I have had a Capresso C1500 superautomatic since 2003. It's starting to leak a bit and is making some odd noises, so I decided to replace it.

I quickly decided on a Saeco Syntia this morning. Seems to have everything I want and, most importantly, does so for under $1000. The machines I'd buy if I had all the money in the world would cost $3000+.

Anyone have any experience with Saeco? I know it's the same company that makes Gaggia.

Anyhow, it will be delivered tomorrow (gotta love $3.99 next day with Amazon Prime), so I guess I'll find out soon enough.

This one works great.

RichMSN, please report back on how you like it. Mrs. PTravel would kill me if I spent that kind of money on an espresso machine, so I have a Brevia which I find reasonable enough. However, sometimes I get lucky when I go to Las Vegas, and I consider it bad luck to save gambling wins, so . . . maybe next year. I'm a bit of a coffee snob, and a decent machine in the under $1,000 category is always of interest.

If you want to drink dirty water, sure.

I bought the Capresso in 2003 and it lasted me over 8 years. But the reviews of their customer service lately left me concerned about buying another one.

If this lasts me 5 years, I consider it a good purchase. I work from a home office and having good coffee is a nice way to start (and continue) the day.

The Syntia arrived today. There was an insert in the box encouraging me to call a "white glove concierge service" to walk me through the setup. A few oddities, but I got some good tips and got everything up and running in about an hour.

The machine rocks. I was able to test my water hardness and adjust the filter accordingly. I was able to set the grind (fine to coarse). I was able to program how much I wanted in each cup of coffee for two buttons on the machine.

Not only was the rep I talked to completely knowledgeable about the unit, she is sending me an appreciation kit that includes coffee, a frothing cup, some espresso cups, and some coupons.

So far, so good.

http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Sae...p/scg10487.htm

I ordered it from Amazon, though, cause I got next day delivery for $3.99 with Prime. Tempted to get it from the above place, though, cause they extend the warranty to 2 years -- although repairing it would involve shipping it to them.

A Dutch friend of mine takes his coffee very seriously (as do most good continental types ). He has a Saeco and has always had Saecos.

I'm on 5+ years with my Delonghi Rialto and very happy.

The trick i've found and sure it applies to others is to descale regularly. It really makes a difference in terms of froth flow and overall taste.

If my current machine (Rancilio Silvia) were to die, I'd buy this baby. I actually went and visited it the last time I was in a Williams Sonoma. Double boiler.... sigh.

I bought 6 packets of descaler. I have soft water (the city softens the water centrally and I tested the water to confirm it) and even though the company recommends once every 3 months for my water, I'll do it once every two.

I didn't mention it, but I moved to decaf about 3 years ago. I was having health issues (heart palpitations) from caffeine. Caribou's Sumatra is my normal choice, but I just ordered some Lavazza Dek Decaf beans that got amazing reviews and costs less than $12/pound when I buy 6 pounds in one shot.

Just made another cup. I really love this Syntia. A solid machine, it seems.

Rancilio Silvia and a Rocky grinder come in at right under $1k.

If you're moving into that price range the Pasquini Livia may be a better choice...it's a bit more, but worth it

I was only looking at the superautomatics. I want one where I can press a button and have a high quality coffee with minimal work.

Those semi-automatics are great machines, I know, but simply not what I was looking for.

That's a lot of Las Vegas winnings for me.

I have a Capresso burr grinder that does a pretty good job, and a "lesser" Breville:



It does a nice job -- good crema on the espresso and plenty of steam for frothing the milk.

Maybe some day . . .

What's strange is that I do absolutely no frothing of milk. It's usually 10 ounces of very strong coffee with about an ounce of half-n-half. But I'll try the frother in case anyone comes over and wants a latte/cappuccino or the like.