Sunbeam Torino Espresso Machine & Grinder PU8000

Contacted Sunbeam prior to purchasing to ask a few questions however they failed to write back to me.

Decided to purchase despite other negative reviews and poor customer service as the machine suited our needs.

The first machine was DOA and I had to return it to Harvey Norman who tested it and swapped it out straight away.

Replacement machine is very good and is making good coffee. The grinder is horribly messy.

I contacted Sunbeam twice now in writing and again by phone to express my concerns over the reliability of this machine and to ask for a refund that Harvey Norman couldn’t offer 2 hours after purchase with a dead machine. They have not called back as they said they would and not responded to my mail.

As I said, any product is only as good as the support given by the company and in this case it makes a probably half decent machine horrible.

We purchased this machine last June from Harvey Norman in Napier. We own a B&B and wanted equipment that makes first rate coffee. Until February this year, the equipment was perfect everytime however it now leaks from around the hopper and the hopper is very loose when filled with grounds ready to brew whereas before it was snug. The grind size has not been changed.

Bought 2 years ago. Am happy with it. What I’ve learned is that pressure can be really sensitive to tamping. I do get the odd cup that fails. But if anything mine are more like ristrettos. Plenty of pressure. One issue: I can’t get the ‘clean’ message to go away. I’ve run the cycle but it isn’t satisfied. Still works fine.

The bar pressure is non-existent! Have tried adjusting the grind and cleaning the machine with no avail.
Also, the programming function doesn’t work for either 1 or 2 shot.
It’s a lot of money to spend for no coffee!
I keep trying to get through to the help number and all I get is an answering machine saying they are in a meeting and to call back?! Are you kidding?! How about you call me back! Not cool!

What a waste of money only 5 month old
Now leaking from the group head everytime i make a cup of coffee
Pressure not consistant .paid big money for this machine all they can say sunbeam we can repaire it for you. Not happy

Have used 2 cafe series sunbeam coffee machines since 2003. Both lasted until now. Apart from occasional servicing I have had only 1 problem during those years. Exceptional. The Torino is top of the tree quieter and quicker and a more beautiful practical machine. It is ideal for home use and I have absolutely no qualms in recommending this machine to anyone who will listen.

Have had the Torino since September and cannot fault the quality of the brews that the machine produces. It's a shame but we've almost given up going out for coffee as we've found we experience a more consistently good coffee at home. Have even begun practicing some coffee art. Our old machine was a Breville Dual Boiler and would rate the Sunbeam at least a star better. Very impressed and have no complaints thus far.

The first 20 cups where perfect, but after that the coffee is very inconsistent and I'm pouring most of the coffee down the sink. Same amount of coffee in the group head and you get two different results. Put the cleaning disc in and the gauge went to maxamin and it stayed there and no water came out of the group head, removed grouphead and placed it back in position and then tried again and water poured out. I'll be asking for a refund. My old sunbeam was an excellent machine...really disappointed.

Love this machine! Have had a few but this one is a dream...once I worked out the grind and coffee it was all go!
Can't beat the looks either ;)
Most of all it makes coffee better than the cafe!
Love waking up to this each morning! The temperature is great, every time a perfect crema...
Once I have worn this one out..will be back for another machine lol!

If you are going to spend this much money on a coffee machine I strongly recommend going with a better brand such a expobar, ecm or rocket. This machine looks great but lacks the functionality it should have. Many plastic components are hidden, the coffee is watery and doesn’t get enough pressure and the steam wand has insufficient mobility. The manual lever and steam wand already creak and groan when moved. Terrible machine.

Bought Dec 2017, took back late April 2018 as water pouring out around group handle when making coffee. Had to call to ask where it was, didn't get it back till end of June. And it is still pouring water out! Am not impressed. Will be taking it back to Harvey Norman today for a refund as the machine is not fit for purpose. I do not want another offer of having it fixed as it is obviously not worth it! I just want my money back so I can purchase a decent coffee machine!

Love the coffee from this machine. My first CLEAN message came up, so I followed the Coffee Thermoblock Cleaning Cycle manufacturer's instructions in the User Guide to the letter but nothing happened. Tried twice, nothing. I then proceeded to the Descaling Cycle for both the Coffee & Steam Thermoblocks,again to the letter, and again nothing happened. I phoned Sunbeam Customer Service at 9.51am, they were busy so I left my phone number for a customer service officer to contact me. I got online and watched a Youtube video & it seems that the Sunbeam User Guide instructions are missing important details on the cleaning procedure for both cleaning methods. When I purchased the machine I received 2 packs of the EM0010 cleaning tablets which are not suitable for the Coffee Thermoblock Cleaning Cycle so there were no cleaning tablets for that cycle. It would have been ideal if both types of cleaning tablets were included, not 2 of the 1 type. It's now 1.50pm and I'm still waiting for a customer service (??) officer to contact me. I'm not holding my breath. Poor service from Sunbeam.
Judi

This machine works just as expected. I have 10 years experience in coffee and you do need to know a bit about grinding, and measurement and it's effect on pressure. Have used different kinds and found the correct adjustment for all of them wothout a problem. It is not a plumbed machine so it's you who needs to be consistent with your drop and grind to get the same level pour each time. Once you school yourself in how to get the correct grind (not hard) you wikk get the expected results from this machine with a lovely crema every timd. The pressure stays constant when pouring and steaming, and I get a fantastic crema. The 2L water tank is awesome and so much easier than other reserve designs and the machine is quiet compared to other when it pumps. Very happy with this product.

