Saeco Syntia HD8837/03 (Stainless Steel)

But first - coffee! – The taste of the coffee is so awesome this is almost like professional coffee at home. It is so easy to use only 2/ 3 buttons for a great coffee and frothed milk. Needs regular de scale but it's not bad as the cleaner you keep the machine the longer it hopefully lasts. Would highly recommend this syntia saeco machine.  Show details ·  1

Love our coffee machine! – We've had our coffee machine for 5+ years now and it's stil going great, we love it and use it every day. It's really easy to clean and keep running. It would be good if the water tank was a bit bigger so we didn't have to refill it as often, and the part that catches the grinds is a bit small too, often needs to be empty and is hard to… Read more ·  1

clean, the grind gets very sticky. We did find we could resolve this buy putting a small plastic bag inside to catch the grinds though.

Cant live without it – Without question this is the greatest coffee machine I have had the pleasure in using. It is very user friendly, the coffee that comes out of it is always on point, and it looks fantastic in the kitchen. I have had this machine for a while now, and will always use Saeco machines in the future.  Show details ·  1

Great Machine Until It's Not – Let me start by saying that I have had this machine for 4 years and we really love the end product. It is easy to use, the coffee tastes great and the frother works perfectly. We experienced little problems early on though. Within a few months, the stainless steel panel on the grounds container came off. My husband bonded it back on with super… Read more

glue, no problem after that. Then about a year or so later the water was leaking from somewhere. We made sure the overflow container on the bottom was always emptied and we didn't overfill the water tank but somehow we still had leaks. No problem, we kept a towel underneath to absorb. Well, this morning I turned on the machine and the screen was blank. End of story. Luckily we bought it at Costco and can return it but definitely not worth fixing. After reading comments on this site I learned our problems are common with other folks. I'm going to buy another Saeco because they make great espresso for the price but I will make sure it is returnable when it stops working.

Problems since month 3 – Very disappointed to say the least. Thought long and hard about spending this kind of money but really enjoy my Americanos so decided to splurge. Bought it Dec./13 and in March/14 a sensor went in it. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house so it has light use. Had to send it to Edmonton (at my own cost) to get it repaired. Was told I could… Read more

not grind dark beans in this machine (my favourite!) because it gums up the grinder. Now this morning I come out to water all over my counter so I assume a hose has maybe gone! Seven months old and headin in for repair for the 2nd time! Would give it away at this point but who would want the headache. Will definitely not buy another Saeco. the coffee tastes great when the machine works too many to mention, not impressed with having to pay to send it for warranty

Milk quality? – I am a little bit worried with the quality of the frothed milk...it looks like the milk container is never connected the right way since it always put way too much air in the milk and does not really create a foamt

Great machine, great coffee! – Great machine. My partner and I use it with beans from the local coffee shop and it's as good as any cafe creation. Easy to use and clean, highly recommend! Show details

Coffee Machine – It is a very good machine, but need to have service can you please let me know where there nearest service centre are. I am going down to Vic for X-mas, if there aren't any in Northern Territory I can bring it down with me. I will be in N/E VIC. I am not sure when I purchased the Machine  Show details ·  1

Great coffee machine – We bought the machine over 5 years ago. I you clean and carry out all the maint tasks, this machine will last forever. A couple of plastic items have broken, but replaced easily enough. All in all a Very good machine, easy to use and great tasting coffee from it.  Show reply

It's a good espresso machine with a too small water tank – I bought this machine on the 14th of April 2015. Setting up the machine was easy with help from YouTube.The machine makes very nice coffee. Coming from a 2002 Saeco Royal, I know that Saeco makes nice espresso machines. I do agree that the tanks are very small. You have also to understand that the machine is only counting how many cups you made… Read more ·  1

already to show the "coffee grounds drawer" FULL sign. If you empty out the drawer every time after use, you will see the Full sign maybe with only one cup made next time. I do know that from my Royal too. That is no fault of the machine. The machine did have from the beginning also the leaking water tank and I thought first, I installed the water filter wrong. Filling the tank in the evening, the drip tray underneath filled up faster then it should be because I always caught the rinsing water in a cup. I checked the valve a couple times. Still leaking. Called Philips Canada and they send out a replacement tank right away.

Use the small water tank as a reminder. When the tank is empty, clean the the coffee grounds drawer and flush the brew group under water. Check also out on YouTube how to use this Saeco espresso machine and to make full use of this nice espresso machine. I know I am spoiled from Saeco because it changed my coffee experience completely. Our friends always enjoyed our old Saeco Royal. When it broke we got asked right away if we are getting a new one. I could only stay away from my good coffee for 3 days then I bought the Intelia for a very good price.

