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For me it is.The service is poor enough that I would recommend not buying any Briel products. When I pressed the issue of cold coffee I was told that was not a problem. After two months of good service the pressure for espresso and temperature of the drip coffee both dropped significantly. I called the New Jersey service department and was dismissed offhand, told only that I should clean the espresso screens.
Major UNHAPPY. Of course, when you are over the magic 30 days after purchase, no such thing as a full refund. I was initially pleased with this maker. However, it stopped making steam a month into its use.
Today I'm off to Zabars to buy myself a new coffee maker. It easily clogs and leaks all over the sink, even right after a cleaning. The lid over the basket fit poorly and was difficult to seat.
Big mistake. So soon we stopped making espresso, thus getting around the fact that a coffee mug won't fit under the espresso head. After reading good reviews, I bought this machine sight unseen.
The coffee maker was mediochre. And it won't be a Briel. Filling the reservoirs was cumbersome and you couldn't see the water level on the coffee and trying to make a half pot was very difficult.
The espresso coffee holder didn't fit easily on the machine and sometimes it took five minutes of fiddling to get it to seat.(doesn't help that you can't see what you are doing).
are in one unit. It is a real space-saver in that both regular coffee and espresso, etc. The chrome front and chrome drip grate are impressive looking and add to the over-all appearance of my kitchen.
The crema produced is SUPERB. I'm thrilled with the quality of espresso and the rapid steam. This is the fourth espresso machine I've owned and I couldn't be happier.
The Briel Sintra performs as if it were a far more expensive machine. I love this product. The machine appears to be well-made (for its price range) and performs wonderfully.
My previous machines were clunkers by comparison.
Lately, this happens even if I'm only making one serving. Half the water usually ends on the counter. If you can spend a little bit more, skip it. Depending on the grind size you may have to change the setting a lot.
There are some fundametal flaws with the design of the drip coffee compartment. NOT NICE.In conclusion, if you're tight on budget this is a decent choice. I've been using this machine everyday for the last two years and although it's decent I wouldn't recommend it without any reservations. Overall I'm satisfied with the machine, taking into account how much money I've saved by not going to Starbucks, but I'm ready for an upgrade.I agree with most reviewers that the espresso it produces is pretty good. There's no water level indicators inside the water tank, so you have to use the glass carafe to fill it with water. The dial is pretty inaccurate, so you'll have to experiment until you get it right.
Making coffee with tepid water. So keep an eye on it.Second of all, the heating element doesn't function very well. It will be on, letting me know that the water is ready to make coffee, but it will then go off half way into making a serving. To overcome this, I usually have to wait for the light to go off and come on again, which can add several minutes between espressos. This usually results in a mess. This usually happens if I want to make 2 servings, one after the other. Drip coffee is another story.
The green light (water temperature indicator) is erratic. First of all, the cup size selector is NOT consistent. Filling it up is an adventure. In addition, you end up with less coffee than what you thought because some steam escapes from the top.As far as the espresso compartment is concerned there are some problems too.
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