Sunbeam Cafe Series Espresso EM7000

I just made a coffee and thought holy smokes I can't believe this thing is still making great coffee after 4+ years. Pair this up with a good grinder (its crucial to grind your own beans for good coffee) and you are in business! We have even taken this with us when we have stayed at a holiday house, so its a sturdy unit.

Some one & a half years have passed since I purchased this unit following the failure of my old machine & I thought it was about time that I took pen to paper to view my thoughts on the above unit.
Firstly a quick run-down of its features, twin boilers - enables you to extract & froth your milk at the same time, this does this may not seem important but when you are making coffee for a number of guests the time saved at the machine is a welcome relief, the tank holds 3 litres of water (with inbuilt filter) a generous amount, various programming adjustments enabling you to adjust the machine to your brewing liking & cleaning programs, having said this I find the standard settings suit me down to the ground.
My old machine was an EM6900 which had served me for over four year before failing and I had no hesitation on replacing it with another Sunbeam unit. I could have had it repaired but living in a country town and no local service agent was a hassle & the opportunity to buy a new machine with an inbuilt temperature probe & gauge was too much to resist. Was it worth having the inbuilt temp probe & display gauge worthwhile? My answer is a definite yes.
The machine has worked perfectly over the time owned & makes a great cup of coffee, my unit is paired with a Breville BCG820 Grinder (this replaced my old Sunbeam EM480 grinder) & I will list the steps taken to produce what I consider a great cup of coffee using the two units. Firstly, I use a VST coffee grinder basket (both single & double quantity) matched to a Pullman coffee tamper in place of the units supplied, these baskets hold a few grams more ground coffee & as we use 250ml coffee mugs & I find the little bit extra produces a coffee to my liking. If you are using a smaller cup then you can use the standard basket, but if you are like me & love the feel of the heavier tamper then update. Adjusting the dose & grind of ground the coffee can be a challenge to the new comer but using these two units correctly will enable you to produce the result required, the dose in the filler should reach the water dispersing plate when the handle is inserted, if your dose is correct you will find a neat pattern of the water dispersing plate when the handle is removed, if the coffee in the basket is soggy or not smooth (pattern) then adjust the quantity of the dose up till it is. Once this point is reached you can adjust the grind to give you a perfect extraction. I have found over the years the daily temperature does make a difference to the grind, as an example in the Winter I might grind 4 clicks on the grinder courser than in the Summer so minor changes to your settings are required as the seasons change. You will also find that a different grind is required between 1 & 2 cup baskets to get the best out of your machine. Also different settings will be required when using different types of coffee beans.
I hope these notes help you come to a decision that is best for you.

This machine delivers exceptional coffee every time! I have had it for approximately 3 years now with no faults at all! Only downfall, more work required due to it being manual. The idea was though, that you can make it how you want it with the steam nozzle. However for the sake of saving time when your in a rush, I would go with one of those 'one button' coffee machines that still use beans. Still a great machine for those who have that extra time.

I previously had an old Delonghi machine which was failing and I needed to buy a replacement to be able to continue feeding my coffee addiction in the morning. After shopping around, my sister suggested i look into the Sunbeam models as she had an EM6910 which had lasted her 7 years of off and on usage.

After doing research and pricing I settled on the EM7000 and EM0480 Grinder combo (Recommended) as the EM6910 was no longer sold.

I was very impressed with the quality of the machine when I got it home and it felt solid and looked awesome out of the box. My first few pours were one of trial and error with the Grinder. Once I got that right, the machine told me I was pouring with the correct grind level as the little dial tells you this by indicating 'Grey' for grounds are too coarse or red for grounds are too fine or too tightly packed.

The water wasn't too hot and the coffee was fantastic in Espresso format. The next step was to try the milk frother which worked a treat and the hot water spout did its thing. With a bit of practice I was able to make Lattes like they do at the local Cafe and for a fraction of the cost.

Overall I am extremely happy with this machine 4 years on from purchasing it and it shows no sign of slowing down and is looking like lasting forever.

If you look after your machine including cleaning and maintenance then it will last a very long time.

I absolutely am obsessed with my morning coffee and its important I have a machine that works effortless !! I have had this machine for over 2 years now and it is the best purchase I have made and worth every single cent. Never had an issue with this machine and works the best every single time I use it! Very happy customer!

We are coffee snobs - the only thing we are snobbish about. When you have only one or two coffees are they have to be good. The Sunbeam delivers quality consistently.
We have had our machine for 4 1/2 years now and it's probably coming to end of life (there are signs) but it's still making great coffee.
In the early days we could not get consistently- but realised it was possibly our cheap grinder. Wr got a reasonably grinder and get perfect coffee every time. Very happy.

The EM7000 is at the upper end of consumer machines before you tip over into compact versions of commercial units. As such, it offers features aimed at the aspiring pro, with the ease of use of a more introductory consumer machine, all in a budget-friendly package. In order to meet those competing demands, it does make a few compromises but they're not ones that most users are likely to notice, let alone care about. I've summarised its performance through a few different stages of use below, each of which shows the tension of trying to meet its target market.

The time-out on the machine going into standby is just slightly too short, and it will tend to switch off just before I go back for my second coffee. But to balance that the heat-up is fast, phenomenally fast. Coming from using a range of small boiler, thermoblock and semi-commercial HX or dual boiler machines, I have been struck by how quickly the EM7000 goes from stone cold to ready to brew and steam. It's so fast, in fact, that the outside of the machine is still cold and that includes the portafilter. So you need to make sure to run a shot of water through the filter to bring it up to brew temp before loading your grinds.

