Casabrews Ultra Espresso Machine, Stainless Steel, 20 Bar, LCD & PID Control, Espresso & Coffee Maker, Electric Cafetera

Takes about a week to dial everything in, recommend getting the bottomless portafilter. 18g coffee of choice on the finest grind setting atleast for my grinder. then manually set the brew time and stop it at 36g out it'll drip about an additional 10g after that. And then 5oz of milk/creamer of choice steamed. The default settings on the machine will not give you a good cup of espresso because it comes out at about a 5:1 ratio, I find a 2.5-3:1 ratio is best.

This espresso machine replaces a very old, extremely heavy, and much larger Italian brand machine that must be plumbed into the house to be useful. This unit has a water reservoir that holds enough water for several uses, and is easily refilled when needed. The front panel is intuitive, and the instruction manual provided give enough information to make successful coffee fairly routine. The only issue I have is that the size of the portafilter seems to be slightly smaller than the other unit I have. That means if I want to buy after-market pieces, I will have to buy them from Casabrews, at a higher price point. While I understand the business model is to keep prices low, that comes with a significant downside: the pieces included are cheap plastic and most likely must be changed to keep them from sloughing off into the product. The tamper, for example, is low-grade plastic, and seems to be included almost as an afterthought; it is one of the pieces that is a cheap excuse and must be replaced. I would have paid a bit more for higher quality parts. All in all, however, the machine deserves all five stars, even though I will replace some of the parts right away.

Wow… I have wanted a great quality espresso machine, but our family is in such a strict budget. So I threw myself into full research mode to find something affordable but great quality. I was looking into Breville but they cost more than our mortgage and we just CANNOT. Now about this machine, my HUSBAND WAS NOT INTO COFFEE, and this machine has turned him into a coffee guy. In all the years knowing each other, I had never seen him drink coffee like this! The machine works so smoothly! It's very user friendly, beginner friendly but with the capacity to pull AMAZING shots, adjust temperatures, froth a wonderful silky milk, and do manual timing if you would like the shot to be pulled longer, which was the case for us as we had ordered fresh LIGHT ROAST beans from a local roaster. Every review I saw online, videos and research pointed me to this particular machine and I cannot agree more! Now we all wake up looking forward to our nice, homemade, fresh lattes with our homemade syrups. If you're thinking about it, DO ITTTTT. You're welcome.

All the positive reviews held up. I was skeptical at first but I've had it for over 2 weeks now and it's been excellent. Definitely an economical substitute for high end machine.

After 15 yrs our previous espresso machine quit so after months of research and keeping the budget in mind I decided on the Ultra machine. My husband uses it everyday and says the coffee is as good as his previous machine if not better. Delivery was quick and the price was right. So glad I made this choice.

I can't say more great things about this espresso machine. I haven't had any issues with it, it works perfectly and the espresso comes out delicious!! It is a top-notch machine at a great price!

Great machine! Decided to dive into the world of espresso with this machine. So far it's great! Paired with a DF54 grinder. Steam wand works great getting really good textured milk. I would Highly recomend

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have previously owned espresso makers from two very well-known brands that sell a number of different units, in some cases costing more twice what the Casabrews Ultra costs. In terms of quality, the build quality of the Ultra is excellent, and readily evident from the weight of the unit as well as the sturdiness when attaching the portafilter. The Ultra is capable of pulling repeated shots of espresso without any pause. The machine does an excellent job of consistently delivering a nice amount of crema as well. If you are looking for a reliable espresso machine at a reasonable price, look no further and give the Ultra a try.

I am enjoying my machine. It pulls very well. My only issue I have is that it doesn't get hot enough for my liking. I thought 96 degrees was hot enough but it's not. The steam wand is easy to use and the hot water gets really hot! Overall this was a good level up espresso machine for me.

I bought this a few months ago and it has been perfect until just recently. Pulled great shots and pretty quick milk steaming. Recently when pulling my normal shot I heard a crack about 10 seconds in (normal 18g dose) and water started leaking out between the portafilter and the seal in the group head. I can't see where the actual damage is, and there are no replacement parts for this type of issue on the website. Was also using the casabrew bottomless portafilter. Not sure if this is just my machine or a known issue.