2nd time had to send it for repair – Our machine is 5 years old, we had it repaired the first time 2 years ago, it cost us $250 and now it is spoilt again. We got a quote $350. Honestly how can one justify $600 for repairs in 5 years. We only have one person in our home that drinks coffee, it is not like a commercial coffee machine. If your product is so lousy then you ought to take… Read more

responsibility of repairing it at least. Why should I have to fork out so much money in repairs. Sorry but you have a lousy product and lousy service as well. If you stand by your product then repair it for free.

The Ducati of Coffee Machines – We have had our Syntia for about 5 years and have had problems with it from day 1. When it's working it makes good coffee, but it breaks down too often, and these issues combined with the inherent design issues make it a marginal decision. Design issues: 1. Water and waste containers too small 2. Chrome plated plastic steam wand - chrome… Read more

peels off

3. Requires constant attention to keep it going

Other problems:

1. The biggest single issue is the fact that the firmware or software or board design are not up to snuff. The result is regular dropped shots because the water/steam pump gets out of synch with the brew group and after having made a coffee and frothed the milk, the next coffee is almost guaranteed to cause a dropped shot becaus when the bean grinding starts, the water pump also starts and it is obvious that the machine doesn't know where it is, or should be, in the cycle. The workaround for this is to force the machine to run through a fake coffee cycle before attempting a real coffee cycle. I do this by pressing the Grinds button, but not putting any grinds in the hopper, then pressing the Memo button to start the coffee cycle. The result is that it runs water through the system and resets ready for the next coffee. It still drops shots even with this technique, but I have greatly reduced the number of times my very expensive coffee gets wasted.

2. General breakdowns. We have had the steam wand replaced with a metal one, a new mother board and a new water tank.each time, we are without our coffee machine for a period of time.

All in all, I would not recommend this coffee machine. We have managed to keep it going for all this time be regularly servicing it and having it repaired when needed, and working out ourselves, how to overcome issues, but this is not how it should be!

Terrible – I purchased the Syntia for my parents as a gift thinking I was giving them the best. After bits of shard like foil was found in the milk I ended up giving them my tried and trusted Saeco talea touch which has a solid stainless steel steam wand (not flimsy foil that will eventually peel away). Not happy with this cheap looking flimsy wand - its a… Read more

shame because I was very happy with my Saeco first purchase. Think too much emphasis has been placed on the asthetics of the machine and not in the quality and durabilty of parts. Give this machine a miss... not all Saecos are like this Looks beautiful Easy to use esp for older folk Bigtime letdown is the steam wand. Within a few months the flimsy foil covering the steam wand started to peel off revealing plastic underneath. After using the wand and discovering bits of foil in the milk we stopped using it altogether

Trouble from day 1 – This is my 4th saeco Machine and with and had trouble from day 1 you only get 1 cup of coffee in every 3 It aborts the rest it thinks its got no beans but its full. Lots of waste. Had trouble with previous machines from boiler splitting to grinders failing .They were repaired under warranty but takes over 2 months to get repaired. Good size aese of use

Make sure appliance repair store is in your area – I previously owned a saeco machine - it didn't skip a beat. This new one however is a disappointment to say the least. The water and drip tray capacity are painfully small requiring attention every 2 cups made. Prob my fault for not checking that out. Most disappointing of all he machine $1200 worth no longer works after 8 months. I have spent… Read more

many hrs on the phone and emails to sort and trouble shoot with no result, I have no service place here ( I thought warranty was warranty clearly it's last resort.) So the plan is now have to send it away to have it looked at! and who pays the freight for that and now I have paid $1200 and have no machine, been accused of misuse, and a they will let me know if its a warranty issue or not once they have looked at it. Look elsewhere seems to be many issues with this machine .........

8 months old and doesn't work. No one services them in my area.

Very good makes nice coffee – I have had this unit for over 18months. we make 2 coffees very day sometimes more, thats well over 1000cups, yes the shiny crome looking wand peeled off nother stays new for ever, the unit looks great takes up little space. it can make a baristar out of anyone, you can make flat white in less time it takes to make an instant. very easy to use the… Read more

12 year old makes a great capacino great looks, compact, reliable, easy to use wand could be more flexable and made of stainless steal

Disapointed – I had to take it for a repair as the tank was leaking and the wand peeling after a months use,The water tank is too small and still seems to leak into drip tray. It often gives false message to empty dreg tray after 2 coffees .I live 1 hour away from service centre so not easy to get fixed. Very disapointed I like the coffee and the sleek look of the machine Trouble after only a month-service centre 1 hour away

Be carefull, this is not THE MACHINE it seem's to be – Syntia was my 8th expresso machine. The most expensive, the worst one. Wat I've read about disapointing performance concernning cappucinos, too small beens and water compartments is true. And the pre-milled decafeinated cofee? Don't try, most of times send the powder away without brewing. But the worst thing is the brewing unit: There is a moving… Read more

botom of the powder receptacle who is supposed to go down before powder droping from the mill. It often fails to go down and the resoult is an expresso who looks more like tee than a brown collor cofee, and a lot of powder spreads around the unit who has to be constantly cleaned. A mass.