The portafilter has single-wall filter baskets, which means you can escape from the myriad horrors of double-wall baskets that dominate cheaper machines. The supplied portafilter and baskets are excellent, but have limited upgrade potential in the future. While the baskets are standard 58mm width, they're not standard depth. So most off-the-shelf filters from other brands will take a slightly lower coffee dose. And the portafilter itself is of non-standard dimensions, so you can't upgrade to a naked portafilter down the track if you're inclined.

The brew controls are incredibly intuitive and easy to use, with volumetric single and double shot options. If you want to tweak it, it does have a programmable brew option as well. But after experimenting with the standard settings, I suspect they would meet the demands of 99% of users without adjustment. The pressure gauge that fires up while brewing is a nod toward the gauges on commercial machines, but the needle jumps slightly erratically, lacks a scale and is more decorative than useful. But it might slightly while dialing in your grinder.

Steaming performance is superb. Really, really superb. The steam wand is easy to use and has plenty of pressure. Not quite the pressure of a commercial, but far beyond most domestics at a pleasant mid-point that still steams fast, without needing super precise timing. It's fast enough to churn out coffees for a group of guests, without the speed you'd want in a cafe. Which is good, because that lets you stretch milk like a pro before having to spend years actually becoming a pro. There's a temperature gauge on the steamer, but like with the brew pressure gauge it's not quite precise enough to be fully useful but is a good learning tool. And of course one of the main advantages for someone coming to this from a cheaper machine, the dual thermoblocks and dual pumps of course mean you can be brewing coffees and steaming milk at the same time.

Cleaning and daily maintenance is easy, but more complex maintenance is also the weakness of balancing between domestic and commercial. Cheaper domestic machines tend to be fairly simple in construction, and easy for an owner to strip back and repair. Compact commercial machines are designed very specifically to be easy to strip back and repair, though the requisite level of owner skill to DIY the fixes is much higher. The complexities of the EM7000 that deliver its performance at that price make it nearly impossible to do any major service beyond cleaning it yourself. If you always take your machine in to the shop for repairs, this won't bother you in the slightest. But if you have always stripped back and repaired your own coffee machines, know that you might have to let someone else have that fun with your new toy.

The EM7000 is aiming for a tough target, but I think it does an admirable job of meeting its requirements. For the money, I haven't seen any other machines come close in their performance.

Once you get the grinding and packing right the coffee is superb! The machine is easy to use and easy to clean and looks sleek in our kitchen. The milk temp gauge cant be somewhat unreliable so we generally judge by feel (holding the jug) as the "desired 60 degrees" often makes the milk too hot.
Coffee comes out perfect temp and the frothing component is improved from the last model with a thicker stem and lower set temp gauge.

Bought mine second hand from Cashies. Best machine ever! Used it ALOT even in my food van and it still works perfectly fine! Sunbeam grinder is a pearler too!! Froths milk really well with temp gaugeDo not buy Delonghi or Saeco, save the money and stick to Sunbeam, you wont regret it!

This machine is built like a German tank, it’s unbreakable.
Love it.
It churns out 1kg a week in our home and has not shown any signs of giving up.
Worth every dollar!
This machine gets cleaned on the first day of every new season.
It’s easy to use. Love it

The thing is not that big, perfect for people who just started to learn the skills as the price is quite reasonable, the heat up time is around 18-22mins which i think is quick, the coffees outcome is great and it’s also easy to make a nice coffee and clean the thing, but sometimes the machine is a little bit noisy, but it’s good overall

I love the taste of the coffee ! The coffee is so professional and it doesn't take long to make a coffee.To be honest I can't find a nicer coffee at a cafe . Can't wait to get home for a coffee! Very easy to use & very easy to clean .

Such a great machine that when it needed replacing after many years of daily use we got the same model again. Easy to keep clean and maintain and great quality result. Would highly recommend this machine to anyone who is a coffee lover and is after an easy to use machine.

This is just over a year old and gets used multiple times a day at out place. We all like it and get good results most every time. Unfortunately about eight months in to ownership we has a complete failure one morning and upon servicing the whole board need replacing. It was out of action for some time although all good again now. Failures can happen and I still love the machine. Looks good and does a mean coffee.

Very well-designed and built. Great water capacity and so reliable. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a machine that is well-priced, not temperamental and easy to use. It simply does what it should and does it well. I've stuck with Sunbeam machines for awhile now with no issues.

Well this is a positive review as it makes great coffee on the single cup and 90% of the time I am making 1 coffee and 1 tea. It can take a bit to get use to for a novice but when mastered it's easy. Dual cups can be a bit weak, not terrible but making two at once is an art to get the coffee strong enough with this machine.

A great machine - yes easy to use in conjunction with my sunbeam grinder. The instructions are easy to follow and the cleaning process is just fine. Is a big improvement of my previous sunbeam product. Very good machine for making many cups of coffee at one time. thank you.

It's a great machine when it works. Steam pump continues to die and needs to be replaced every six months. Common problem with these models apparently according to the technician. He knows my model of machine like the back of his hand. Which probably isn't a good thing. Luckily in warranty for 5 years on pumps, but annoying as it is usually away for 2-3 weeks at a time

I have absolutely no idea what I would do without my coffee machine. Coffee tastes great. It's easy for me to use as I used to be a barista, but it might not be for everyone. I actually chose this model as I wanted to continue making coffee as I used to before. Quite easy to clean as well!

I love this machine. I had to spend a little time coming up to speed with the baristas art to get the results I wanted, which made me really concentrate on what I was doing. The machine puts out lovely shots of coffees now but you, the operator are part of the process. It gets used every day, often a few times. It never lets me down and always puts out consistent pressure. I am a short black drinker and I have experimented with all kinds of roasts and grinds and learned as I went. I am very happy with his 'toy' and would recommend it to all.