Oh come on, it's not that bad... Here's some things to consider
First... I'm not an employee of Espressione...
I've read many reviews on this item, most of them, not very positive. I thought I would add my 2 cents as I have had this machine for a little over 2 months.
Let's start with day 1. Dead on Arrival. Bummer. Well, it was easy enough to return to the place I purchased (Sams). They sent me a new one within 3 days, and I was excited to get started. Before you buy this machine, make sure you make this checklist:
1. I have a decent conical burr grinder ( )
2. I am aware that I need to buy fresh beans to get real crema ( )
3. I have a decent tamper in the 58mm variety ( )
4. I am not a total espresso geek, but I have owned a cheap machine or two ( )
5. I never pay retail for espresso machines ( )
If you've checked most of these, feel free to continue, if you haven't, don't buy this machine. It's not for you. If you're an uber espresso geek, go buy your PID'd Rancilio...
A REAL Review - Far from Perfection
I needed to add this review after I purchased this product and reread the reviews that helped me make the decision to buy. It is now obvious to me that these were paid reviews. A few of them appear in exact or similar wording on several websites.
This is a nice looking machine but out of the box we were disappointed with the quality of most of the parts. The drip tray is a very thin metal and even worse are the plastic levers and steam wand. It does come with a quality portafilter and we did really like the temp gauge on the top as well as the slick blue lights.
If you have a good grinder, the espresso this machine produces is decent with some crema, but the bigger problem is the steam wand. It only moves forward and back, and is very short - you will either be holding the pitcher throughout steaming or you will need to stack something under your pitcher which is always likely to spill (and isn't all of this fiddling and rigging one of the reasons you wanted...
Actually works quite well.
It looks absolutely great, but that's not why you spend $400-500 for an espresso machine. This is my first machine at this level, so I'm not a complete expert, but I do know a good shot when I drink it. It took me some time to get used to it. The portafilter needs some serious muscle to tighten. I use the rail on top to provide leverage and it has actually gotten easier with time. The most important thing to know about the Novecento is that it has a powerful pump, so you have to use a fine grind and tamp REALLY hard. I bought a 58mm metal tamper Rattleware 58-Milimeter Round-Handled Tamper, Long and it made all the difference. The plastic one provided is almost useless. Properly ground and tamped, the espresso is excellent with plenty of crema. It takes a couple minutes to go from brewing temp up to steaming temp. The steam wand is close to the body and does not allow for a lot of room to maneuver the milk...
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