CASABREWS 20 Bar Coffee Machine

My wife and I have a bad cappuccino habit. Started while on a visit to Italy. Continued when we returned home. Gets expensive to buy two a day from a coffee bar. This machine came highly recommended. For once the recommendations were on the money. It makes good cappuccino, is modestly priced and after some trial and error makes cappuccino as good as most coffee bars. Instructions that come with the machine are clear and have pictures to make the procedure clear. Just follow the instructions. Bought three essential tools to go with the machine. A good heavy weight, aluminum tamper. The plastic one that comes with the machine is wimpy. Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09H24D5YQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Also got a stainless steel frothing pitcher to use in steaming milk. Better than anything you have at home. Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KFYXTRR?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Lastly, bought a coffee canister designed to keep ground coffee fresh. Works well. Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H38T264/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Making the perfect cup of cappuccino is by trial and error. Took me about ten tries. First, get the right espresso coffee. Tried some Italian versions. Not so good. Settled on Starbucks espresso, dark roast. Not ground to a powder like some espresso coffee, but works well in this machine. I'm too lazy to grind my own beans. Next, the right milk. Many coffee bars use one percent milk. We found it too watery. Changed to whole milk and that works fine. The amount of frothed milk you add to the espresso affects the strength of the taste. I suggest you don't add all the frothed milk in the pitcher to the top of the espresso cup all at once. Try 3/4 full. Probably too strong. Then keep adding the frothed milk in increments until you find the right amount of frothed milk that satisfies your taste. You don't have to buy this. But you need two cups. Any cup to capture the steam coming from the machine and a 12 ounce cup for the espresso/cappuccino. The 12 ounce cup has to be wide and not high so it will fit under the spouts where the espresso comes out. Tip. Turning the handle while on the machine was hard. A tiny drop of vegetable oil on your finger tip, rubbed on the edge of the cup containing the coffee, before inserting it into the machine, makes the handle turn easily. Doesn't effect the taste. Just use a tiny smear. All in all, this is a great buy. The machine makes 12 ounces of fine cappuccino in the convenience of your own home. I timed the process. Took me 15 minutes total in preparation, making the cappuccino, and cleaning up. A bright spot in our daily routine.

J'ai longtemps hésité à commander cette machine à espresso, cherchant à avoir un bon café de qualité sans trop y mettre d'argent. J'ai finalement passée ma commande et reçu la machine le lendemain. Je pensais sérieusement que j'allais devoir faire des essais-erreurs avant de réussir à avoir un bon espresso. J'ai préchauffé la machine comme recommandé par la marque, en faisant couler un 2 tasses, sans y mettre d'espresso, avant de faire une vraie tasse. Hé bien, mon tout premier espresso était vraiment excellent. J'ai choisi un sac de café Lavazza "crema e gusto" moulu finement que j'ai trouvé au supermarché, j'ai mis 11-13g dans mon portafilter, et dès ma première gorgée j'ai été grandement surprise. Aucun arrière-goût, aucune amertume. Un café très doux, mais fort en même temps. Points importants à noter: - Le mousseur à lait prend parfois un peu de temps à être bien chaud et je n'ai pas réussi à faire mousser mon lait au complet, mais ce n'était pas ma priorité. - Le mousseur est aussi très bruyant, au point de faire siler mes oreilles. - J'utilise l'eau chaude du mousseur à lait (sans mettre l'option steam) pour allonger mon espresso, mais parfois l'eau n'est pas aussi chaude que j'aimerais qu'elle le soit. Je suis très contente de mon achat, et après une semaine à me faire des café régulièrement je n'ai aucun problème majeur avec la machine. Je recommanderais clairement cette machine pour ceux qui souhaitent se faire des espressos, ou allongés de qualité, sans trop dépenser (surtout considérant que certaines machines à pods sont encore plus chères que celle-ci). Évidemment il est possible de "modder" la machine en changeant le portafilter, mais honnêtement, étant quelqu'un qui prend de 2-5 cafés par jour, je ne vois pas l'intérêt pour le moment puisque le café est très bon! Je recommande!!

Estoy muy satisfecho con este producto. La calidad y como se ve es muy buena!

