CASABREWS 20 Bar Coffee Machine

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An excellent little espresso maker! Brews great espresso and steamer works perfectly. Ran the rinse cycles as outlined in the instructions and found no issues with taste or smell. I had no previous experience with espresso machines and found this easy to set up and use. I love it's small size as I have limited counter space. The only thing I would change is that I wish the steam arm was slightly higher or that it raised a little further to get my cup under a bit easier.

I took a spent a long time looking for a decent espresso machine that would not break the bank. Most of the mainstream brands top out at 15 bar and this was one of the few that goes up to 20 bar. I also wanted a machine without any bells and whistles and it came down to this and the Smeg retro one: this being half the price, 20 bar and largely stainless steel meant it won out. So, first of all, I think this machine is excellent, especially at this price point. It does one thing well: heating up water and pumping it: either through the portafilter at pressure for coffee, or through the nozzle for hot water or steam. To do this it has a pump that apparently goes all the way up to 20 bar, which should be enough to make an espresso even through the finest espresso ground coffee. So far it's had no problem with the slightly courser, general-purpose ground I've been using and I'll update this review once my finer ground espresso I ordered arrives. The machine doesn't weigh a great deal, which is both good and bad: it means it's pretty easy to unpack and set up and, if you want to stash it in a cupboard, it would easy to move about. The light weight means you do have to hold it in place when inserting or removing the portafilter though, despite the suction feet it's equiped with. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning. Unlike a Nespresso pod machine, this does take a little experimenting to bond with, as you'll need to learn what the flashing lights mean, how to dispense water to lower the internal temperature after steaming, &c. I found it takes about thirty seconds from cold to initially heat up, during which time three lights on the front flash. Once up to temperature the lights all come on steady and it's ready to go. Changing to steam mode is almost instantaneous but you might reed to run the water to get the temperature back down for coffee again after steaming. The portafilter (handle bit you put the coffee in) comes with two inserts: one for a single- and a second for double-shots. I've primarily used the double-shot insert as I like my coffee quite strong and this one stays put in the holder even when dumping the grinds into the bin. The single-shot insert was quite loose however, and fell into the bin when tapping out the grounds, so I'll probably not use that one again. If you do need to swap them, there's a gash between the cradle and the portafliter you can use with a spoon or something to lever the insert out. The portafilter locks into place within the machine quite easily but, as mentioned, you'll need to hold the body of the machine in place as you lock it in as it's not heavy enough to stay put on the worktop. The machine also came with a plastic spoon and tamper. I actually bought a metal tamper at the same time so I've not used the plastic one, but it's good that the machine comes with everything you need (apart from coffee and water). The water tank is on the back of the machine and lifts off easily. This makes it really easy to fill up. It also has a dust flap on the top so that bits of bread and flies, &c. don't find their way in. The machine arrives with a red plug on the water tank you need to remove before first use but there are numerous stickers and notes in the manual about this. I found the water had a medicinal smell initially, so it's worth running a tank through the machine to clean out whatever sterilisation product they've used in manufacturing. The machine has two buttons for espresso: one for single- and another for double-shot. The only difference is the amount of water dispensed and, from the manual, it's possible to adjust both of these, so I'll probably reprogram the buttons so the single-shot button actually dispenses a long coffee instead. The espresso extraction is pretty uneventful: put your coffee in the cage in the portafilter, tamp it down, lock the portafilter into the machine, add a cup and hit the button to extract the coffee. There's an initial noise as the machine starts pumping but it's not that loud and it doesn't last very long. A few seconds later you have a cup of espresso with a nice crema. The dial on the front of this version of the machine shows you the pressure the machine got up to, so you can experiment with different grinds and tamping to get the perfect pressure. On the right side of the machine you can dispense hot water through the metal nozzle by using the tap on the side of the machine. The pipe and nozzle is pretty similar to those on professional machines and not one of the wider, straighter ones you get on other domestic machines. In use, I found you might get a mixture of water and steam initially (in water mode), but keep the tap running and you'll get steady hot water after a few seconds. If you keep a glass to hand you can catch the initial spluttering. Whilst dispensing the pump makes a rhythmic noise that is not massively loud but is not exactly quiet either. If you want steam to froth milk, pressing the steam button will cause the machine to heat the water hotter and I found it gets up to this hotter temperature for steam almost immediately. Dispensing in this mode you can catch the initial water in your glass before swapping out for your milk jug once it has stopped dribbling. The pipe is not massively long so you'll want a small 300ml jug if you're making single cups. Even then I have to put the spout by the pipe to get the depth I need to froth the milk initially. The steam frothing is excellent: it takes no time at all to froth the milk if you keep your jug slightly tilted and the nozzle right at the surface of the milk. I generally froth soya milk which it does very easily, but I've also made a few with cow milk too which is only marginally more difficult. You basically want to make a whirl on the surface of the liquid by having the wand near the edge and the jug tilted. Once it's frothed up enough you can put the nozzle further in and the milk heats up to the temperature you want: you can do all this just by keeping your left hand on the jug handle and your right hand under to sense the temperature, then your right hand is free to turn the steam off when you're done. After that I tend to dispense some steam to clean the wand, turn the steam mode back off and then dispense in water mode into my glass until the temperature has dropped back down and I get hot water again The machine has some overheat protections you should be aware of. I thought I had a malfunctioning machine after my fourth or fifth coffee when I ran out of water in the tank, because it refused to dispense coffee even after I refilled it, and all four buttons flashed instead. Even switching it off and back on did not resolve the problem. However I figured the machine had gone into some overheat mode after running out of water on the heating element, so I left it alone for a couple of minutes and it worked just fine again when I got back. So I assume there's a bimetallic strip or thermistor or something inside that won't let you use it if it gets over 100℃ until it's cooled back down again. Cleaning is a breeze: you can clean out the steam nozzle by running some hot water through it and wiping the outside with a damp cloth. Any crusted on milk comes off easily with light use of a scouring pad or microfibre cloth. The body being mostly stainless steel (only the bit around the dial between the top and front is chromed plastic) means this also cleans easily too. Drip tray slides out for easy emptying and the tray on top of this is stainless steel too. Looks wise the machine looks great on the countertop. It's not too wide, so doesn't take up too much room. The portafilter does stick out quite some way but you can take this off and store it on top if you need the workspace. Talking of the top, this is also a heated platform you can heat your cups on, but I find it much easier to just dispense some hot water into the cup to heat it up instead. It would have been nice to have had the choice of a wooden handle portafilter on this machine, but the plastic handle portafilter is completely understandable. I have wondered if the wooden handled ones available on Amazon are compatible. So all told I'm very happy with this machine. It makes a nice espresso and froths milk well whilst looking good on the countertop and not costing the earth. I've seen other reviews complaining about the espresso temperature but this is not something I've noticed. Edit: I've made about twenty coffees in this machine now and it's great. No complaints at all. One confusing point is the machine's behaviour when it runs out of water, which is explained in the manual. When it runs out of water the element may overheat. When you refill it you may get all lights flashing and the machine unresponsive. If that happens you're supposed to run the water (side knob) until the lights go out. Then it'll reheat and you'll be back in business. Edit: I've had this a couple of months now and it's still working perfectly. On the finer espresso ground coffee that I've switched over to it works perfectly. After a few weeks I started to wonder what the red bit of plastic in the drip tray was all about, and it took me an embarrassingly long time to work out what it was for!