I do not recomend this machine, not at all. Thank God I send it away.

(Sorry for my poor english but I believe you will understand) The nice looking design Bad performance for a too high price

Bad – Poor design, milk unable to be stretched to a silky consistency but rather all bubbly (unless you tape closed the hole on the wand). Drip tray poor design, water bounces off and ends up on the bench. Water and waste containers are tiny and you attend to them every 4 - 5 coffees. A beautiful looking machine, but unfortunately that's about it.… Read more

Looks fantastic on the kitchen bench! Brushed stainless steel leaves no finger marks and it's neat and a lovely size for any kitchen. The panarello style steam wand just puts heaps of bubbles in the milk without being able to make it silky and stretched as you get in a cafe. After 10 years owning coffee machines we thought this was going to be the best machine we'd ever owned, until we used it. We have spent a week looking up solutions to this panarello steam wand debacle. Online people have suggested taping the hole which sucks so much air into the wand at the top of the panarello. we did this and it has improved , but for $1499 why should we have to look for solutions to correct badly designed components? Bubbly milk, poor tasting coffee and poor design. For instance, the water and waste drawers are tiny and the light comes on to attend to them way before it's necessary (after just 5 coffees!) The drip tray is not grilled in design so the steam wand simply sprays water which bounces off this tray and makes a mess on the bench rather than going into the drip tray. So this machine is sadly just a pretty face.

Great – Only purchased yesterday but so far so good. Easy to use, coffee is great. Have had a Saeco talea ring and after 5 years it broke down so decided to buy a new one and this one is better. Although smaller in size it is more compact on our bench top. The way reservoir is smaller but sufficient for us. The chrome looks nice but hope it lasts the… Read more

distance. Purchased with a 5 year warranty at extra cost, so hope it lives up to full replacement offer if anything goes wrong with it in that time. Sleek square look, stainless bits, tray is nice, brew kit all the same Would be better if the milk frother could pull out, rather than just push to the side.

Two day screamer – i was happy for the first day of the purchase second day it broke down,throwing errors at me after contacting saeco and following their instructions the machine still did not respond the techi said it has a problem in the motherboard that it was a dud and to take it back for a new one ,i took it back alright for a refund . one day of coffee expensive dud

Bad – This is the second Saeco machine I have owned. the first one was a more expensive machine; a dud as well, The machine would shut down because of a faulty pump problem, ie could not froth milk. I had it repaired twice within 3 months, the third time, it dumped ground coffee straight into the dregdrawer. The retailer swapped it for me (with the… Read more

approval of a Saeco rep) for a lesser machine then the first one I owned. I do not recommend Saeco or any other automatic coffee machines. The coffee taste is not as intense/flavoursome as that of a manual machine. I do not believe these machines ground the coffee fine enough and/or they cannot temper the coffee hard enough. I have purchased prime coffee from roasting houses in Brisbane and Sydney and the quality of the end product is not as good as manual machines. I intend to go back to a good quality manual machine with an inbuilt grinder. Do not touch the Syntia,.. it is an overpriced machine... It is a compact machine, which looks stylish. It dumps perfectly good coffee in the dregdrawer because the machine has a

faul/malfunction and thinks it has no coffee in the bean hopper. I have had this machine for 4 months now and initially it only did this once a week. We have around 3-4 coffees a day, after 3 months it does this every 4 coffees.

I make sure that there is never gaps in the hopper between the coffee beans but nevertheless it starts to grind the coffee and dumps it in the dregdrawer.Then the computer shows the signal to fill the bean hopper with coffee, Which it already ...has sometimes it is full to the brim with coffee!

Big bubbles - not creamy, textured milk! – After using a Sunbeam Cafe Series 6910, this machine is disappointing. The coffee it makes as automatically adjusted is fairly weak and you can only adjust the grind when you are grinding. It does the pour into a seperate compartment and then pours it into the cup so comes out looking pale and blonde straight away. It is useful that it can take… Read more

ground coffee if you are using a different one some of the time but generally, the coffee 'cakes' in the waste bucket are small and coarsely ground unlike most coffee for espresso.

