Unique Imports Barista Express Steam Espresso and Cappuccino Maker Machine - Black

THUAN D.: I purchased this steam expresso machine after my faithful Krups machine died after many years of service. I chose this Brentwood machine due to positive reviews, its price and being sold through Amazon. I can return it if it would not work properly.
I do love this machine after having used it for 2 weeks. It is better designed than my old Krups machine. It is well built and does not look nor feel cheap.The fact that the knob to separate coffee and milk frothing prevent additional steam from going through coffee when you make milk froth is a plus. My old Krups machine continues to let steam going through the coffee throughout the whole cycle which tends to burn the coffee if you are not careful.
Here are my way of making my expresso:
- Make sure you use the tamper to compact the coffee in its holder down to 2-cups mark if you plan to make 2-cups batch. This is a must for making expresso.
- I don't usually make more than 2 cups as I have found out that making more than 2 cups at a time tends to burn your coffee .I would make more batches if I need more.
- I would make coffee first before frothing milk as there would be enough pressure built up in the machine for...

United States on Sep 17, 2017

Bryan BP: First off if you follow directions as they are given from the papperwork with the machine you're not going to be happy with this machine. Just like the other reviewers point out instead of turning knob to "brew" after adding water turn it to "pause" then wait for it to heat and you will be frothing even heavy cream to a thick, whip cream like consistency! I bought this machine only a couple months after buying Mr. Coffee for basically the same price. After coming across the Mr. Coffee and seeing how affordable it was I bought it without doing any research and was very dissapointed in Mr. C's steam power. When I looked in to it the Mr. C only had "3 bars" of pressure when the better, more expensive home units apparently go up to 15. At first when I decided to try again I almost went for the $75 Mr. C that had 15 bars but when I saw the price for this one and read through the reviews I rolled the dice since the "bars" aren't listed and I'm so happy I did! Now I can walk in my kitchen and make a nice latte or capucino any time I want. I'm also happy to make one for anybody else around and love the look of suprise when they go to take their first sip to find, just like the coffee...

United States on Sep 04, 2016

Charles Wicker: l returned from a trip to Italy and fell in love with expresso. l had an old expresso maker that l just made coffee with, but it finally broke. So, l wanted to get a replacement and let my fingers do the walking. l compared and contrasted quite a bit and landed on this model and it is pretty stout machine.
Easy access to get water into tank - no crossbars to not let water flow in;
Controls are very responsive - when you turn the knob the desired action comes quick.
Nice feel and construction to the coffee handle and basket - attaches and detaches easily, super clip that holds the basket in place when emptying it, sizable basket to hold a lot of coffee grounds.
Milk steamer on side is efficient (pro tip - microwave the milk to warm it up before steaming). Again when l turn the control know the steam stops coming out immediately, which is good to prevent making a mess as l acclimate to the machine.
Carafe has good size handle for me, and the lid on top has a side pour which works well.
The resting bottom pops out for easy clean.
One extra to the deal is the scoop which has a scoop at on end and a flatner/compressor on the other end.
The only slight negative...

United States on Aug 26, 2016