wonderful! wonderful!

Author's Rating:

Pros: seriously good milk frothing, seriously strong coffee

Cons: none yet, but screws in screen head could be more robust

The Bottom Line: 
Only Italians know how to make coffee machines; the Saeco Via Veneto proves they even know how to make great cheap coffee machines.

Author's Review
I have owned many espresso machines, mostly in the under-US$300 range, so my experience cannot be compared with those who have indulged in US$1,000 machines. I have frequently drunk cappuccino at restaurants with such machines, however. If you drink cappuccino, and do not want a fully automatic machine, then you should consider the Via Veneto. I read reviews on several websites. I went to the Saeco website to find a dealer in Hong Kong. This proved rather fruitless (e-mail contact only and no store list), but my wife spotted two Saeco's at Tailin Electronics (a chain store), of all places. (Sort of like finding Rohner socks at Wal-mart, to put this in perspective for US readers.) The reviews mostly say this machine is great for half-price (say, US$75) and average (or worse) for full-price (I paid roughly US$180). Well, a machine either works or it doesn't, and the coffee doesn't taste better if the machine cost half as much. The Via Veneto takes about a week of practice for (an old hand) to adapt to its personality. Once adapted, it will make as good a cup of cappuccino as you can get (period). The full price is actually a steal as far as I'm concerned. The portafilter that purists complain about simply saves me doing any serious tamping. I use Lavazza ground coffee, and the grind is about perfect for this machine. I have neither time nor interest in grinding beans. The "pannarello" steam attachment works very well after some practice. Easy to remove and clean. The plastic steam wand turns out to be a nice improvement over the steel design. How long will it last? If the reviews are correct, it has a very high quality pump (certainly, the pump is strong enough) and brass tubes on the inside (I have not disassembled anything). If so, it should go a long time. For the money, I will be quite happy if it goes 2 years. As for cleaning, the screen head has two small phillips screws. I loosened (and re-tightened) them before using the machine (to be sure I could!). They seem OK but they could be heftier. Externally, it is very easy to clean.