The milk texturing is disastrous! The silly panarello attachment makes big bubbles and there is no way of just using the steam arm with the small hole as it is too short to fit into the jug!

Overall, it looks pretty and is a nice simple machine for those who could not be bothered having to control factors to get a great coffee but if you want a really good coffee save your money and buy a Rancillio Miss Silvia or a Sunbeam for half the price! Looks nice and is quiet. Expensive. Worst fault is the steam arm which cannot make decent textured milk even if you have a lot of experience in doing so due to the panarello attachment at the end which looks terrible since it is plastic.

Excellent – I am very happy with this machine afetr purchasing it nearly a year ago. I didn't want to spend over $1000 for a new coffee machine after becoming frustrated about my nespresso machine. Speaking to the salesman, he recommended that I take a close look at this new model from Saeco (who were apparently massive in the Italian coffee machine… Read more

industry). For a compact automatic machine, it has loads of features and looked great in the stainless steel finish, which i was surprised to find is rare with many automatic coffee machines in my price range. He made a cappuccino for me and I instantly decided it was the machine for me (after a quick comparison with other machines in the price range). I even had a go of frothing up milk myself before purchasing, which I must admit at first was reluctant to do, but now am so glad I purchased a machine that allowed me to froth up the milk myself, (it is the only way to guarantee a hot and frothy cappuccino every time). The display is nice and large and easy to understand... and it has all the important features such as automatic descale, energy saving mode, programmable coffee length, ceramic grinder and water filter to name just a few. Each day my husband and I enjoy 3 coffees eash from the machine and it runs great.... really quiet too. I got it for $1300 and am really happy with it. compact, looks great, stainless steel (not plastic), beautiful coffee, easy to wash and maintain. cup height adjuster is limited.

Good – Overall very happy with machine and after adjusting coffee grinder blend produces good coffee. I like the self cleaning function that operates before machine shuts down after not being used for a period of time. Good looking machine,makes good coffee. Control knob difficult to operate especially if it gets damp with steam or water.

Excellent – i have had this machine for 4 months and m very happy with the way it is operating. it is my first auto machine and it makes very good cappuccinos nice and hot. it is easy to use and the coloured display with icons makes it easy to operate. i love to look os the machine and fits and looks great in my new kitchen. i was intending on buying another… Read more

brand of machine but looking closely at the features of this machine compared to others, the others didn't measure up. it comes with a brita water filter (which i was told doesn't need to be used) and with a 5 year warranty on the motor part which is real easy to wash. awesome coffee from an awesome machine. fully recommend. small, stylish, quiet, stainless steel body, easy to use, low price. doesn't come in other colours, i wanted it in white.

Great replacement for my old Saeco magic – Great coffee machine. Has a few little faults. Water tank and dregs draw is small and needs empting after 7 cups of coffee. The wand was a little bit hard to get used to compared to my saeco magic but now i can froth awesome milk. The only disapointing thing is my wife cut her hand on the wands plastic arm. The chrome is starting to come off… Read more

even though it is only 3 months old. Will have to get it looked at.

Other than the small faults good value for money and great coffee. Good coffee and easy to use THe dregs and water draw too small. Chrome on wand arm coming off after 3 months.

Excellent unit with few minor design flaws – After a week of heavy use, we are very happy with our purchase. After the initial setup and prime, which took ~20 minutes, it was easy going from there on. All the key components are adjustable/programmable; grind size, coffee strength and delivery volume, which is ideal for the perfectionists out there. It took us couple of days of tweaking… Read more

before we found the 'right' settings. It is very solid build unit with few minor and mainly annoying flaws...

Water tank is arguably small. Unit rinses itself on every startup and shutdown and a lot of water is used in the process and has to be refilled more often than we would like. This could be a design mechanism ensuring fresh water is used as water tank has a replaceable carbon filter with adjustable aroma settings. We are talking serious coffee with this machine.

In terms of the rinse on shutdown, unit will do it only if you brewed coffee last. If you brew coffee first and then froth the milk, it will not rinse the brew unit. As long as you get in habit of doing it in the 'right' order this should not be a problem.

In order to rinse the milk wand you have to do it manually by frothing on empty or by the hot water mode as hot water is delivered through the wand. Yes, this unit acts as a kettle too.

Nozzles on the brew unit are aligned with 2 round holes on the stainless steel drip tray cover so the rinsing goes straight into the drip tray with little or no mess. However, this is not the case with the milk wand. Hole beneath the milk wand does not line up so all the drippings are hitting the stainless steel cover and splashing everywhere first. Minor but annoying design flaw.

