing, a result of the way the machine carefully controls the water temperature and way the pump and the head work together to control rate of flow of hot water through the coffee grains, in combination with the effectiveness of the auto-tamping mechanism. The auto-tamping is a great feature. (With my prior machine I was lazy about tamping and somewhat deterred from doing it properly by the way the pump seemed to be 'laboring' when I over-tamped.) The auto-tamp gets the...
Works well after 4 months
I purchased this machine at the recommendation of a knowledgeable salesperson at a local cooking store called Great News (Pacific Beach). I really liked the programmable feature, after returning a different model that did not have the preset for espresso pour duration. I also like the "precise tamp" feature as it saves a step and works well. I find that by using a Cuisinart Conical Burr grinder to freshly grind the beans(I use illy beans exclusively), and by following the directions for proper priming(1st use), cleaning, and operation - the resulting espresso and latte drinks are excellent. It consistently turns out great tasting espresso with generous amounts of "crema", and steams milk well(I recommend getting an instant read thermometer for steamed milk which indicates proper heating temerature between 150 and 170 degrees - mine is from a company called CDN). One minor issue is the steam nozzle. Mine did break after about 4 months - one of the clips that hold the nozzle to the...
Great if you only want to make one cup
Being fairly new to Espresso machines I researched reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, and decided on a Krups XP5280. Too bad, no review ever mentioned the fact that, and this was confirmed to me by Krups Customer Service, you need to wait at least 15 minutes between successive cups of espresso, even longer if you used the steam wand! If you don't wait this long the water is diverted to the drip tray instead of the filter holder. WHAT!! Before this was confirmed by Krups itself I could only think I had a defective unit. Upon hearing that this is "normal", I promptly returned it to the seller, of course at my own expense. I didn't like that the machine couldn't be used under cabinets that don't give you enough space to fully pull out the reservoir which needs to be pulled out upwards. But I did like the Krups automatic tamping, the set amount (programmable) amount of espresso delivered, and the puck ejector in the filter holder. I only wished someone had mentioned in a review the problem...
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