Saeco SyntiaSuper-automatic espresso machine

We love this Saeco Cappuccino/Espresso Maker! After more than 4 months of enjoying its excellent coffee, its ease and speed, we can vouch for the quality of the product. It brews a superb crema on your espresso in under 20 seconds at just the right temperature. It froths milk for a cappuccino or café au lait as well as any other more expensive machine. It cleans easily, its icons are readily recognizable, and above all, it is simple to operate. By taking good care of it and ensuring it is cleaned as regularly as is recommended, we continue to remark how much we love this machine because of the delicious coffee it produces.

I have 2 Seaco Phillips espresso machines...both excellent quality and would not do without these

Overall I'm very pleased-the coffee tastes great and it's easy to clean and maintain. I have 2 problems with the machine. First, why are the water filters and decalcifying solutions so expensive? Second, it is not clear from the manual where the brewing group must be lubricated, it is just not clear.

The bottom tray needs careful watching as it fills up relatively fast It would be wise to empty it every time that the pucks are emptied. The machine is very noisey in operation. Probably the consequences of grinding and pressure. The green lights which originally lit up the operational screen are gone. Nothing in the instruction book tells how the light is to be changed. Cleaning the brew unit is not an easy task and requires some specialty brushes. Never really sure that every orifice has been attended to. Need more detail in the instructions as to what parts should be addressed. A diagram explaining how it operates might help understand the cleaning process.

Once you become familiar with the codes the operation is quite simple. Very convenient compared to our previous semi automatic machine. Even though our water supply is very soft and additionally run through a high end filtration system, the descaling requirement is annoying. One serious issue has been a discolouration or lightening of the granite counter beneath the machine, matching the pattern of the machine's bottom. Not sure if its heat or moisture but we now have placed the machine on a impervious mat. Working with counter people on issue. on the good side everyone who samples the machine and the coffee is impressed.

We did not like this machine as it was far too complicated to use. The coffee was not as good as the coffee made by our old machine. The water tank is too small and had to be refilled constantly, often in the middle of brewing a cup.