Silver Coffee Espresso and Cappuccino Maker

Specifications:

Semi automatic 3 in 1 espresso maker, cappuccino maker, and latte maker
15 bar pump system brews rich tasting espresso coffee
Trouble free automatic milk frother removes the guesswork
One touch control panel for drink selections
Easy fill, removable water and milk reservoirs
Cord length: 26 Inches; 1040 Watts
Important: It is important to note, instruction manual must be followed to prime unit before using Café Barista for first time (pg; 8, steps 1 and 2); The total amount of beverage can vary depending on type of milk used and froth control knob setting; It is advised that frothing tube be cleaned after each use because that can cause a variance in the frothing as well

Product description

Color:Silver

With one simple touch, Mr. Coffee Café Barista Premium Espresso & Cappuccino System brews espresso and automatically froths milk for cappuccino and latté selections. You don't need barista know how to create custom drinks like your favorite coffeehouse; simply pick a single or double shot filter, select your grounds, fill the milk reservoir, and choose your brew. A recipe book is included to help you create impressive coffee drinks—from Espresso Martinis to Raspberry Cappuccinos to Choco Nutty Lattes.

I love my Mr Coffee Cafe Barista. It makes great espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc.

However, there is a dangerous design flaw that needs to be fixed ASAP. There is a tiny wood screw holding the 3 pieces of the portafilter together. This tiny wood screw works its way out of the plastic piece and falls into your coffee!

I discovered this when I poured a shot of espresso into my new $215 Nutri Ninja Auto-IQ Blender to make a bulletproof coffee. The tiny screw tore up the metal blades before I realized what was happening and turned it off. I guess I am lucky because ordinarily I would have just gulped the shot and the screw would have ended up somewhere in my digestive system.

When I fished the screw out I couldn't imagine where it had come from. I saw the tiny hole in the bottom of the portafilter but I just could not believe that Mr Coffee was using a wood screw into soft plastic to hold the portafilter together! Especially when, as was bound to happen, if it worked its way out, it would end up in the coffee! But later when I was cleaning the portafilter I saw that it came apart into 3 pieces and it had never come apart like that before. I had saved the little screw and I saw that, incredibly enough, this was what had been holding it together!
I'll give tips after a little background info, what wasn't right and what customer service said to do, that WORKED!
First off my background. I am not, nor have I every been a barista. I am an average person who likes mochas from the coffee shop, but I live 80 miles from town, so I don't get them very often and wanted to try making them at home. This is my first espresso machine. I read a lot of blogs and watched online videos from real baristas giving tips how to make good espresso drinks at home before purchasing this. I got this thing and things didn't taste right to me, bitter. So I did more research and figured out the problem, it wasn't heating up well. I checked temperature and it was only getting to 157*F on average (too cold) and took 14-15 seconds to make one shot (too fast). NOT what the online advice says you need. Online advice says 170-180*F and 27-30 seconds is about right. So I called Mr Coffee for help before I sent it back to Amazon. GLAD I did.

The call: In short, customer service told me to run a cleaning cycle per directions from page 16 in the user manual. Which is 1/2 tank of white vinegar, hit the button for double shot. Repeat as many times as you need. Also run a cleaning cycle through the milk dispenser. My thought was, "what the heck, its a new machine! I did the priming as directed before use, how can it be dirty?" But I had to give it a try or send it back. Well I'll be go to heck, it WORKED!

While directions said you only need to run it few times. I had the time, so I ran the whole 1/2 tank white vinegar through (double shot at at a time) since I has to toss the vinegar anyway, so why not really clean it eh? Anyway, after a couple times running the double shot espresso button the temperature went from consistent 157*F to 175-182*F. Wahoo! It seemed to matter how long I let it warm up between shots. Running two times consecutively got the 175-177*, which is just what you want. Letting it sit and warm up a few minutes before runs got it 180-184*, which is getting a little too hot. BTW, I was using a good quality quick, calibrated thermometer that I use for caramel making, which is a very exacting process to do right. So I figured it could accurately measure the espresso before it cooled from air temperature, which by the way is mere seconds I found out.