Not a step up - a step across maybe more accurate – Firstly I would like to say my motivation for writing this review is that I could not find a review of any dependable kind for this machine prior to purchase - and I wish I did !

My wife and I saw this machine in all its bright red shiny glory and like moths to a light we were sucked in. The staff even made us a test coffee and after alot of buggerising about it actually tasted OK so we bought one with a few added goodies thrown in (fathers day special) for $450 from Gloria Jeans, including their pods which proved to be the deal maker (below)

This machine looks good and makes pretty nice pod coffee (very nice, actually, if you like the Mocha Java) but I have had no end of trouble doing a manual shot because the machine is hyper sensitive to grind fineness. In trialling the right coffee grind, I have found that a grind number at any Gloria Jeans shop for example will produce a marginally different particle size which makes a world of difference in this machine. I believe it is because the filter basket is so porous that the coffee will just drop through the compacted grain bed without the necessary resistance to produce a proper espresso if you use anything higher than a setting of about 2.0 (GJ number) and not 4 as is recommended. Alternatively, you could do this: cover the filter floor with 1/2 shot of coarser material (4 say) then overlay with a shot of 1.5 - 2 and compact, just like making a soil drain. You will have plenty of different ground coffees around for this experiment if you play around as much as I have.

I did a side by side test with my old Sunbeam Cafe Espresso ($179) and the Sunbeam is definitely a more forgiving machine and able to handle a wider range of coffee grinds. The three people who took part in my blind test were either way but one was a bogan so he was disqualified.

Anyway, if you buy this machine, expect to do alot of experimentation, get your own grinder perhaps (I did), buy some GJ pods (so you know what to aim for, but a bit stronger). I love good home coffee and wont be beaten so I will play around with it till I get it right (2 months and counting...) looks good, makes great pod coffee, steam wand pretty good, really good service from GJ's hyper sensitive to grind fineness, small reservoir, silly temperature gauge