| Product: |
Krups Orchestro |
| Date: |
06/04/06 (848 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Brilliant, so simple to use, great value for money
Disadvantages: none at all ! would really reccommend!
My husband and I are coffee maniacs. We love coffee. Latte's, espresso's, americano's, mocha's, frappe's. Hot coffee, ice cold coffee, coffee with sprinkles, coffee without.
We used to spend a fortune in Starbucks and Costa coffee. When in Thailand for out honeymoon we spent 90% of our time drinking coffee and playing cards! We bought a few different types of coffee machines; percolators, espresso makers, ground coffee machines, but they could never make a decent coffee, and we ended up taking most of them back within a few weeks.
Then one weekend we went over to my dads and he'd managed to get a Magimix 'bean 2 cup' coffee maker at a really reduced price. Well, as soon as we tasted the coffee we knew the machine we needed!
We searched a few different shops like Dixons, Currys, and Argos etc. but couldn't find one that looked and worked well. They were either too noisy, dripped after making a coffee or just didn't hit the mark. So on to eBay! We were able to buy the Krups machine for £170, a much reduced price than we'd seen (some shops were selling it second hand for over £250!).
So, once we had the machine in out hands it was time to test it!
_____ Appearance
The machine looks so professional. It is very stylish in black and chrome, with selection buttons running down the left side, a strength indicator (use this function to make a café Americano, lattes, espressos etc). The right hand side has the milk frother/steamer. The drip tray is located underneath the nozzle and has 2 holes for the drips to go directly into the tray beneath (rather than getting the silver plate manky!).
The top of the machine is flat and has space to keep espresso cups etc. There is also a section to use pre-ground coffee. The water tank fits discreetly on the left hand side of the machine and the beans go in the right!
_____ Functions
Ok, the buttons on the left hand side are the main functions for making fantastic coffees and for cleaning the machine too. They are simple to use (a quick press of the button will give you fantastic coffee with delicious crema!)
The turning knob is the 'concentration' level of the coffee. Choose the smallest cup for a strong, intense espresso and move up to the big cup for weaker coffees, for making lattes etc.
The frother is quite tricky to use (then again, we were trying to translate the instructions!) We finally managed to work it out and it heats the milk so quickly, isn't too noisy (like some other machines) and gives plenty of froth. Very impressive.
The cleaning functions are brilliant and easy to use, the machine will rinse through when you turn it on, and only needs de-scaling every year or so. There are 2 lights that tell you when the water is running low and when the drip tray and coffee reserve need cleaning out (generally its every 1-2 weeks with everyday use). The auto turn-off is every 5 hours.
Considering we only had the instructions in Spanish and Italian we managed to clean and de-scale the unit, make coffee and use the ground coffee section. It's so easy!
_____ Overall
We have had fantastic results with this machine, the coffee is fantastic, and our house smells so delicious! All in all, it's an affordable unit with fantastic, professional appearance. The coffee tastes so authentic (coming from Italy I really know my coffee!) I'd advise to try eBay to purchase it. As long as the machine works well its will be better quality for money (cleaning is pretty much automatic for this machine, so don't worry if it hasn't been used in a while!).
So all in all, it was a fantastic buy, and I would wholeheartedly recommend this product to anyone interested in a 'bean 2 cup' machine!
CHECK MY OTHER REVIEWS ON CIAO.CO.UK
Summary: Great machine, easy to use, self cleaning
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