Hi, my name is Ian and Id like to relay my experience purchasing an espresso machine.
Ive been using an old Krups coffee machine - worth about $300 6 years ago. The machine was getting a bit long in the tooth, it had a minor leak and was taking about 6-8 minutes to heat a jug of milk. So, I decided to get a new machine.
Like all major purchases, I *always* do my homework. This was no exception.
Ideally the new device would be fully automatic. I dont have too much free time so I took this into consideration. A friend had a Krups XP7240. He loves it. I assumed he also loves his coffee. This seemed to be a worthy recommendation. I did some research on Coffee Snobs and someone asked about the Krups machine and true to CS style, it was shot down in a huge ball of flames. And fair enough too! CS is utilised by a bunch of coffee connoisseurs, not a bunch of weekend latte drinking yuppies. CS is hard core. And that s what I concluded. Hell, I dont think that any of the critisisers had even tried the machine. Plus, I have a friend who tells otherwise.
I reasoned that all I wanted was something to make me a quick coffee. I can drink blend 43, so I can drink anything this Krups shoots at me.
Off to the Good Guys Essendon I go...
To put it simply, I owned the fully automatic XP7240 for a good 24 hours before I returned it. From removing it from the box, it was disappointment after disappointment. Heres why:
• It doesnt support pre-ground. My wife cant drink caffeinated coffee so in order to prepare a coffee for her, I had to remove all of the beans and put hers in. This is something I was already aware of but it was still disappointing.
• It can only heat milk to a max 45 degrees! What the!?! To give (the tiniest amount of) credit, it can heat using the high froth Cappachino mode to 55 degrees :P. It was like drinking coffee flavored milk that had been left in the sun.
• It couldnt achieve a good crema.
• Its not as automatic as Id anticipated. It still requires a good amount of maintenance - particularly after running the milk under the steamer, which is understandable but it does slow the whole process down.
•And, it had some other less significant issues.
So, I called Krups Australia. After some very rude and patronising service, the support person came to the conclusion the unit was faulty. "Take it back" she said. I believed she was wrong. I believed it wasnt faulty, it was how it was.
I went back to the store, where I relayed this to sales girl. Long story short, I tested the instore demo machine with my trusty thermometer. That machine was only capable of doing 45 degree milk too. I got a refund and went on my merry way.
Time to do more homework...
I had previously eyed off both the Silvia and the EM9610. After reading some reviews, I decided on the EM9610 for a couple of reasons - one being that I dont yet have a grinder and am still using pre-ground coffee (dont hurt me please, its coming very soon).
And the result?
Absolutely Brilliant!!! I love it! Im fascinated by it. Now all I need to do is get a grinder and properly learn how to drive it
Seriously though, the EM9610 was the complete opposite experience to the XP7240. It was wow after wow. Im still amazed that a machine half the price of the XP7240 is capable of producing cafe quality coffee.
Just so Im clear here, Im not saying that other people wont appreciate the Krups XP7240. They must do as my friend does and according to the Good Guys, theyve never had a returned unit, so there are people who do appreciate it. I just know, if I had read a post like this before my initial purchase, Id have never made the purchase in the first place!
Ive been using an old Krups coffee machine - worth about $300 6 years ago. The machine was getting a bit long in the tooth, it had a minor leak and was taking about 6-8 minutes to heat a jug of milk. So, I decided to get a new machine.
Like all major purchases, I *always* do my homework. This was no exception.
Ideally the new device would be fully automatic. I dont have too much free time so I took this into consideration. A friend had a Krups XP7240. He loves it. I assumed he also loves his coffee. This seemed to be a worthy recommendation. I did some research on Coffee Snobs and someone asked about the Krups machine and true to CS style, it was shot down in a huge ball of flames. And fair enough too! CS is utilised by a bunch of coffee connoisseurs, not a bunch of weekend latte drinking yuppies. CS is hard core. And that s what I concluded. Hell, I dont think that any of the critisisers had even tried the machine. Plus, I have a friend who tells otherwise.
I reasoned that all I wanted was something to make me a quick coffee. I can drink blend 43, so I can drink anything this Krups shoots at me.
Off to the Good Guys Essendon I go...
To put it simply, I owned the fully automatic XP7240 for a good 24 hours before I returned it. From removing it from the box, it was disappointment after disappointment. Heres why:
• It doesnt support pre-ground. My wife cant drink caffeinated coffee so in order to prepare a coffee for her, I had to remove all of the beans and put hers in. This is something I was already aware of but it was still disappointing.
• It can only heat milk to a max 45 degrees! What the!?! To give (the tiniest amount of) credit, it can heat using the high froth Cappachino mode to 55 degrees :P. It was like drinking coffee flavored milk that had been left in the sun.
• It couldnt achieve a good crema.
• Its not as automatic as Id anticipated. It still requires a good amount of maintenance - particularly after running the milk under the steamer, which is understandable but it does slow the whole process down.
•And, it had some other less significant issues.
So, I called Krups Australia. After some very rude and patronising service, the support person came to the conclusion the unit was faulty. "Take it back" she said. I believed she was wrong. I believed it wasnt faulty, it was how it was.
I went back to the store, where I relayed this to sales girl. Long story short, I tested the instore demo machine with my trusty thermometer. That machine was only capable of doing 45 degree milk too. I got a refund and went on my merry way.
Time to do more homework...
I had previously eyed off both the Silvia and the EM9610. After reading some reviews, I decided on the EM9610 for a couple of reasons - one being that I dont yet have a grinder and am still using pre-ground coffee (dont hurt me please, its coming very soon).
And the result?
Absolutely Brilliant!!! I love it! Im fascinated by it. Now all I need to do is get a grinder and properly learn how to drive it

Seriously though, the EM9610 was the complete opposite experience to the XP7240. It was wow after wow. Im still amazed that a machine half the price of the XP7240 is capable of producing cafe quality coffee.
Just so Im clear here, Im not saying that other people wont appreciate the Krups XP7240. They must do as my friend does and according to the Good Guys, theyve never had a returned unit, so there are people who do appreciate it. I just know, if I had read a post like this before my initial purchase, Id have never made the purchase in the first place!

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