Sunbeam Cafe Series Espresso PU6910 (EM6910 Machine + EM0440 Grinder)

Great machine for price but must maintain – Had this machine nearly a couple of years. Fabulous coffee when the grind and pressure are correct - pressure just in the top of the red. Easy when you understand how to setup the extraction. Requires maintenance: Frequent descaling (each 1-2 weeks) descaling with tablet for coffee to taste best. A couple of times the steam wand has lost… Read more

pressure - I used descale through the water tank and through the steam wand (even thought Sunbeam don't recommend). This is what worked for me: descale solution in water tank, open steam for 5-15 mins, wait 5 mins, blob of dark brown residue may come out, pressure increases, do over until back to best pressure and no dark residue.

The group head on the machine distorted creating a lip (alloy too soft I guess) making the porta-filter hard to get in and out - jamming on the basket. This at about 14 months - I removed the lip with a file. All good. the same problem has recurred and I just filed it again.

Leaking round the group head. if coffee grounds get caught around the seal it will leak. Clean it. When the seal wares out it does require replacement that can be done easily at home (17-25 for the part). In my case it needed a seal at the two year mark (4-6 extractions per day).

All in all a great machine for the price but need a bit of maintenance.

Workhorse of a machine – The coffee machine: This machine lasts for years when taken care of properly - I haven't read through the reviews but if anyone had issues with longevity I guarantee they didn't do maintenance. If you're prepared to look after your machine you'll easily get 10+ years out of it. We've sold these machines when moving or quitting coffee and bought… Read more

them again. I learnt to buy from people who said they cleaned and maintained their machines after buying some clearly neglected.

Easy to pull a great shot with good crema.

Steam is strong enough to froth milk quickly.

Machine can do cup after cup, I've made around 20 in one session.

The grinder:

Not so great, never quite perfected the fine grind I was after and blades dull very quickly. Ranging from too sensitive on the dial to not sensitive enough I got rid of it pretty quickly in favour of a different grinder. I would give this 3-4 stars if on its own... having said the above, it is better than a spice grinder, or any grinder I've come across in-built into a machine.

Secondhand I've bought these machines from $50-$300 depending on age, current state of residence and accessories included.

Faulty product with appalling customer service – I got this in June/ July and straight off the grinder did not work as it should. The beans were ground far too coarse, even on the finest setting. I researched the issue and it was a common problem. So much so that when I contact Sunbeam they said it is a known issue, and that the solution is to send out more washers. They made me count the… Read more

current number and they sent me two washers out. I needed to go and buy more at Bunnings! If this is a known problem, do your customers a favour and notify them in the box and provide additional spare washers. This is a no brainer.

The bigger issue is that the espresso machine started to short the power in my house every time I turned it on (machine under 3 months old). I tested on multiple power points. Within 2 minutes, the fuse switches. I contacted Sunbeam and they sent me to drop the product at a service centre. This is reasonable. What is not reasonable is that three weeks later I have heard NOTHING. When I dropped the product I was told it would be 2 weeks minimum, I said well what is the maximum? The man scowled at me and said take it up with Sunbeam if I have a problem.

To ask a coffee lover to go 3 weeks without their coffee suggests Sunbeam don't know much about your customers. I have asked the Sunbeam customer service team to follow up with me, to give me an update, in multiple emails, and I get completely ignored. This is really bad customer service.

very good indeed – i bought mine years ago,maybe 8 to 10 and it has been in daily use since ,and has taken some spectactular abuse and functioned well i replaced the group head seal two days ago and then realised the group collar is competely worn out as well,so hopefully that arrives next week ,its sounds like a chainsaw when the pump goes ,a durable and worthwhile machine,does a mean short black! Show details ·  1

Makes a fabulous coffee! – We have owned this machine and grinder for a number of years now. It gets used 3-4times a day and is still going strong! Good crema, milk froths nicely, grinder set to 7 for us works perfectly. Easy to clean. Consistently produces good coffee. Friends comment on what great coffee we have when they come over. It does take practice to make a great… Read more ·  1

coffee so don't expect that the machine will do it all for you. The user also plays a part in producing a great coffee. We have had Sunbeam machines for over 5 years now and they have all produced a great coffee.

