Solo Espresso Machine

Had this coffee machine for 18 months and love it. Makes good coffee and is very easy to maintain. The brewing unit is removable for rinsing and cleaning. In addition it is very good value. Better than much more expensive coffee makers I had in the past.

UPDATE: 9/2022: after almost 7 years of daily service (5-10 cups per day), we have an intermittent fault whereby machine goes into standby on it's own. Still makes coffee but considering the replacement. Would buy again but probably Melitta Avanza model which is (supposedly) quieter and requires descaling once per year. The annoyances with this machine are: constant refill of water and beans, drip tray emptying, regular cleaning. None are bad (they are annoyances) and knowing longevity of machine would buy more expensive from same range to address these annoyances. No nonsense bean to cup machine. Makes some of the best coffee I've tasted. PROS - Relatively low cost for bean to cup machine (and bought on lightning deal for £230 GBP) - Not overly complicated, e.g. no cappaccino wand (personally I don't think these work satisfactory on domestic machines) although plastic, feels robust and will last for years - feels like will last longer than four years (which previous £600 machine did - I can't remember the make). CONS - quite complete to set up initially, you need to follow instructions to the letter, but the English version misses out pressing bean button in after each stage - need to replace filter every two months (200 cups) at £11 a time (although at least machine allows you to keep making coffees till you have replaced) Overall, two months in it's a good buy. However at the price I would expect to last 3-4 years with maintenance of descaling etc. Will update this review if issues. UPDATE AFTER TWO YEARS - still working fine.

For me this replaces a Bosch Vero Cafe (2015). Silver stripe designer edition has very unique off-white front w/ vertical silver pin stripes and chrome spout. Never been so excited to rush to the kitchen to get the first black drips from the spout! Easy, understandable controls and black display with red indicators. Water filter sold separately screws in tight, very solid system. Sleek looking, top warming tray, clear lexan plastic beans lid. Very pleased, hope it lasts a very long time. Trust the name to be repairable into the future.

Really impressed. The price range of B-to-C machines is so vast it is hard to know which to go for. Needed a second machine after having owned a DeLonghi one for a long time. Realised that I had no need for the milk foamer. Plus if you've not owned a B-to-C machine before, if you have milk foamers or the like you need to be prepared to clean the machine regularly. In contrast, without the foamer it makes for a low maintenance proposition. (Tip - if you want foamed milk, consider buying a stand alone piece of kit (eg. Nespresso Airo-thingy) rather than mess around with an integrated mechanism. Cheaper, easier to clean, plus allows you to hide the foamer away when not using) Bearing in mind my the preferences above, this machine in particular is ideal. Easy to see water level. Small footprint. Looks "slick". Makes lovely expressos (which I convert to Americanos with water from the kettle). Easy to drain used water and coffee grounds. AND, really well priced compared to similar machines on the market. Recommended.

Coffee is OK - small cup to ordinary mug. Don't know what they refer to as cup warmer as non on mine. Hate the fact that the drip tray fills so quickly inside the machine so have to empty before I can make a coffee nearly every time. Wishing I had spent more on a better machine. The first one I ordered came with a cracked water tank and missing the welcome kit - Amazon were great at replacing it so 5 stars for them.

