Krups Virtuoso XP442C40 Espresso and Coffee Maker with Milk Frothing Wand, 1 Litre Coffee Machine, Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, 15-Bar Pressure Pump, Barista-Style Drinks, Stainless Steel

Excellent all round machine! I had the delonghi version of this machine before which was excellent apart from the reliability. This machine feels altogether built better. Description of this machine calls it an espresso cappuccino machine so the milk frothier will be very foamy as expected. If you want a proper latte then simply remove the panarello frothier nozel and steam the milk the old fashion way. Perfect milk every time!!! Silky and smooth perfect for latte art if you like that kind of thing. As with all machines there is always a learning curve so allow yourself a little time to perfect your personal style of coffee.The espresso shot is hot and intense. Pulls the coffee really well with a pre ground espresso grind. It does seem to run too much water for the size of the baskets however it’s all programmable so you can dictate the size of the shot required or simply stop it when you want.This machine is a great price and I look forward to many years of great tasting, barista style coffee!!Good Job Krups!!

Great home machine for those who like an occasional good cup of expresso. You need a separate bean grinder or pre-ground coffee, so if you drink lots of coffee then it's worth looking at bean to cup machines instead You have a degree of flexibility to preset your water levels and then your next variable is how much coffee powder you want for your taste needs. It takes some trial an error but once you have that cracked then you know you have a great cup of coffee each time, which is cheaper than nespresso pods and no aluminium waste.The unit preheat the water and the end result is hot, but not scalding. There is a steam nozzle for creating hot frothy milk, but I haven't tried it as I'm an expresso vs cappuccino drinker. However, it did seem easy to use. Just clean it each time.Love this machine, but my only niggle is that the water container is dark in colour so difficult to see what the water level is when you have the unit pushed back to the wall.

Being a complete novice I read countless coffee blogs and discovered that so-called beginner machines of this type have two main differences from full-blown machines. Firstly, they use pressurised filter baskets that force the coffee out through a single tiny hole in the underside. Some people argue this gives a kind of false crema and that the flavour isn't as good as it could be. Secondly the machine has only one heating system which is used for both hot water and steam. The downside of this is that if you steam the milk first, you then need to cool the machine so the water doesn't burn the beans. This is explained in the manual.I wasn't bothered by either of these issues and chose this machine because it has a very compact size and I can store it on a shelf when not in use. Just be careful to remove the water tank before picking the machine up, or it might become detached while holding it and you could drop the whole lot on the floor. Around £100 or slightly less seems about right - the machine looks smart and appears robust but is largely plastic. The coffee is hot if you let the machine warm up a bit first. I have made 200ml of cold milk into about 500ml hot bubbly milk with the steam wand. By removing the outer nozzle I have made about 200ml cold milk into hot micro-foamed milk, but not such a big increase in volume. The steamer does run out of puff trying to heat large quantities of milk and you have to wait for it to get its breath back.I did have a problem with the double filter basket that choked even with a single amount of coffee in it. I had a look with a USB microscope and could clearly see the hole was partly blocked. Attempts to clear it weren't a success! Attached pictures show the blocked hole and the single basket hole for comparison.Apart from this, I am very pleased with my purchase. Minus one star for the filter basket problem but it is fun to use and with a bit of practice makes a lovely cup of coffee. I've had far worse on the high street.

Easy and small machine makes great coffee.