Capresso 121.01 Ultima Semi-Automatic Coffee and Espresso/Cappuccino Machine  Product Reviews

"Opened the box after receiving and the broken parts come rolling out. Not damaged in shipping but some return that was sold as new. Needless to say it did not work. Contacted Capresso and they sent a repaired unit. Capresso does support their product fully. Not thrilled with Amazon, however."

"Well, the title pretty much says it all. At $299 price tag, it's well worth every penny. Never thought making espressos or cappuccinos can be so easy. I never goto Starbucks, can't stand the wierd names and the ridiculose prices, but with machine, now even my wife don't waste $ in Starbucks anymore. Saving the Starbucks $ has already paid for this machine several times. A worthy investment - Strong buy!"

"This machine is a Canon SLR of coffee makers, it's design is ingenuous. It wins by a mile if you compare its features side by side with many other machines. The winning feature for me is that it allows a semi-automatic ("manual mode") way for adjusting your favorite drinks but still they somehow come out perfect all the time. THE COFFEE TASTES GREAT! Operating this machine is very easy, but I recommend watching the enclosed DVD first. I can't call it ugly either, as others here did, it looks much better than many other things in our kitchen. It's a keeper for me for sure. But here are some "disclosures", especially for a for uninformed drip coffeemaker user who is going to upgrade to this machine (I haven't noticed it mentioned here). 1. All types of coffee this machine makes are based on espresso, meaning that you have to make espresso first, then basically dilute it with either milk or water to create cappuccino, etc. So the coffee you get at the end tastes a lot stronger than the one you get from your "dripper". That could be good or bad depending on your taste (I like Crema Coffee the best). So we ended up with keeping our regular coffeemaker too in case we need regular coffee. 2.The scoop that comes with this machine is 1.5 times the size of the scoop we used for a "dripper", and you can't use less than 1 scoop of coffee. So you will have to drink more coffee! 3. This machine takes significantly more space on the counter than your average "dripper" (good thing is its small height though, if you can put it under cabinet shelf) Take all of this into account before buying. Bottom line: it's a great machine and I sincerely recommended it to those who prefer SLRs to point-and-shoot espresso and cappuccino. "

"The Capresso Ultima is a great espresso / coffee machine for home use. I really wanted one of the $1000 Jura Capresso models, but I figured I'd start small and I'm glad I did. This machine makes espresso that rivals the local coffee bars and creme coffee equally as well. One word of caution, though! You'll despise drip coffee once you start making your morning cup with this machine. Using purified water will keep the insides much cleaner to allow the machine to pump like it should. Cleanup is easy with this machine. It's a little more involved than just dumping a filter and rinsing the pot, but it only takes about 5 minutes to remove the grounds and wash the drip tray. The top "handle" area pops right off for a more thorough cleaning, too. I do that about once a week, but clean the grounds out daily. The steam wand it ok, but I think that's where the nicer machines will blow it away. The steam wand froths milk ok, but not nearly with the great results of some nicer machines that I've used. Frothing is a delicate process and this machine takes a lot of practice to get it right."