Well..I picked up my new machine yesterday 10 May 2018. Very excited to get it setup and running. Read the instructions..cover to cover. Put everything together step by step. Water level..check. The moment of truth..turn on the power and wait. Heat up cycle check..Turn the hot water function ..check..no worries..all going well. Check water comes out of the group head..check. Turn on the steam..FAIL. Nothing...not a sound. Scratch head..reread manual..no change. Go through startup procedure again..and again..and..again. Check fault detection in manual..nothing about steam faults. Then read online forum and get the answer. Water tank not seated properly..pump unable to draw water from the tank...little giggle here..take out water tank..and put back in..steam everywhere. Problem solved. Set machine up for grinder as recommended, prepared machine..Perfect coffee everytime so far. So..Sunbeam..please amend your manual to include possible steam problems, particularly on first startup and ..who knows some people might still get that great coffee feeling instead of disappointment and have to return the machine DOA on day one. Have a great day. Happy Camper...now..lol. Thank you..online forum people..
MacGregor Bne

This machine has to be one of the worst coffee machine ever!! 10 weeks old coffee is very watery not expressing properly tried all trouble shooting, called sunbeam the tech guy went through trouble shooting on the phone and to my amazement told me the machine was fine how he could know that from a phone conversation is beyond me.
Another issue the drip tray fills withe water because it expels so much water while warming up, consequently the tray needs emptying about every 5 cups.

The coffee shots are very inconsistent because there is no anti-drain back mechanism between the group head and the water tank. Since this machine is volumetric, it counts the water priming as if it were passing into your cup, but it is not.
You can see this by simply operating the manual shot lever with no group head fitted. No water flows out during the pre-infusion because it is priming the water lines. If you pre-prime the machine, you need to fit the head very quickly and pull the shot, before the water drains back too much. The water drains back out of the head in about 3-4 seconds. This is not acceptable and shows a poorly designed machine that was not tested during design.
If you use the full manual option you can get a more consistent shot and the pressure and grinder seem fine.
I would not recommend thus machine because this makes it very difficult to use and it does not work as advertised by Sunbeam.
They should do a recall and retrofit some type of anti-drain back valve
UPDATE Nov 2018:
The cleaning instructions in the user manual are incorrect and do not work. There is no mention of pressing CLEAN button x2 to access the STeam clean function. It also says 'P' but should say 'Program'. I have performed the Coffee group head clean and the STeam clean numerous times, following the sequence of removing, filling and re-installing the water tank, but it does NOT reset the CLEAN warning.

The machine is very easy to use. We use to have the Sunbeam Cafe Series which got a lot use at home but after 6-7 years it was time to get a new machine. If you prefer making the coffee (not using the auto machines) it makes great coffee. We got the Torino grinder as it went with the machine but our old Russell Hobbs grinder has lasted more than 10 years. Hopefully this Torino will be just as good. If you switch Coffee brands you will need to adjust the grind. We switch between 4 brands at the moment so on occasion the grind may be to fine. My husband and I have coffee everyday (avg 6 in one day). We have been using coffee machines for approximately 15 years and so far the Torino is performing as well our poor old Cafe Series (Sunbeam). Very happy with this product!

This machine replaced my old delonghi fully automatic (which still works by the way). I actually went with the intention of buying a Breville Oracle but was pursuaded by the sales rep. I struggled to get a consistent cup of coffee at first until I went on a home barista course-Theres more to making good coffee than buying a coffee machine. Now a perfect cup of coffee every time. Machine has worked perfectly for the last 2 years and then suddenly decided not to turn on. I rang Sunbeam, who were very helpful and organised for the machine to be looked at. They have now offered to replace the machine FOC. Will will wait to see how long it takes to the new one to arrive

I purchased this machine as it looked really good and the salesman said it could be used for a small café. I don't have a small café but I was impressed with the look of the machine. at first I could not get it to do anything but I read about removing and reinstalling the tank to clear any airlocks and that seemed to work. After about 2 weeks I noticed that it seemed to struggle to push water through the machine. Then it continued to struggle and I thought maybe I was putting too much coffee in the handle. I reduced the amount slowly and it made a weak coffee as I could not tamp the coffee in the handle. Now it is 1 month old and completely given up. It will not push the water through unless there is no coffee in the handle. Really disappointed with this unit. The grinder that comes with it is not well designed and the handle leaks coffee as it is not empty when making a second cup, so when I empty the grounds it is still half full of the last coffee.

As someone with free access to both an industrial, plumbed in cafe style coffee machine at work and the Sunbeam Torino at home, I'm in the fortunate position to be able to draw a direct comparison between the two. The industrial one is a tad faster being always on, but the extent to which the Sunbeam can be programmed to optimise extraction temperature, shot volume and/or length and pressure in order to pursue the elusive perfect cup of Joe makes it the hands down winner. Short of plumbing it in to mains water I can't recommend any improvements. It really appeals to my inner artisan and I have been loving mine for around 6 months now. I especially like the independent boilers, which means you can extract coffee while steaming milk, and the grinder that is activated by slight down pressure. The styling is steampunk without being weird and suits my house perfectly. Can't recommend it enough.