Great option for two and also for entertaining – We have used a POD machine for years and got sick of the cost and less than perfect taste. A friend had one of these and we liked the look of it. Its been a great choice. With practice the coffees are getting better and better. Nearly always i am disappointed with Cafe versions because our home coffee is better. We often use this for two… Read more

coffees - its easy enough to clean this is not a problem. A few times we have used this for guests doing around 12 coffees and find it fast + easy.

Wish we'd never had a pod machine and saved ourselves $100 of dollars. We will pay this back within 12 months.. and have better coffee.

Poor quality – I have bought this brand long time ago and lasted for almost eight years. I was very happy with the quality and it made very good coffee. I use it every day 2-3 times a day, so when it broke down I didn’t hesitate to run to shop and to buy exactly the same brand. But I soon realised this one is far from the best as I have before. I need to use a… Read more

cloth to manage to turn steam button to make a good frothing (only good part of the machine). Coffee was terrible, wasn’t able to make one good coffee. I couldn’t believe it because last one was excellent. I just stopped using it and I bought a different brand that turned out to be very good. The grinder is a bad quality as well compared the one that came with my fist machine. When you finish grinding and start making coffee, grinder spills what is leftover that goes to your waste. Not happy at all. Disappointed.

Not as good as expected but ok – Coffee tastes fine but the machine is very noisy and have to clean the group head often or it doesn't cream the coffee well .l would prefer to go back to our saeco automatic machine which was much easier to use and less messy .the grinder works good but is messy  Show details

Good but some issue! – Bought this machine brand new form ebay 2 months ago. It's quite easy to use it if you follow the instructions book. However there's some electrical issue. The machine somehow can turn on by itself and making a mess with water flowing. Been trying to contact the ebay seller but no respond yet.  Show details

Extremely well-made machine! – I use this every single day and has not skipped a beat! Such a well-made machine, I have had this for years, and is super durable. Makes such a nice coffee, quite small so doesn't even really take up much bench space! Only downside is it is quite loud but it is an old machine :) Highly recommend.  Show details

Great value home espresso machine – Have had the machine for over 4 years now and it has produced excellent quality coffee, after I had some tuition from a barista mate. Consistency does depend more on the quality of the beans, rather than the machine and I have learnt that poor coffee is more likely to be poor beans, particularly dry and stale ones. My mate said that if I wasn't… Read more ·  1

prepared to roast my own, then save money by buying high turnover beans from Woolies, Coles or Aldi at 12 bucks a kilo, as they were often fresher than the expensive stuff. How right he was.

The only problem I have had, was when replacing the seal. The new one still leaked, as the portafilter was not tight. Making a gasket from a piece of silicon oven sheet (about 1mm) , using the seal as a template and inserting this first, before replacing the seal, restored the tightness and stopped the leak. It is now perfect again.

An excellent well made machine – These are a great machine,they are rock-solid and do an excellent Cappucino,I have purchased a stack of them as spare parts too, collected over the years too in case they are discontinued,for I want to keep mine working,the only issues I have had is the usual with all Cappucino machines, and that is ,Scale build-up causing reduction of frothing… Read more ·  1

capability,(pumping CLR through the plumbing fixes that), the odd steamer pump failure,(I replaced the pump),seal leakage,(new seal),A great machine all round,well present and well made

Fantastic coffee machine at a great price – This coffee machine produces great tasting coffee without the bitterness, and grinds the beans down very finely to extract the flavour. It's comparable in quality to a lot of other more expensive and high end Brands and the sleekness and finish of it make it look really nice on the bench top. It's easy to use and also easy to clean, but you need to be careful when taking it apart in case any parts break off.  Show details

Good value for money for entry espresso machine – Bought it on clearance from Myer, and the machine works well. However the included EM0440 Grinder makes a bit of mess when grinding the beans, which seems to be a consensus for many reviews online. The steam comes out strong, the coffee pressure is good - although I am still learning to make that perfect cup of cuppa. There's a tiny leak of water… Read more

drops on steam / hot water wands when not in use but if they are pointed on the drip tray it's a no big deal.

