Ascaso Dream

Coffee explosion – Just putting the Ascaso Dream Machine in the garbage. One year after purchase the temperature gauge quit working. We have been working around this issue by guesstimating temperatures and pressures. Today, I guessed wrong and when I went to remove the coffee holder the pressure released, blowing coffee all over the kitchen. NOT HAPPY. Not only no… Read more

coffee but now a big mess to clean up. Arghhhhh!! Going to get a Breville - our previous one lasted over 6 years for way less money.

Too expensive for what it is – Bought a red Ascaso Dream espresso machine 2 years ago. The red paint is now peeling off. Contacted Ascaso yesterday and apparently they are unable to help us fix the problem. Considering what we paid for this machine, we were expecting a high quality product, this is apparently not the case. Not recommending this product to anybody, put your money somewhere else.  Show details

Boat Anchor! – Looks great but was constant problems. After 10 Months the Pump Died, We got a warranty, then 23 Months the Temp gauge died, Got it fixed under warranty, both times taking 2-3 Months to get it Back and then just after 2 years the element failed. I have coffee every morning  Show details

Really enjoyable machine – Took me a while to get used to making coffee. I was a newbie when I bought this machine. However once I got used to tamping and grinding properly, I started making richly flavoured coffee with wonderful crema every time. I bought the extra head attachment, which maybe slightly improved the shots I made, but it started deteriorating and causing the… Read more

machine to leak. Back to how it was originally now and super happy with how it is going, maybe 4 or 5 years on...

3,000 cups and still going – I have been using this machine for over 3 years. It is the fifth espresso machine I have owned. It looks like retro styling but the same machine has been made continuously since the 1960s. This is definitely a manual machine. If you simply want to turn on the machine in the morning a press a button, this is not the machine for you. This machine… Read more

has a single boiler which means you have to heat the water for your espresso and then separately heat the steam for frothing the milk. With this machine you have more variance in the result depending on your ability to use the machine.

Many reviews have commented on the failure of the temperature gauge, and mine failed at about the 13 month mark, but the gauge is not essential to making the coffee - heating lights show the optimum temperature.

I have replaced the seals (an easy owner job involving a few screws (about $25 parts), and could have just as easy replaced the temperature gauge (about $60) but with their failure rate didn't think it was worth it.

Its a 16 bar unit and makes good crema and will easily froth your milk, thought the hole in the frothing wand (to assist frothing) gets some getting use to.

Dream is Nightmare indeed – Bought the machine in brushed aluminum and it looks fab, it did however stop working after a few months. I purchased it from http://www.barista.gr at a good price. After explaining to the owner a fellow named [name removed], he was happy to repair it as long as I paid the £65 to return ship it. After he troubleshot it, he stated it overtemped… Read more

and I should have been able to open the cover and reset it and then held the machine hostage until I paid return shipping. I involved Ascaso who supported the vendor... Eventually after a few weeks Barista selections returned it, improperly packed and damaged. After sending them photos and a video of the damage they sent replacement switches and expected me to repair the machine. I also escalated this to Ascaso who again were apathetic. I can only say from a customer perspective, both the vendor and Ascaso are well below average.

I had the machine repaired and it's operational, but have to say it's designed poorly. It loses all temperature when brewing the coffee, it takes forever to build up pressure and temperature for frothing milk. It makes loud chugging noises and if you remove the coffee basket arm from the machine too quickly it will spit grinds all over the place. And the temperature goes to near maximum just trying to froth enough milk for one cup.

Seriously, avoid this experience and purchase something more dependable. Don't be lured by the dreams appearance, it will keep you up at night!

Great coffee, great looks, needs regular servicing – I've owned this machine over 3 years now. Initially I thought it was unreliable, however I've learned it just needs to be regularly serviced (they recommend doing it every 3rd descale which is about once every 6 months). The good news is YouTube has taught me how to service it myself (it's very easy) and rather than send it off for 4 weeks or so… Read more

at a cost of over $100-$150 I can do it at home in 30 minutes at a cost of $40 (the cost of the parts required). Great design, simple to use, great coffee Unreliable

Ascaso Dream Should Be Called A Nightmare – We have had it for 4 years in that time it's spent a year in repairs got sick of taking it to the authorised repairer 6 months to get it fixed first time This time 6 months again just picked it up last week at least this repairer is at the end of my street I didn't have to travel to Brisbane to pick it up was only working for a year before it… Read more

broke down again $440 to repair and still doesn't have a functioning temperature gauge seems they cant get the parts and that's the reason it took so long to repair

Next time it breaks down its going on top of the cupboard with all the others as a display

Each time its comes back from repair its also got more scratches and paint chips on it as well

I originally bought this machine because it was simple no electronics to break or so I thought

I would have been better of buying a cheap one and throwing it out when it broke rather than persevering with repairs if you are looking for a display piece its fine but as a coffee maker its rubbish my wife is a trained Barista we try to make 6 cups a day with it its nice to have it back but this is the last time its getting repaired Looks and simplicity to use doesnt make a decent crema no mater what cofee you use my missus is a trained barista only time it makes a decenbnt crema is when I use pods and these are hard to get in Queensland luckily I can get them from Saquela in melbournee

Great looking machine – I got one of these machines (but under the Innova brand name) 9 years ago. I would estimate that I would have a coffee per day on average, so this machine has made a lot of coffee for me. First, it is a great looking machine. My one is all polished stainless steel, but it does show up finger prints and the like. Since the day I got it, it… Read more ·  1

has been reliable and never failed me. I have been told though, it is important to clean them properly, flush them with water, always ensure there is plenty of water so the pump doesn't run dry, and use them frequently otherwise they can break down. I'm sure tough that this probably applies to any coffee machine.

