Mr. CoffeeProgrammable Espresso & Cappuccino Machine with Automatic Milk Frother & 19-Bar Pump, Stainless Steel

Some context. Started with and cut my teeth on a Gaggia Classic years ago. Still have it. Did various stovetop espresso thingies too, my missus did a variety of pour overs other thingies, and 2 years ago sprang for a Gaggia Brera.So, ok. Definitely learned all along the way. Had hoped the Gaggia Brera would be a nice semi auto experience. It kind of was, until it wasn’t. It just dwindled into unusable pretty quickly. We both found ourselves becoming disinterested in the espresso experience. Wasn’t keen on going to another machine, preferring a hand press espresso, but thought why not give another espresso maker a go, mainly for my missus.Enter Mr Coffee.From the start, it has been GREAT. It took one test drive double shot to then redial to a successful grind. And have to say, I am impressed. Of all my experiences with various machines, Mr Coffee produces the most crema hands down. Began with some older beans just to get started and by crackie, Mr Coffee extracted some very nice flavor and crema from the very first.Quite surprised. But then I wasn’t when I found how easy it is to navigate the various functions. And when I made my sweetie’s first coffee drink, I didn’t ask but she remarked, “this machine definitely extracts more flavor than any other machine we’ve had.” And she’s right.As said, easy and intuitive to navigate. The setup is intuitive. Even the power switch on the side, thank you Mr Coffee. Every other machine we’ve had the switch has been inconveniently in back. The milk and water reservoirs works well too. Nicely placed. Every function, from shots to cappuccinos to lattes that we dialed up came out like really nice, balanced, and at the core of it is… I am really impressed with the shots that we are producing. No machine, including the various Gaggias I have had in the past, did what this little guy is doing.Hands down this is outproducing, outperforming, anything we’ve had in the past 2 decades. To cut to the chase, I love the shots we are pulling. Across several beans now. So happy because we're into a whole new experience. Reinvigorated.It inspires me to get cracking on roasting several bean types now. Had become quite proficient on roasting and I have no doubt this Mr Coffee is going to elevate the experience. All the other machines and devices we’ve had.. home roasting definitely elevated the experience. But we never felt we were attaining the full experience. But there is no question from what I have seen so far, Mr Coffee is going to do a better job than anything else we’ve had. Am looking very much forward to new roasts now.So yeah… am now a fan boy of Mr Coffee. But for good reason. As said, was able to dial in a grind very quickly and from the start, the pulls have been pleasing, producing more full body experience than anything before, and this includes appearance. Beautiful depth-y crema.. surpasses anything we’ve had before.Oh, may as well add... I read many reviews and am always amused when some are stark smack downs on this and that machine out performs, out produces, that and this other machine. Having worked with some wonderful high end and highly touted machines... I find little difference in the espressos thus far and in many cases, Mr Coffee is simply doing a better job at just a straight up single or double espresso.A+++ to Mr Coffee. I was very surprised until I am not any more. Love the machine and experience. X'd finger that the build is substantial enough to last awhile. That would be the berries if yes.. we get some mileage from it.

Decided to replace my 4 year old Mr. Coffee Café Barista with this new model after a part it needed was out of stock. This review is only in comparison with the Café Barista mode. Have been using the new one for about a week now. Overall, the operations of the two machines are almost identical.Pros over Café Barista- Looks better, more modern, and more "upscale."- 19 bar brewing instead of 15 bar in the older model- Coffee filter plate can now be separated and thoroughly clean/clear. In the older model, eventually the filter will get clogged with no way to clear/clean.- Less drip after espresso cycle. The new model only takes about 5-10 seconds after the cycle completed for the coffee to stop dripping. The old one took minutes. The result is that I haven't had to clean the drip collection tray yet.- Water tank and level are more visible. I ran the older model dry so many times because I did not notice that the water tank was empty.- The new model is able to produce a lot more steam.- Six buttons instead of three. Easier to use.- All parts seem to fit more tightly together.Cons- Two hands are needed to twist in and out the porta-filter since the parts now fit more tightly. I could only use one hand on the old model.- Milk tank is deeper so need to use a bottle brush to clean.- The froth tube can no longer be separated.- It now takes a bit more effort to slide in and out the milk tank.- No parts available yet on the Mr. Coffee web site.Some other changes- On the Café Barista, I had to turn the froth knob all the way to get my preferred level of froth. Now I only turn it halfway as the new model can produce more steam.- My usual espresso beans now taste weaker. It may be because of the different milk/froth mixture, less drip, higher pressure brew, or that my old machine was about to die. Not really sure as I am not a coffee connoisseur but the same drinks made from the two machine taste different.

This coffee maker does a pretty good job, and makes a pretty good cup, and is easy to use. The problem I'm having (and I haven't even had this a month yet) is that the milk container constantly smells sour. I clean it out with steam after every use, and hand wash it ever time it empties, but I still can't get rid of the smell.Update 7/26/21:I ordered this coffee maker on December 10th, so it's been about 6 months. The frother barely works, it doesn't foam at all. I am trying to see if the company will replace the frother part, but they are wanting me to ship the entire thing back to them, which is just ridiculous for a simple part replacement. I run the frother cleaning cycle every time I use it, and also disassemble and wash the frother every week.And then there's the worry of... If I get a new part, is it just going to do this in another six months?Update 7/27/21:They're still insisting I send the entire unit back to them to find the defect, and they wont just send me a new carafe frother thing. Trying to see if they will send me a new unit, then I can send mine back in the same box, but I am not optimistic that they will do this. They said it is not a common issue, but I've seen multiple reviews mention the issue I'm having, so.... Pretty disappointing for a $300 machine.Update 10/21/21:If I could give this thing 0 stars, I would. After only 2 months, this machine is failing again, and I'm back to fighting with customer service.BUY SOMETHING ELSE! Seriously. Don't waste your time with this machine!