Love this machine – I have owned 2 of these coffee machines and both make my flat white coffees exactly as I like them. I wore the first one out after using it almost every day for 6 years. I had no reservation getting another one, it came in a pack with a bonus grinder which took a few tries getting the grind right, but now I have, perfect coffee again.  Show details

Great machine - some small issues – Have had this machine for 7 years and I am now looking at having to replace it. I have been lucky not to have had any real issues with it. The only thing I was disappointed with was leaking. The overflow from the machine didn't always run into the drip tray - it would run under the drip tray and cause a mess. It made great coffee though and was… Read more

very reliable and easy to use. It is now spitting everywhere and grinds are going into the coffee. Not sure if I am going to buy the same machine as I don't want a leaky machine and I am not sure if this is an issue in the newer model. I have also struggled to buy the cleaning products from Sunbeam which is disappointing - whenever I go online they are out of stock.

Best machine I've owned so far! – I have tried a lot of different coffee machines from a lot of different brands over the years & this one is by far the best. It's hard to make a bad coffee with this machine! The coffee extracts with a nice crema & the milk frothing wand is excellent! Would highly recommend!  Show details

My lifesaver – Love this machine, fairly easy to use. I make wickedly great coffee now, haven't had an instant coffee at home since I got given it for Christmas  Show details

Horrible - waste of money – I purchased this machine in September 2015 upon the recommendations of a friend. I was going to get a Breville, which I should have done. My Sunbeam leaks constantly, it takes me ages to get the group handle into the group head. Water also squirts out of the hot water outlet. The first 10 months, it worked fine - but then the problems started.… Read more

Had it fixed the first time under warranty. A few months later, the problems started again - this time it was out of warranty. I was quoted $89 just to look at it and then whatever it would cost to fix. I declined and it now resides on the scrap heap - not even 2 years old. I will NEVER purchase a Sunbeam product again!

life span not impressive – Purchased two sunbeams over the years. The heater for the milk lasted one year. was replaced and broke down after an other year, did not bother to fix for $200.00 a fix. Quality of coffee went backwards over the years. Lost of leaks over the years, Pressure gauge stopped working, on average 8 cup a day were made over 4 sessions a day Will go for… Read more

a professional machine now. Cost a bit more but hopefully last longer with less repair costs, Time will tell

Decent coffee but poor design – Makes ok coffee, pressure gauge not accurate, more of a toy, it always points to the same mark, regardless of grind, stamp or other variables. Leaks and leaks and leaks. I had it fixed for AU $130 at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, however after 3 weeks it leaked again. Aftersales service was unhelpful and leaning towards arrogance. In summary, I do not recommend the machine and will not buy Sunbeam again.  Show details

An honest review of Sunbeam Espresso Coffee Machine EM 6910 – I have given it a 3 out of 5 star rating as there are areas that need to be mentioned. 1) Yes, the product brochure image looks good, but, as for the crema, it falls way short in reality. We have tried various grinding settings, and different filters but the only one that produced any sort of crema was when using the single dual basket which is… Read more

OK when only one cup is being made. The Espresso Gauge has yet to reach the 9 o'clock position let alone 12 o’clock.

2) As for simultaneous usage ... If you are left-handed you may be able to juggle frothing the milk as it is on the LHS, brewing the coffee and looking at the Expresso Guage all at the same time but this begs belief. To do all this at the same time is a recipe for concern/safety.

3) The machine trays, 2 of, vibrate excessively which makes the cups tendency to wander. You could add this item to (2). The vibration is quite noisy as well.

