SMEG Fully Automatic Coffee Machine with Steam, Black BCC02BLMUS, Large

Smeg machine makes a very good coffee. The only problem the coffee is warm.

I purchased this in 2021 when it was first released. This machine is beautifully designed and will look great on your counter, but definitely has things about it I don’t like.In fact, there are probably more things about it that I don’t like than do like but give it 4 stars instead of less because it’s still performing and automatic.Pros: after 3 years it’s still making a consistently good cup of coffee. (Caveat: you need to keep it at its original bean strength settings. We tried the other settings and the original is the best). It’s relatively quieter than other machines with a burr grinder, but still makes plenty of noises before and after a cup of copy to clean up after itself. And it is fully automatic so most of the time you don’t have to think about anything. People like my husband and daughter can get themselves decent espresso drinks without being aspiring barista.Cons: Cleaning— this is a big for me. Descaling takes forever and Smeg doesn’t tell you which descaler to use. Second, the inside of the machine has to be cleaned out at least monthly unless you want a yucky moldy build up inside. You can discourage mold build-up by keeping the side door and the bottom front open after usage for the wet grinds to dry out, but you will at some point still need to wipe out all of the grinds in the interior, which also included the area behind the brew group and above where the tamper is. You also need to semi-regularly rinse out the brew group. Descaling will NOT clean the interior of the machine. You MUST wipe it out clean yourself and it’s a very messy and can be an arduous process. If you keep the interior relatively dry it’s not as difficult.Steam wand: I can’t figure out how to make microfoam with this wand. It makes drier foam like for an old school cappuccino. Also the wand is short and straight making it awkward to put in a steaming cup. This may not be an issue for regular people who don’t care about making barista-level steamed milk.Coffee Beans: this machine is particularly picky about beans you put in. Don’t buy oily looking beans. For some reason they don’t want to sink into the grinder and you’ll end up with a watery coffee. When I’ve accidentally bought oily beans I have to watch the machine when it makes coffee and press the beans down so they’ll go into the grinder. I find LaVazza to be the best in this machine. I’ve tried many many different brands including Illy, other Italian espresso beans, and local micro roasters and LaVazza seems to be consistently great.At the end of the day, it’s still functioning, convenient, and consistently making good espresso drinks. It’s also now cheaper than it initially was.This is a good choice for someone who doesn’t mind a little upkeep but wants good coffee and something that looks sleek and beautiful on your countertop.

I bought this along with a Terra Kaffe machine to test them side-by-side for use in my company's small office.Both are beautiful, well-built, easy to use, and make a pretty good cup of ordinary espresso (for a machine).Where the Smeg Wins:- It's a bit faster and quieter.- It takes up less counter space.- You can change/remove the drip tray separately from the machine's operation (either to place a larger mug under the spout, or to clean while brewing).- If you're good at steaming/frothing milk, you can get a much better cappuccino or latte out of the Smeg than the TK.Where the Terra Kaffe wins:- The LED screen makes it much more user-friendly, especially when customizing. On the Smeg, you can customize the amount of length of pour, but there's no way of telling whether/what customizations have been made! On the TK, you can adjust everything, and see those customizations on the screen. Plus, every special command on the Smeg requires knowing a special set of combo keys. On the TK, you just follow the menu.- The TK handles all the milk steaming/frothing itself, with a handy detachable milk carafe. No skill or labor required.- The TK has a larger water reservoir and bean hopper, and the water reservoir includes a filter.- On the Smeg, all the access panels are pop-off covers, rather than hinged doors. This means you have to find a place to put the cover every time you want to add water, beans, etc.- TK sells filters, cleaning products, even coffees. Smeg sells nothing, and doesn't even tell you what kind of descaling products you should use, or how to clean the grinder.- TK is responsive. I emailed a question to Smeg two weeks ago, and I still haven't even received an acknowledgement, much less an answer. TK has been very helpful, to date.For me, it was a no-brainer. The TK wins.

Love that the milk froth is hot and frothy! I wasn’t enamored with the taste of the coffee/espresso though. Maybe because it wasn’t as strong as I like it. Great size for its performance.

Beautiful product but it lasted 2 months only. Called service told me to email them the forms and will get back to me

Super easy system for someone who was overwhelmed with the idea of creating delicious latte’s

So sleek, LOVE the design!

When I opened the package, there was water all over the product. It seemed like the product was repackaged with old returned product. I tried the product but water leaked from the bottom of the machine. I requested the return right away. I am not sure how the seller of this product in Amazon get the product, but it is definitely not treated corrected.