KitchenAid Semi-Auto Espresso Machine, Burr Grinder, 2.5L, Cast Iron Black

I spent 16months looking at this machine—dreaming of it before I purchased. Literally LOVE this machine. I use fresh air roasted beans, vanilla bean sugar, starbucks vanilla syrup, Kemps 2%milk. Took a few months until new grinder. Makes espresso perfect. Amazing value at discount. Designers put thought into this for under counter space, design and even for clean up. Frother is top tier better than any brand. Its sleek, crisp and innovative. I push it hard 3-5 times a day. DO NOT use tap water, just use filtered bottled water so no purging machine for 2months(if used every other day). Just remove filter from water tank to use filtered bottled water(NO SPRING WATER). Do not leave machine "unused" for 2+ weeks, then clean water will smell, if used ovbiously no smell. Ease of use is extremely easy, i recommend for everyone. DO NOT FORGET TO PRIME FIRST #1 Rule. Or Prime every 2 weeks because you can. Purge every 2 weeks because you can. Clean water tank every 2 weeks because you can. This is a tool not a toy. Pretty sure all the bad reviews are paid actors or amateurs. Water does not spill/leak everywhere, its the drip tray over flowing. Rinse drip tray everyday or after every 4 espresso makes. You will 100% need some tools and this goes for ALL home espresso brands not just kitchen aid, so dont think another brand is going to save you. Its actually going to be worse because other brand portafilters are only (54mm). Kitchen-aids, is professional size (58mm). Most home espresso machine grinders are to small in mm(40mm)(42mm)(44mm) so not every bean works and will grind to fine on max course. I wasted many beans. So no matter what you will have to buy a df54mm or df64mm coffee grinder to make "ANY" coffee bean you want instead of guessing. I myself have saved a $1000 since I can make it myself now. The set up below is for kitchenaid semi-automatic espresso machine(non negotiable)— 1. df54mm grinder. 2. 58.5mm Espresso Tamper—6 Adjustable Pressure Settings. 3. A set of 0.2mm Ultra-Thin Coffee Espresso Filter Screen. 4. Electronic Coffee Scale. 5. Dosing Ring. 6. Espresso Distribution Tool 7. One 2.5oz-One 4oz Espresso Shot glass for weighing espresso. 8. 20oz Stainless steel froth cup if you want extra foam like me(do not have to). The rest you can figure out. You're all extremely welcome for this review that you wont even find a video on the internet for.

I tested this unit against two other brands. This KitchenAid machine makes perfect espresso! Zero mess. No grind static. Very consistant grinding. Very quite. Only issue is directions seem lacking and so I had to websearch how to fix an issue as I didn't see what I needed in the manual. Fyi, often with people not getting any pressure on extraction is because their coffee is old. Oh, then it started leaking water out back. Pretty sure it's a bad seal between tank and machine. Too bad.

…and now I can get my fix right in the comfort of my own home! First things first, this review is after about a week of having the machine. So to start, the thing looks gorgeous. Got the Juniper color and it’s beautiful. Definitely not as green as the pictures, but still not the typical stainless, black or white (not saying they’re bad, they’re not - the white is a looker as well). The machine is very well made, KitchenAid quality abounds - lots of metal with some heavy plastic thrown in, like with the grinder and the drip tray. But it looks nice, feels better and screams premium. Pulling a shot is pretty straight forward - grind, tamp, pull, froth, enjoy! The grinder is awesome - very quiet compared to other grinders. Play with the grind settings, amount and grind size to find your ideal settings. It’s fun to figure out how to get your kitchen to taste like your favorite coffee shop - and here’s the keys to the kingdom. Follow these suggestions and you’re sure to make a quality espresso every time. First, use actual espresso beans. Do not use oily beans - they will clog your grinder as oil and “dust” do not mix. If you use regular coffee beans that are oily, you will not understand why your grinder is clogged and you’ll leave bad reviews. Your beans should look matte, not shiny. Thank me later. Second, tamp hard, make sure that the espresso grounds are nice and tight, the pressure gauge (and your mania about not enough pressure will thank you). When done right, you’ll hit that halfway mark in the ideal pressure range, every. single. time. The frother is decent, use it, make some mistakes and find your groove - you’re probably not an expert when you open this thing, but a little patience and common sense will go a long way. All in all, this machine was worth the money - just take your time to understand how it works, how to use it and I am confident that you’ll be pulling great shots in no time flat.

I love the look, it’s very sleek, easy to use and keep clean, coffee temperature is great. I like my coffee/cappuccino/espresso hot.