4) The instructions state to warm up the Group Handle 1st before brewing. This is OK except if you are going to use the provided grinder, there is the problem of water still in the group handle which, when using the dual filter can be messy as the fluid contained within can & does pour out when the group handle is removed from the group head harness. This is water @ 90° C, so be very careful!

5) Water pumping is another very noisy affair and comes out in spurts instead of a continuous flow which would be the norm. It is also slow ... very slow, even when turned on full flow. Overall the machine is noisy.

6) The machine looks good, makes coffee but remember the quality of brew will depend on many factors:

a) Are the beans freshly roasted (less than 3 days old)?

b) Is the grind fineness right?

c) Are the beans of good quality to start off with? ... We grow and roast our own beans and supplement this with green beans bought from Central America.

d) Water quality has to be considered. If you are on reticulated supply then you will have chlorine to contend with. We have bore water so this is not a concern for us, even still, our drinking water is fine filtered.

We have yet to use the cleaning disk nor needed to decalcify as it is a recent purchase.

Overall the machine does what it is made to do i.e. brews coffee, froths milk, is easy to clean & reasonably easy to use. At the price offered it is reasonable value ... but, you get what you pay for. There are way more expensive machines on the market that do a much better job, but common sense dictates or at least should do. To us, coffee is part of our social being and we look forward to it each quality time.

I hope that this critique helps you in your decision making for you are the only one to make it. Bon appetite.

Never buying a Sunbeam product again! – I purchased this product 2 and half years ago and in that time I have had many issues with the machine. I have had continual problems with the steam wand losing pressure so I sent the machine away to be repaired twice. Both times it was fixed and worked great for a few months and then we had the same issue happen again. I also noticed that over… Read more

time I have had to grind the coffee beans courser and courser otherwise the water does not flow through the group head.

After paying $500 for this machine I am greatly disappointed that it didn't last long at all. At this point, due to the machine being out of warranty the steam wand is completely unusable so I will be purchasing a new coffee machine. It most definitely will not be a Sunbeam brand coffee machine.

Good but not great coffee machine & grinder – I purchased the Sunbeam EM6910 coffee machine early 2012 (4 1/2 years ago) along with the EM0440 grinder. I have not had any major problem with the coffee machine or grinder, though I usually only make 1 coffee per day, so usage is very light. 2 minor problems that have cropped up are that the low water level warning light now constantly… Read more

indicates a low water level, even when the water tank is full. The other problem is that coffee sometimes leaks from the group head seal head if it is not tightened very tightly. The group seal head gasket is still the original gasket, it has never been replaced.

Other niggles rather than major faults are that the machine is also fairly noisy when in operation. This has been since new, & I believe that all of the EM6910 machines are quite noisy, so this is a design issue rather than a fault. The other niggle is that the pressure guage is also in an awkward position, hard to see without crouching down a bit as it is down towards the bottom of the machine.

Apart from that the machine makes a fairly good cup of coffee, & the steam wand makes sufficient steam to froth the milk nicely. It is not a brilliant machine, but it is not a bad machine either, & probably a bit above average for the price.

As with any coffee machine, no matter how good the machine is, you will only get a good cup of coffee with good, freshly roasted, & freshly ground coffee beans, ground sufficiently finely to produce decent pressure when being extracted, so a decent coffee grinder is also a must.

As for the sunbeam EM0440 coffee grinder, the grinder grinds the beans sufficiently fine enough on a setting of between 8 to 12 on the dial (depending on the freshness of the beans, & also sometimes the weather) to produce good extraction from the machine, & a with a nice frothy crema on top. I normally grind the beans straight into the group handle. It is a little bit messy this way, as a fair bit of coffee also ends up over the bench top as well as in the group handle.

At the time I purchased these in 2012, I paid $595.00 for both the machine & grinder, so I would rate the combo slightly above average for the price.

