The perfect gourmet coffee maker for small househods

Author's Rating:

Pros: Compact, reliable, a great value

Cons: Too easy to turn on accidentally, and too small for large households

The Bottom Line: 
For the size and price, its the best compact gourmet coffee maker

Author's Review
We're a small family of two who occasionally entertain a few friends at a time -- and our small apartment kitchen has a limited amount of counter space. Most of the gourmet units that allow you to make coffee as well as cappuccino and espresso are simply too large -- or too darn ugly.

Il Caffe Duomo was exactly what we were looking for. It takes up a minimal amount of space, produces first-rate coffee and espresso, and is extremely easy to maintain. And it is so attractive that it always draws compliments from guests -- a total winner as far as I'm concerned.

I particularly like the way the steamer attachment works, giving us great steamed milk for cappuccino. And the standard coffee maker gives us a consistently tasty brew whether we are making 2 cups or a full pot -- not always the case with other machines I've used.

My primary complaint is that the location of the power buttons (in front on the bottom) makes it too easy to set them off unintentionally. On more than one occasion, moving an item on a crowded countertop has turned on the machine. Its easy enough to remedy this by leaving the machine unplugged when not in use -- but I hope future models revise this feature.

It is also a bit of a chore to periodically clean out the steamer attachment, but that is an unavoidable fact of cappuccino life -- if Starbucks has to clean theirs, we can hardly expect less at home!

Its a real pleasure to have restaurant-quality cappuccino at home, especially on those cold winter nights when you don't want to run out for coffee or dessert. In a year of use, it has more than paid for itself and provided us with consistently satisfying results. And as a vigilant shopper, I can verify that there still is not anything else on the market in this price range that compares to it in features or quality.