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Saeco 00347 Aroma Espresso Machines | 
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| Brand: Saeco
Buy New: $298.99 - $450.00 (On sale from $487.89)
High Life Designs  17 reviews
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Amazon.com
Usually ships in 24 hours
877MYJUICER 394 reviews
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Rating:  24 reviews
MPN: 241068
ASIN: B0014178C2
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Product Description
Lose yourself in the aroma and bold, invigorating taste of fresh espresso and cappuccino with this pro-quality machine. Exceptionally easy to use, a simple set of control lights show when the machine is ready to brew and steam. One-year warranty. Model 354.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Great machine, no reservations on recommending October 11, 2008
T. Miller (Key West, FL)
Like everyone else, I did a fair amount of research as I tried to replace my last machine. All-in-all I think the reviews on Amazon are pretty accurate but I wanted to comment on a couple negative aspects that I read which almost stopped me from buying this machine.
1. I read a couple of reviews that said coffee came out of the top/sides and not the bottom holes. This happens only if you fill it with too many grounds. Example: I needed to fill my last espresso maker's 2-shot screen flush to top. On this machine you can only fill it 2/3's up or so with grounds. Very easy to figure out and deal with. Of course your grind is important too but that's obvious and needs to be figured out for every machine.
2. The steaming/frothing wand. Yes it does not lift up so very little clearance to stick milk under it without slopping and the plastic auto-frother creates too much foam before milk is hot. SOLUTION: the plastic auto-frother easily comes off to reveal a simple metal tube with plenty of clearance. I do not believe I read this anywhere and is a very important feature for those like myself who prefer to create foam by hand.
I really doubt you can do better unless you jump to the $600+ level.
Sturdy, easy to use and clean, makes great espresso. Will buy this over Saeco Spidem Villa September 21, 2008
Baymate (California)
I bought the black one for my workplace and an automatic one (also Saeco brand) for my home. I found this one much easier to use and clean. In fact, very little needs to be done to keep it clean. My co-workers have commended the quality of espresso coming out of this machine. A couple of them could not fall into sleep the first few nights after we got the machine because they had too much espresso during the day - an indicator for a good espresso machine as I understand. For some reason I got this from Amazon for such a low price ($179, compared with $289 from Costco.com) that it was a steal. I wish I bought this for my home too, even if the price goes up to $250, and even perhaps at $300 (I bought the Saeco Spidem Villa for my home, which costs about $500, almost certainly too much for a machine made of mostly plastics). Of course, as you have all figured out, the only thing the Saeco Aroma does not do is to grind coffee beans, which will be important to some people (consider a separate coffee grinder, then). I am not a fan of manual transmission when it comes to cars, but for making espresso, there is something to be said about using a manual machine like the Saeco Aroma instead of a fully (or super) automatic machine like the Saeco Spidem Villa - the manual machine just feels more like it! When it comes to cleaning, the automatic machine feels more like a manual (since so many manual steps have to be taken), while the manual machine feels more like an automatic (since not much needs to be done at all). Finally, the Saeco Aroma takes very little space and is aesthetically pleasing compared with the bulky Spidem Villa made of seemingly cheap plastics. You decide.
Great coffeemaker!!! September 16, 2008
morgan
This is the one if you're from Europe and appreciate good coffee at a great price. Espresso is really hot and the foam great!! All in all, this is a buy!!!
 Great until it stops working September 9, 2008
Joseph Rochetto (Milwaukee)
I had the same experience as CarrieG. It made great espresso for 3 months. Now it won't pump water. I haven't decided yet if I am going to send it back to the company yet so I can't comment on their customer service.
The best espresso machine I owned. September 7, 2008
z-wave Guy (USA)
This machine works great, it is heavy duty metal case and does delicious creamy espresso. This machine does not leak like the gaggia I tryed before and for the price it is far the best I used. If you get it from Amazon you will get the best service ever! The water tank on the back is removable to fill and clean, the water retention tank for the coffee drops below is also removable, easy to clean, big enough and of very good quality. The metal grill does not rust and the portafila is solid. Saeco is the perfect Italian espresso lover's machine and it is so solid that it's like it was German made and not Italian :) I checked a lot of brands, models and review and that's from far the best I found for the bucks. I owned fully automatic machines for 10x the price paid here and that one is doing better espresso than any of them... This machine is a hit!
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