I have recently upgraded the EM6910 coffee machine to the Sunbeam EM7000 coffee machine (as I got a factory refurbished model at a price too good to pass up). I still have the EM6910, which I still use at another house, now only a couple of days a week, however for my main use I now mostly use the EM7000.

So if you are wondering whether to purchase an EM6910 or the EM7000, I would definitely recommend that the EM7000 is well worth the extra dollars, as I believe that it IS a superior machine. I will post a review on the EM7000 under the reviews for that particular machine.

Not sure about durability – Makes great coffee. Hot water valve seized up after 14 months and the group head frame wore so that it was loose. We have had these repaired and now after 16 months, the steam valve has frozen tight. It is now in for its second service. It has paid its way with 6 espresso/cappuccino each day.  Show details ·  1

Impressed with service – Purchased in March... made good coffees but a couple of problems that annoyed me. Took it back and received a complete refund or handover - whichever I prefer. That is impressive warranty service. Texturing wand is a little less easy to use compared to previous model. Hard to get the right consistency.  Show details

Not to expectation – Very happy with last machine we had for 5years, so replaced with a new one, but disappointed as pressure gauge only goes half way, and very slow, therefore not extracting coffee to optimum requirement.Sumbeam have been helpful in there support, but we are not confident in this machine to perform.  Show details

Machine stops working properly after first use! – Bought 6910 last week and tried on the night it arrived, it worked all right except the milk forth is a little bit thin. I can accept that since it's not a machine for commercial use but only home use. Then this morning I tried to make a coffee to bring to work but the machine just stopped working properly! Used the same methods and same coffee… Read more

bean but the pressure gauge didn't move for the whole time, and the coffee tasted burnt and no crema at all. Thought it was my problem coz the beans I used for the second time was one week old so tonight tried again with fresh beans grinded by level 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 but still, non worked. Tried the coin thing for tamp pressure so it should be all right. Can't figure out what else I missed. Any suggestions on how I can fix this?

No issues here – I used to have an auto Delonghi which was worth a bit more than this but I wanted to learn some barista skills so replaced it with one of these. Was not expecting much from the grinder and it does what I expected it to do for something that was basically free. I can consistently get a good coffee from it, decent beans play a big part and… Read more

learning to dose correctly, I can see the advantage to the expensive grinders now but that can wait. Have played around with some other branded baskets, VST and Synesso and have actually gone back to the Sunbeam basket for most of the time. The machine has had no issues that some others have experienced.

Great coffee, poor service life – This machine has the potential to be a great coffee maker - reasonable price and excellent coffee and steaming ability. The thing that really lets it down is the portafilter collar. Admittedly, initially I would have been updosing a little - the collar wore down to the point where the handle was all the way to opposite lock after only 2 or 3… Read more

months use. To give praise where it is due, the phone hotline were very helpful and the warranty repair was performed reasonably quickly.

After learning not to updose (read up on the 5c coin test) - the machine was going fine for another 2 years and a few portafilter seals - until the last seal was replaced - and the filter was a little more firm to lock in. 6 weeks later, the collar had worn down again and will refuse to stay locked in. If you don't hold the handle while the shot is pouring, there will be water and coffee grounds all over the bench....

If Sunbeam could just fix the collar issue, use a more robust material, this would be a great machine.\

Replacing the collar this time myself (well out of warranty now) - but will be a backup to a new Breville unit this time.

Nice coffee, good value - mine died – Pros: • Price ($526) • Makes quite decent coffee with not too much setup • Looks good/Sunbeam brand Cons: • It broke! No water was coming into the group head. • Very noisy – the machine was so loud you couldn’t have a conversation while using it. The grinder was noiser than the new one we have now also. This is the main reason I asked… Read more

for a refund not a replacement

I’ve given it 2 stars as I can’t give more for a $500 coffee machine that doesn’t last a year, I would have given it 4 before it broke. When it was working it was nice coffee. I'd recommend the extended warranty, but check the conditions; the Good guys extended warranty doesn't carry onto replacement machines so you may not really have the peace of mind you think you're getting.

