FrancisFrancisX1 - Don't be seduced by good looks! (FrancisFrancis X1)

Member Name: rachelwestall

Product:	FrancisFrancis X1
Date:	05/10/08 (458 review reads)
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Advantages: Looks great. Your friends will admire your taste.

Disadvantages: Unreliable. Only makes OK coffee.

Like many others, I had admired this fantastic retro looking machine from afar! I spent months researching different machines and after a lot of deliberation and discussion with others decided to go with my heart and not my head. I was seduced by the look of this machine, but convinced myself that surely, you get what you pay for, and at well over £300 this must be a great machine.
My lovely cream FrancisFrancis X1 took a while to get used to, and I did have some great cups of coffee. However these were no better than what I had been making in a machine that I had been using for the last 20 years! If you put slightly too much coffee in the dispenser, it would leak around the brewhead. The crema was not as I expected it to be with an 18bar pump. The so called cup warmer is just the top of the machine and would have to be on for a very long time to warm cups.
After almost a year of making coffee, perhaps 5 times a week, the machine started cutting out. It has now been returned and I have bought a Magimix Nespresso machine, at half the price (admitedly it doesn't look as good) which gives perfect coffee every time.

Summary: Think carefully before buying this item.

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