The other annoying thing is the milk wand itself. It can only pivot sideways and is not extendible. Depending on the size of the milk jug and/or amount of milk in the jug it can be a little awkward as you have little room for swirling and often have to push the jug right up against the elbow at the top of the wand in order to reach the bottom of the jug. This does not seem to hinder performance at all as hot, frothy milk is made quite quickly.

All these flaws are minor and some people may not find them annoying at all. Once you get familiar with the machine, a top grade mess-free coffee can be made with ease! 4/5 Easy to use, Stylish, Compact Water tank size, Drip tray design, Milk wand movement

Terrible – I would not recommend this company after this. I previously owned a Saeco Magic machine which gave me no trouble at all but was too large for my new kitchen. The product looks smart, is compact but has a very small water tank which needs refilling frequently. Appearance I have owned and used this machine for 6 months and it has been a disaster.… Read more

30% of the time, it grinds then dumps the coffee grounds into the waste bin, showing a warning sign that there are no beans in the feeder despite it being 3/4 full. I am paying for far more coffee than I actually use.

The machine has been serviced twice by the recommended serviceman to no effect. Neither the retailer nor Saeco itself will consider giving me my money (over $1300!) back nor will they replace this faulty machine with another despite their "guarantees" . It seems their grand reputation counts for nothing as they take no responsibility for the fault.

Excellent – our first coffee machine we are very happy with it, simple to use you cant go wrong the led display is very helpful RED tells you stop something needs attention eg; water tank is empty or coffee hopper needs filling AMBER means its getting ready eg; heating up or doing a clean GREEN means go its ready to make the coffee highly recommended stylish great looking machine,very easy to use makes great coffee

Good – This machine replaced a 2.5 year old fully manual machine that didn't last the distance. Have had the Saeco Syntia for 3 months now & couldn't be happier. It makes a great coffee with just the touch of a button. The steam wand creates a thick creamy froth easily & quickly. Maintenance on the machine is very simple with prompting via the digital… Read more

display when it requires attention, eg water tank needs filling, the machine needs descaling, dregdrawer needs emptying etc.

The stiff steam dial would be quite difficult to use for someone with eg. arthritis. The small water tank (it holds 1.2 litres) is no biggie as it is a snap to refill & the kitchen tap is within easy reach.

The brushed satin finish is very nice & stays clean with minimal effort. Makes a great coffee effortlessly, is easy to clean. Compact stylish design. Digital display. The water tank is quite small. It only makes about 4 cappuccinos for us before requiring refilling. The coffee/hot water/steam dial is very stiff to rotate. The drip tray fills very quickly too as the machine seems to use a lot of water flushing the system before each use.

Good – Great stylish machine. East to operate and clean. Produces great tasting crema coffee quickly and efficiently.For those wanting the full benefit of a fully automatic coffee machine without the bulk, this compact design is perfect. stylish design. Will fit kitchen with limited bench space. Easy to operate. Makes great flavoured coffee. Very easy… Read more

to clean. Would like my coffee hotter. Although I am used to a perculator and may need to adjust taste buds to suite different style of coffee making.

Excellent – I would recommend this coffee machine in a heart beat! Definitely worht the price. I checked online and at good guys and harvey norman. I got harvey norman to match my online price of $1120....pretty happy with that side of it too! This machine is very very simple machine. I have previously had a brevile and sunbeam coffee machine, both of which… Read more

stoppped working. I decided on the Syntia for price and quality. I wanted an automatic machine as my first two were manual. I am very very pleased with the machine. I have only had for a week. I read quite a few reviews and believed it to be a sound purchase. It is really easy to use, just press the button and there's your coffee. I had read others reviews in regards to the small water tank, but if you know about that early, who cares really! I like how the machine prompts you to do what it wants. Easy to clean and the way it self rinses is pretty cool. It does that at the start and when it automatically switches of/or you switch it off. I would certainly recommend this machine - thus far. I made sure to get a long warranty too, just in case! Nothing too harsh. So far so good. Smal water tank - but so what...Oh when you want to froth milk, it goes amber first and gets the steamer ready to steam your milk and kind of spurts out water. A little frustrting as it spurts out onto the drip tray and bench. But again it is only a little annoying, I can deal with it!

Excellent – First machine, and best. No real complaints has served us well for going onto 2 months now. Beautiful coffee once you get ratios set up correctly for shot ratio of water to bean, and most importantly choosing your favourite beans. Easy to follow maintenance with screen prompts,easy to clean brew group detaches for thorough rinsing. Very pretty! Difficult to purchase lube for brew group, don't know where to get it from!