Lots of good similarly priced machines in this category but I went with this one mainly due to the counter footprint and stainless construction. I have a small kitchen and other more popular models I looked at were just too large. It's still a big machine but leaves me with some counter space to work with. I upgraded from a Delonghi ECP and the quality improvement is a world of difference going from ESE pods to fresh grounds. The frother is also significantly better and easily the best I've used. Setup instructions are a bit lacking so I watched a few videos for setup and was able to grind, brew and froth a drink fairly quickly. I really like how quiet the grinder is, the automatic configuration for settings and brewing, and how the water pitcher can be removed horizontally so the machine can be placed under a cabinet. I haven't had any issues with static while grinding as I'd seen in another review. I've been using the single-wall double basket with mid roast beans at about 75% of the finest grind setting and have been pulling shots with good crema. I saw a review about the grinder not going fine enough and would say that's a questionable claim. Retention seems to be quite low as well. My only complaints are about the accessories and drip tray. The portafilter is mainly plastic with plastic spouts which really detract from the overall quality and marketing about the build being fully stainless. One of my reasons for upgrading was to reduce plastic in the brewing process so that's pretty disappointing. A bottomless portafilter or one with stainless spouts would've been much better. The portafilter has a nice weight to it and seems solidly built but the plastic can't be removed. I would've also liked to see a puck screen and dosing funnel included as they're practically a necessity. The tamper is half plastic but works for now. The drip tray seems to accumulate a lot of water from the internal functioning. I've noticed it while the machine warms up or switches to steam mode. So expect to empty it frequently. Those things aside, it's a great machine so far and really makes an excellent espresso. Most of the accessories can be upgraded but it would've been nice if they included better ones. It also looks good next to my other KitchenAid appliances which are workhorses in my kitchen. I'm hoping this machine is as solidly built and will hold up to the same level of quality over time.

This machine is perfect. I was a barrista at a coffeehouse for several years and wanted a Machine for my kitchen. This is the real deal if you are looking for a professional espresso machine.

Im a kitchenaid fan. I use my standing mixer all the time and have all sorts of attachments for it. I’ve also used several espresso machines. This one was not intuitive, the instructions were trash, and their were limited to no customer video walk through online. I followed the instructions to purge water through the system in the manual and then by following the video online because the manual instructions were awful. After I did that, I tried to run the machine, it then ran two super weak shots where the water was barely room temp even after adjusting the temp setting from the middle to the top setting. I looked up troubleshooting and nothing helped. In frustration I pushed the purge button which is front and center as I was pushing buttons to try to figure out why it wasn’t working. When I pushed the purge button it wouldn’t turn off. I even hard restarted it several times. I contacted kitchenaid customer support and they told me to do what I had already done. Also, did I mention It was also leaking!!!! After the first use, I didn’t try again until the morning and it had leaked. The water container was on correctly. Super disappointing. I was really excited for this. Oh well returned it and got a breville which worked perfect right out of the box. Take notes kitchenaid!

I waited several months before reviewing this item. It was a splurge for me and I have not regretted it for a second. I researched everything around this price point and am so glad I went with the KitchenAid! I love the all-metal, high-quality build and the way it slides on its little wheels back and forth. It's semi-automatic, which for me makes me feel like I'm really making the coffee (fully auto feels like cheating and not so much of an experience, I'd probably go back to 100% manual first) but it's soooo easy to use that it's no problem when I'm in a hurry or sleepy. I weigh out beans for each cup because my husband and I like different coffees, and the grinder works great with way less mess than my old standalone burr grinder. The frother is easy to use and clean. We've switched beans many times and it doesn't take much effort to dial in and get the flavor right. The cleaning cycle takes a good bit of time but I only need to do that about every 6-8 weeks depending on usage. I'm just thrilled with this thing and still look forward to using it every morning.

Ignore the bad reviews. This is a great machine on sale. Once you dial in the perfect bean at the right grind you get a perfect crema every time. For the leaking complaints...it stops after the rubber gasket of the water reservoir have enough time to soak and absorb properly.

Works like a professional machine-it’s so quiet you don’t wake up anyone in the am! Built tough with no crappy plastic Can’t say enough about it-it’s amazing and worth the cost Also learned to get espresso beans that aren’t oily-(no glossy look) just mat bean It won’t clog your grinder up!

EN GENERAL FUNCIONA BIEN PARA UN EXPRESO MEDIO, CONSUME MUCHA AGUA Y REQUIERE LIMPIAR CONSTANTENTEMENTE EN CADA PREPARACION. HAY QUE FAMILIARIZARSE CON EL FUCIONAMIENTO, SINO RESULTA COMPLICADO. COMO QUE EL PRECIO NO JUSTIFICA LA COMPRA.

