Customer Reviews Cuisinart EM-100 Espresso Maker

I've had this espresso maker for 4 years now (and actually didn't know it was so reasonably priced now) and absolutely positively love it! I'm a huge coffee fan, a regular at numerous coffee shops and frequently go to Starbucks. I actually prefer a latte from this machine over Starbucks! I highly recommend it. I moved kind of far away and left this behind, thinking I could try another espresso machine, and was very disappointed with it. I ended up just repurchasing this one.

I am very unhappy with this product. It is extremely finicky. Needs to have exactly the right grind of coffee/espresso, which has to be tamped ever so perfectly or it does not work. I hate it!

I've had this for 2 weeks (so I can't comment on the durability of this product) but I'm loving it. I've been using the ESE pods so no problems on messiness. And the best thing I did was buy an $8 frothing thermometer. Getting the milk to the correct temp was key for taste. My only issue is that it takes a couple minutes to do the frothing - but that's not really a complaint since I knew that going in (but if you don't want to stand around - you may want an automatic frother). Cleaning immediately is also key, but I can get the frothing wand clean during the 15 seconds it takes to make the espresso (take the wand off the stem and clean both). Assuming this machine lasts me 2 years, it will be a great investment. I ended up choosing Cuisinart because one review noted a 3 year warranty that hopefully I won't have to use.

First let me say that I'm not a big fan of Cuisinart, so I didn't set out to buy this machine. I used to have a Starbucks barista, which I loved. It finally died, and the company no longer makes them. I bought at least four machines to replace it, and they're mostly junk--all plastic, even on the housing of the machine. I ended up returning all of them. Finally, I bought this machine simply because I had a credit to use up, and this machine was reasonably cheap. I had finally come to the conclusion that unless I spent a thousand dollars, I'd have to lower my expectations and get a so-so machine that makes a fair latte, and feels a little junky. I was shocked to find that this was absolutely the best machine of all the ones I tried--and it was the cheapest. I actually love this machine. It's the closest machine I've had to the Starbucks Barista. It is mostly metal, and everywhere that matters on the machine is metal. It's reasonably compact, makes a delicious espresso, and does a nice job frothing. The biggest drawback is the steaming wand, which is so low that I have to tip the whole machine up to pull the frothing cup out when I use a normal-sized frothing cup. The only other drawback is that the machine doesn't stop on it's own, so you sort of have to guess when a shot (or two shots) of espresso is made. That was the same with the Barista though. The fix is to get two shot glasses and put them under the machine and actually measure. If I had known how much I was going to like this machine I probably would have bought the next model up (also listed at a reduced price on Zappos) because it does have the feature of measuring and stopping when a shot or two is pulled. Instead, I bought a second EM-100 for my vacation house and I bought one for my mom, who also loves it. For the price, this is an excellent machine.

This is simply the most reliable and best espresso latte cappuccino maker I have ever used. We purchased this over 4 years ago and it has been running and making what everyone says is the best latte they have ever had every morning. The guy who wrote that the grinds would get into the coffee has either not cleaned it hence "it worked fine for a month" or has a cheap standard coffee grinder. The grind it key! Do yourself a favor, save $1000 and buy this model along with Cuisinart's Conical Burr Grinder! When we first got this unit I admit I was a novice and bought it for the simple use, but found the grind was key right way. If you use a "blender" type grinder it turns some of the grind into powder which will plug up the steel filters, which Cuisinart does supply the tools to unplug, but it was a pain. Did a little research and found that the cone type burr grinder makes a completely uniform grind which will not plug the filters even in the finest grind. Everyone I have ever made a cappuccino for has said hands down the best they ever had. The steamer is great and I have no problems getting that froth just by sound when it is getting hot and slowly pull the cup down letting the air hole pull in just a small amount of air at the air hole, listen to your milk! Yes, it may be a learning curve, but I assure you if you buy the set you can have a pro taste for a pittance.

Nice machine, simple to use, lattes are very good. Bought this to replace an aging Starbucks espresso maker hope it serves me as well.

I bought this thinking with the cuisinart name it would be great. Not so. It made ok coffee but sometimes the grinds would get into the finished coffee. It was very finicky and hard to work. I sent it back to Cuisinart. They sent me another new one. It worked ok for a month and thenm the same thing. I switched back ta mr coffee machine, quite happy again.Do not buy this one

This product is very tempermental. Some days it works fine and others cannot get a cup of coffee. It jams up and it very dependent on the coffee ground. But jams up with the same batch ground. It is a frustrating expresso machine and really not worth the money. I would not buy this brand in the future.