Very solid machine for the price. I used to work for a high end coffee company, and I'm used to seeing high end La Marzoccho's. The one's we had were north of 10 grand. This is not 5 stars the way one of those would be. It also costs less to buy than the minimum service call charge on one of those. But for a home user who isn't on the bleeding edge of coffee culture - it close enough. At this price point, it gives up a couple of features. You might have to wait a few seconds when switching between brewing and steaming, because it's a single boiler. If those seconds are sufficiently precious to you, there are companies that will return them to you in exchange for an extra $400. I've never had to wait more than 5 seconds. Oh, it also has a time limit on how long continuously the steamer will run. Then it needs a couple seconds to catch it's breath and it good for another cycle. Don't remember how long it runs, but it's good foe steaming 22 oz off 33F milk to the point where it's hot but not scalding. If you need to steam a larger quantity, you can either wait a couple of seconds and hit the button again, or start making preps for the next shot you're going to need anyway for that Big Gulp latte you're making. It pulls a good shot out of the box, and I have not had to mess with the timing, but adjustments are available and the manual is clear about how to make them. It also has a reset function if you screw it up and need to start over. The water container for it is large enough that I have yet to have to refill it during the day. And I usually don't bother to checking before pulling the first shot of the day. Construction is solid. I mean, I haven't disassembled it or anything. But everything fits precisely - doesn't make unseemly noises, and it would look good on any countertop. No one is going to look at it and get the impression it's cheap. In fact, it's good looking enough that I down play it when ever anyone sees it for the first time. Don't want them thinking I suddenly inherited money or something. I picked this machine after spending a lot of time comparing features, reading reviews, and reflecting on priorities. I could have spent a lot more - but I don't know what else I could have expected. I could have spent a little less, but this looked like my best bet, and I think I won. I have flogged this machine hard. My wife drinks a lot of coffee - for medical reasons actually. I hear people raving about the endurance of machines they operate "at least once a week." I run this one probably 10 times a day average - granted it's only been a couple of months - but it's been utterly flawless. This is kind of a disposable appliance. At a hundred bucks, no one is sending it in for service, no repairman is going to make a house call. But I've probably pull more shots through it than most people pull in a year, without any issues at all, so I am well satisfied with the value.