We love it and depend on it every morning!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Makes rich crema-topped espresso, the frothing wand is powerful and makes creamy frothed milk

Cons: Doesn't have a boiler thermometer, but that has not been a problem for us.

The Bottom Line: 
Professional look and feel,and the coffee, to us, is better than what we get at espresso shops; easy to clean and maintain; powerful frothing wand

Author's Review
My husband and I searched for quite awhile for the best, yet the most economical (if one considers $500 to be economical) espresso machine. We started out with a Starbucks machine that uses a pressurized porta-filter. After getting used to that machine, we wanted to move up to a "real one" and tamp the coffee ourselves. We also purchased the Rancilio Rosewood tamper. We have loved this machine from day one. My brother also loves espresso and whenever he visits, we don't have to twist his arm when we offer him a cup. He says it doesn't taste anything like his at home, he loves it. What helps, though, too is that we order fresh roasted coffee from Rhode Island www.coffeexchange.com and they roast it fresh and ship it right out. We like this machine because it's reliable, easy to clean, you just lift out the white tub and wash it, and it's easy to fill (we only use spring water). To clean the screen, you just reach underneath and unscrew the large screw and the screen drops out for cleaning. We use either lemon-juice or vinegar for cleaning. The frothing power is strong enough to whip the milk beautifully and wake the neighbors. When we use this good coffee, you would not believe the "crema" that drizzles and tops the espresso. A Tip: It does not have a thermometer, so if I get distracted while making coffee and am concerned that it may have been on too long and may burn the coffee, I just turn it off for a few minutes, then turn it back on and allow the boiler to cycle, watching for the red light, when the red light goes out, it's ready again. If you really did want to know the exact water temperature, which is supposed to be 195 to 200 degrees, you could always test it with a thermometer, but I haven't found the need to do that and have been extremely satisfied with the temperature as soon as the red light goes out. The Rancilio is 13 1/2 inches high and does fit under our cabinets.