For the price, it has been a great machine for me. The coffee is very good, and like any machine the freshness and quality of the coffee is perhaps the primary factor to consider here. In addition, getting the grind right took me a while to get a coffee that I was very happy with. In this regard, I did find that I needed a slgihtly finer grind than I would have expected, and firmer tamping of the coffee to get a good crema that was not burnt or bitter.

It does take a while to heat up, and the drip tray is quite shallow so needs to be emptied regularly. As someone else mentioned, the height if the handle and basket, to the drip tray is perhaps a bit low making it difficult to get taller cups in. I also find the milk steamer builds pressure quickly, but doesn't sustain pressure for substantially long periods.

I had originally wanted an E2 Rocket, but glad I went with this machine as it is compact and for the price I considered good value. Price, good coffee when set up right, look, compact Milk steamer sustaining pressure, height of handle to drip tray, time to heat up.

Still going great – I've had mine for over 6 years now and lived with 2 housemates that all used it daily. Crema not an issue as reported by other reviewer here. When I shipped it back from UK I had to replace heating element which presumably got damaged in freight - was cheap to fix and not been a problem since. Don't bother with pods - I'd get a flat shower head… Read more ·  2

for it if I could change anything because we never use pods. Would buy another tomorrow if this one was stolen. Been going for 6 years of very regular use (conservative estimate would be over 3000 coffees), looks good, not overly complicated by irrelevant functions Short distance from tray to head (smaller cups only), would change to a flat shower head as can't point in pods if getting this type of machine.

Brilliant – I've had this machine for 3 years and have found it great. I like its simple retro design and the fact that it is operated by just three switches. I find it produces great coffee, all you need is fresh well ground coffee. I've found it to be very simple to use and reliable. simplicity, retro design, chance to practice my technique  Show 2 replies

Bad – I dont think this machine is worth the price we paid approx $900au. When we first got we noticed that it produced hardly any crema. We asked about this and they gave us an extra attachment that sits inside the part where you put the coffee and it helped but still wasnt really great. Then we noticed that the steam wand never really turned off… Read more

fully and that some steam was leaking out from where the coffee holder goes. We rang them again and they told us that it was normal because of the way the machine is made which we found difficult to believe. After about 8 months the temp gauge stopped working so we sent to get fixed under warranty. They sent back someone elses machine!! They also gave us another new attachment which created a much more acceptable amount of crema but it only fits with the single cup. So we can only ever make one cup at a time unless we just forget about having crema. Approx 1.8 years later something has gone wrong again and the water wont come through. The switch to make the water come through has also broken so I have to take to get fixed again. Dont be fooled by the retro commercial/industrial appearance of this machine. It might look sturdy and funky but its not all that. Im sure there are better models on the market. The chrome version of this model loses its shiny appearnace very quickly and becomes tarnished. We have looked after very well and polished regularly but the heat seems to create tranish marks all over it and it also scratches easily. I wouldnt buy again. Makes a decent coffee if you have the right attachment. You can get a good texture with the milk. Nice retro look. Produces next to Nil crema unless you get a special attachment that creates more pressure. Parts are not very sturdy and break easily. The steam wand doesnt turn off fully. The position of the steam wand is only adjustable from side to side. You can only use a small jug approx 2-3 cups for heating milk. After approx 1.8 years we have had many problems. Its over priced.

Good – After a dissastrous experience with an other automatic machine ( 2 Krupps' in one year) I decided to just get a good manual coffee machine. So, after a lot of questions and research, both on local and overseas websites I finally picked the Ascaso Dream coffee machine. Well, let me assure you, this is one product that lives up to its name. Once you… Read more ·  1

are used to it ,it makes the perfect cuppa every time. Even my wife, who was very sceptical before, can now make herself a real cappuccino!

It is not the cheapest on the market but you wouldn't expect a Rolls Royce for a Holden price either This is a very stylish, professional grade coffee machine.. Once you've learned, from the easy to read manual, how every thing works you are in complete control and should be able to make as perfect an espresso, cappuccino or latte as you would find in any good self respecting coffee shop. Depending on the grade and grind of coffee you'll get a beautiful lasting crema and the frothing is thick and perfect. It has a full metal body and all moving parts are either chromed or stainless steel which makes is very easy to clean . Also, because there are no vibrating plastic bits, it operates with a minimum of noise compared with a lot of other machines that I've experienced. Nothing really, but it is a pity that the group is just not high enough for a mug or a cafe latte glass but I've learned how to get around that little problem.

Also, for the price of this product Ascaso could have supplied it with a metal tamper instead of a platic one