I've owned a fully manual Saeco espresso machine for 15 years. It did me fine, but I wanted to try a different model and to see what improvements have been made with a moderate price point. My Saeco was $500 US, I was skeptical about Casabrews reviews costing less. I decided to give it a try, if it didn't meet my expectations, I would return it. Well, this machine has exceeded my expectations❗️. 1st off, it's very stylish and perfect if you don't have a lot of space on your counter when you want to keep it out all the time After setting it up and turning the unit on, I ran the hot water through the frother. I like to grind my espresso, it give me that fresh and aromatic aroma that I want everytime I have an espresso. My Saeco had the single shot, but u had to buy the prepackaged perforated bags of espresso. It annoyed me because it's a cost that I didn't want to deal with so I always made a 2 shot espresso. During the morning, it's perfect but in the afternoon or evening, I prefer to have a single shot. With my Saeco machine, it had to Purge before I could use it. With Casabrew espresso machine, you don't need to worry about purging and you don't need to buy perforated bags of espresso for a single shot. A good sign of a espresso machine is the crema. Well, let me tell you, it blew me away when I saw the amount of crema it gave me on single shot. My old Saeco didn't come close. Another issue I didn't like with my old Saeco was plastic tube inside the water tank and the plastic piece that was on the end of the nozzle to make a cappuccino. Everytime you made cappuccino, with the Saeco, I had to take everything apart to clean it. With Casabrew, there's no tube in the tank. The water is pulled from the bottom of the tank. If I make a cappuccino, after I'm done all I have to do is get a cup of warm water and have the hot water come through the nozzle...that's it. I also like the pressure gauge to help you understand if the machine is maintaining a consistent level of hot water. It gives you the maximize or optimum quality of espresso. If I had to be critical about this machine, there's only one thing I wish Casabrew did...add some weight to the base. As you lock in the espresso, I find it sometimes may move around. Part of that is that the water tank isn't full. I prefer to put up with a slight move in the machine vs. having to buy perforated bags for single shots. I'm hooked with one, I have used it over a week and I've had more espresso than ever. I want to invite family and friends just to have a good brew. Highly recommended 👌🏻

I am not one to write reviews very often, and I am not a coffee snob obsessing over everything to do with the perfect espresso shot. I do have lots to say about this machine though. My previous Mr Coffee Cafe Barista machine died after many years and I wanted something that would allow me to steam my own milk instead of it being done for me. I also didn’t want to spend more than $150 either as my circumstances are not great right now… Anyway, after reading many reviews on similar machines, I settled on this beaut. I am more than happy with my purchase! The machine is small and takes up half the space my old machine did, which earns high spousal approval. The all stainless steel body looks good and durable and wipes down easily. It looks good on the countertop. It heats up fast for a thermoblock design, and while the water capacity in the tank isn’t the greatest, a full tank is enough to pull two espresso shots, steam two jugs of milk, plus allows for preheating the group head and portafilter and flushing everything afterwards. The machine pulls a pretty decent shot with pre-ground espresso and leaves a hard puck after extraction, something I always had issues with on my old machine which would always leave a soupy mess. I do weigh my dose (13 grams), use a WDT needle tool, distributor, tamper and puck screen. While I do not have control over everything, you can set the volume of water dispensed for each of the buttons on the panel. The single shot button is set at 30 milliliters. I can’t get a full 15 grams into the portafilter for a true 1:2 ratio but it’s close enough. The milk frother is fast and steams the milk in about a minute and actually produces some good results. The wand seems durable and the rubber grip is well placed so you don’t scald your fingers. This does a great job for frothy cappuccinos or silky lattes. The pump is not loud either which is good for a machine at this price point. Please follow the instructions to prep the machine when you first set it up. Run a few shots through the machine before you start using it to remove any trace particles in the water lines and pump. And plastic smell from the water tank will be removed by doing this. For a basic espresso machine, this is a good buy. It seems to be well made, and it suits my present financial circumstances. Sure, I wouldn’t mind a more mainstream brand and probably a better quality machine, but for the money, don’t hesitate in buying this machine. I got mine for $129 in early 2025 and I’ve seen this at $99 before over the holidays. It’s a simply delightful espresso machine that I’m glad to have.