When ours broke at 6 months old, we had been making around 3 coffees a day. I took it back to the Good Guys and after an unfortunate experience with an inexperienced manger I got my money back and went to Domayne and bought a EM7000 Sunbeam (with extended warranty) and I bought a separate matching EMO700 Grinder. I’ll do a review of the new coffee machine/grinder also, it’s much better but it cost me almost double for the new setup so isn’t really comparable.

Not a good experience – The initial experience was great while it worked, then problems starting rolling in. The first problem was the steam control dial didn't turn off the steam completely. We sent it away to have it fixed under warranty, which resulted in the problem being resolved but the dial and surround were damaged upon it being returned. A few months later the… Read more

espresso pump became highly sensitive to the grind settings used in the filter baskets. The grind went from being a recommended grind setting to become very course and the machine struggled to pour an espresso shot (the gauge shows that it has been 'over extracted' even though it was a very course grind). Along with this issue, the steam pump has dropped pressure causing the heating of milk to be extremely slow and makes for a very flat coffee (user will take some blame). So for the time it takes to make a coffee at home, you might as well get one from the local cafe. Yes, the troubleshooting/manual guides have all been read and the machine cleaned multiple times with the same issues still occurring. Having said this, if the machine didn't have these issues and continued to work as it did from the day the box was opened, I would be a happy customer. Unfortunately it has not been that ideal experience. I recommend buying with caution and to expect some issues.

Great coffee but jury is out on reliability – Well the experience with this coffee machine got off to a bad start, after about 1 week of use the machine lost pump pressure, as an experienced coffee machine user I could tell something was not right. I returned to store and since the machine was so new expected a replacement. Unfortunately the store insisted that it was sent to a service… Read more

company. The service company called me a few days later and very rudely told me there was nothing wrong with the machine and that I had not been following the cleaning / decalcifying process correctly... After only 1 weeks use this really made no sense. They returned the supposedly perfectly fictional machine an it still had the same issue.. Working but no pressure.

The machine was then sent to sunbeam NZ who also insisted there was no issues.. After much stress and phone calls and me being made to feel I was in the wrong I finally got a replacement machine... And wow as expected it worked perfectly... Good steam pressure and makes great coffee / milk frothing etc. A really good machine! Maybe slightly noisy would be my only comment. The machine has been going strong for just over a year so hopefully will continue. Just replaced the group head seal which was a little pricey and didn't seem to last as long as I would hope.

The grinder works well but even the finest setting is not really a fine enough grind for the pump power of the machine.

So a shame really.. Probably would have been a five star review. The amount of fuss involved for me dealing with sunbeam NZ and their agents was very disappointing and makes me reluctant to buy their products.

Faulty design or faulty batch – I am just in the process of returning the second of these machines which has been proved faulty straight out of the box. When the hot water spout is in use, water also streams from the Group Head. I contacted Sunbeam Customer Service again and they confirmed that this is faulty behaviour, so back it goes to point of purchase. I really feel… Read more

sorry for the retailers as they too are being given the run around by the manufacturer of these defective machines causing loss and inconvenience. The devices appear to be faulty in design or maybe a faulty batch has been dumped on the unsuspecting market.

Once again I have the added expense and lost time in returning this appalling product. This time though I have had enough and will be seeking a refund to buy a machine from another manufacturer which may actually work.

My advise to other prospective purchasers is to buy something else. To those who have already purchased, you have my sympathy.

It is a pity that Sunbeam these days choose to trash their previously well respected brand name with shoddy rubbish such as this. Sunbeam in the past always were regarded as one of the better brands. No More!

Very good machine – Using freshly roasted coffee, this machine pours a fine espresso. It took a while to get the correct grind but once set the coffee has been great. I've been using it at least twice a day for 18 months without any issues but will need to replace the seal soon. Highly recommended.  Show reply