LATEST: 27/11/2016 Coffee machine is now back with me - fully repaired with no hassle and very good customer service. (At no cost to me too!) I'm updating to 4 stars on the basis that although the customer service has been excellent, the product shouldn't have failed in this way in my view. Still, this is an entry level priced machine with excellent customer service - more than I could hope for given the price. The repair details the work done (which is nice) but it doesn't state if this fault is likely again or if it has been modified in some way (updated software?) so that it doesn't kill itself at the touch of a button. If they had set my mind at rest over this, I would probably have returned it to 5 stars. 21/11/2016 Very good customer service so far - 24 months warranty on these (better than I thought previously) so no worry over timing - email details of fault, proof of purchase and contact details and a repair will be organised. Might take two weeks (eeeks... two weeks without coffee!) Still, nice efficient customer service which I can't fault! In starting to pack up the machine, I have managed to get the brewing unit back in and the machine works again although a small piece of broken plastic cam was sitting in the waste tray... So tempted to keep the machine as it appears to work but realistically it must go for repair as I do not know what will be affected by the broken cam / tooth. Have revised the 'star' rating from 1 to 3 given the customer service so far. EDIT: The coffee machine is now dead! 20/11/2016 ******************************************************** After cleaning today, I couldn't refit the brewing unit. I had this problem once before and solved it by following the instructions on their website and all was well. This time, whilst following their instructions exactly, there was a loud bang as the motor tried to re-align itself. I now have broken gears or cams in the machine. I have 5 days left on warranty (12 months) so check back here to find out what they say! Phoning them in the morning. Note: I have reduced the star rating to 1 as I can no longer recommend it after seeing the damage inflicted on the machine by their own instructions. I will decide what to do to the rating depending on their response. ********************************************************* Only had this for a few days, but it is a massive leap towards quality coffee - I've spent two years using the plastic aero press and this machine is so much better! I'm absolutely no expert on coffee but my coffee making skills (ok - the machine's!) have just improved dramatically. Pro's: Very simple to use No fuss - very little to do Combinations of settings from 3 strength settings, 3 grind settings and a variable amount of water used per cup gives me simplicity yet plenty to play with if I want. Every cup I've tried so far has been wonderful - from 2 espresso shots into a mug of hot milk to a standard cup (coffee cup full plus a small amount of milk - I'm not a black coffee lover) I don't like all that fancy froth on my coffees so the lack of a wand / frother thingy is a real bonus - less to go wrong and clean etc. It's very easy to clean and empty and fill. The coffee jets (right words for them?!) can be raised or lowered to reduce splashing or get a large cup below them - they glide up or down with no effort at all - very nice. The machine is very compact - just 20cm wide - so is perfect for our lack of workspace in the kitchen. Cons: None really. The only negative thing might be that the water container is small and needs regular filling but it's very easy - I'm the only coffee drinker in the house so this little machine is perfect for me. Also, the beans just don't fall from the hopper into the grinder very well so after each cup I push them around a little until they start moving again - very minor issue though. Note: If you're in a hard water area, you should be aware that if you don't have a filtered water tap (as we do) then you should use the included water filter (fits in the internal water container) but that only lasts about 2 months or so and I have no idea how much these filters cost. Beans: No advice on this yet as too early but I'm using the Starbucks beans from Tesco as they're on offer and you get a tall caffè latte for free if you go to the shop and take the bag back - almost free beans. Noise: Some have commented on noise. I can't say that this machine is particularly noisy - It certainly doesn't make much noise for long - it grinds the beans which is noisy - I'd expect that. It clunks a little when it ejects the grindings into the inner bin but other than that it's quite reasonable. I made a coffee tonight while the kids were asleep but I'm not sure I'd want to make one while the wife is asleep (kitchen below our bedroom!) Quality: I wouldn't say this machine is worthy of a design award (apparently it won a Red Dot award in 2010) as it is primarily plastic - esp. on the sides but neither is it ugly either - very simple clean lines - excellent for a small kitchen. I would have preferred it to have been cased entirely in stainless steel but you can't have everything! I bought this machine to replace my aero press which never gave me consistent coffee and that's exactly what this machine is doing - every cup is a joy. If you are moving from a manual coffee maker (Aero press or Cafetiere or similar) and want a simple bean to cup machine, then I can highly recommend this machine to you - obviously I don't have the experience of any other machine to compare this to so I wont recommend on that basis) Very happy!

Had this for about 6 months now and it continues to be an excellent purchase. Really easy to use and makes great tasting coffee. I didn't expect quite as much maintenance but worth it - each day requires the drip tray and grounds to be emptied; each week requires the blending unit to be cleaned; each month requires a cleaning programme to be run and the water filter changed; and every 2 months a descaling programme should be run. Apart from cleaning the blending unit you need to get cleaning tabs, descaling liquid, and the water filters so some additional upkeep costs. But despite all of this, it's well worth it for the day-to-day simplicity of having a great cup of fresh coffee!

I selected delivery from zecasa as had 100% positive feedback. However, box arrived and seal had previously been opened. Possibly previously returned and sent out again. Item did not work. I now have to retrieve packaging from the bin, repackage and drive to a Collect plus point 6 miles away to return, wait 5 days for refund, and buy another one, probably not from Zecasa. Machine looks beautiful though and very well though out. To set up the initialisation process, you fill with water to max line, (without filter cartridge) turn on,. The "vent me" button lights up and press the "bean" button. This is supposed to force the air out of the lines and then the bean button should illuminate after this. (Presumably quickly after this, but it doesn't give timescale in the instructions). We repeated the process several times, as the vent me button still remained, and no bean button lit up. MAchine made lots of noises, but water level did not move. Contacted Melitta as soon as they were available (Mon to Fri 7am to 4pm) and they said yes, it has a fault probably on pump. Sent back for refund. Most frustrating.