—- follow up / edit 2 —- I finally had an opportunity to call Support (I've been super busy, and that's on me for not trying before) and they were incredibly helpful in diagnosing the issue and getting it fixed. Although I managed to (presumably) pop a gasket KitchenAid was quick to help me fix the issue, so their reputation for long-lasting products is still well deserved. —- follow up / edit —- I was wrong. This doesn’t last as long as cheap Phillis and Saeco units. Do not expect the legendary mixer quality from this early foray into espresso. Dropped this from 4 stars to 2. After a few months it died. A change of beans resulted in a way overtamped / too finely ground / too oily puck that saw the pressure hit the red zone. I didn’t know at that second how to abort, and something popped. Now, I get water in the tray and low pressure trying to draw an espresso. I’ve never had this happen with more mature brands like De’longhi or Jura, nor did it happen with a cheap Saeco unit used by dozens of people daily in an office environment. This was a disappointment and KitchenAid should ask AI to review their design. Over pressure valves are super ancient and required on pressure cookers. The engineering team on this product needs to be fired. —- original review —- I have super automatic machines where you press a button, and a latte comes out. They tend to be very expensive, and maintenance of the milk system ends up costing more than the machine in the long run. I have semi automatic machines where you have to do your own tamping and puck removal, and make/add your own milk. They're usually cheaper and more durable because there's a lot fewer things that can go wrong. Comparing this only to the semi automatic machines I've owned, it's on the lower end. At launch, the price was $999.99. I'm glad to see they've dropped it to $699.99 because it's now a better deal than it's competitors in the 'cheaper' semi-automatic category where you'll see products by Philips and Saeco. My experience with both brands has been very poor with machines regularly breaking down in relatively low-use small office environments. My kitchenaid mixer has lasted many years, and their lifetimes are usually measured in decades. I hope they brought the same energy to their foray into coffee, but time will have to be the judge on that matter. The tamping process isn't great. I much prefer the "assisted tamping" on the De'Longhi machines, and doing it manually on this machine really feels like a chore by comparison. For many, the 40% discount compared to the machines with assisted tamping might more than make up for it, and then there's my friend's elderly father who came to Canada from Italy scoffs at things like assisted tamping and super automatics, so if you want to "be more authentic", maybe it's a good thing. The 2.5L water reservoir is huge. But is that a good thing? If you've seen what happens to a water tank when "non-essential" workers don't use it for a couple months, you might believe most manufacturers when they say if your water has been sitting in the tank for more than 24 / 48 hours, pour it out, rinse the tank, and refill. The limit is probably closer to 7 days, but there's definitely such a thing as "too big" for water tanks. Puck ejection from the portafilter is fairly consistent. Usually 1-2 hard knocks is all it takes. There's some technique to it though, so if it's your first manual espresso machine you might need a half dozen knocks to make progress while you learn how hard and how fast to hit. Grinder works well. Something pretty common with every machine I've used (manual or super automatic) is that you should only change grind size by ONE notch at a time, and ONLY while it's grinding (so start a cup, as it starts grinding change it up or down 1 notch). If you don't follow that advice, my experience is that you should expect problems. The machine seems to self prime over the first few cups. That's great compared to the convoluted series of undocumented steps some of the machines I've used require you to follow that involve pulsing the steam want. Common advice on all machines is to draw an espresso shot through an empty portafilter before making your espresso for the best possible cup. It'll make sure the pump is fully primed, and that there's minimal heat loss to the metal portafilter. If you follow all the advice/tricks that are common to most machines, this KitchenAid does a very good job. You'll have to play with dose size, grind size, and temperature to get the right combination for the beans you pick. On my older De'Longhi super automatic this was actually a real pain because you had to adjust the amount of water dispensed every time you changed anything. If you plan to try different beans, my advice is to put the package the beans came in beside the machine and take a picture after you find the sweet spot. Maybe even print and laminate in a coffee recipe book, or get really fancy and mock up the controls in MS Paint or photoshop. On every machine I use now, manual or super automatic, I recommend the same thing: get a dedicated milk frother. They're much easier and basically free to clean, and the milk/steam system has been the weakest point on every single machine I've used. At $700, the temperature control is easy and works as expected, the grinder and control over fineness of the grinds works well, the tank is easy to fill and slip on the machine (but if you slide it under a counter, this becomes more challenging), the tamping is less than idea, the portafilter is easy to use and wash/rinse, and the steam wand works. Though I can't speak to service life yet, I'm fairly confident it won't be worse than Philips and Saeco units.

Loving it so far, makes great latte