Illy Caffe Y1.1 216623 Touch Espresso Machine, Red

Love my coffee machine.

Fairly priced, super easy to use, consistent, well built...Some products just do what they say they do and do it extremely well. This one does!Illy isn't the cheapest option, but it has that pure coffee taste.Will cost around $1 per drip.It doesn't just look great, it taste great.Absolutely happy with purchased and would / have recommended to my coffee loving friends

I love this machine. It is easy to use, no problem to clean and it makes the best coffee I have ever had. I have tried all of the different versions of the Illy coffee pods and I like them all.They should give the machines away because they certainly make their money on selling the coffee pods.Update: I used this machine for over a year. I found the level of water dispensed was erratic from pod to pod. Some pods did not work at all. I finally changed to a Nespresso Original line unit. The coffee is at least as good as the ILLY. The machine is much easier to use and is very consistent. Overall I like the Nespresso much better. Has a smaller foot print and is easier to fill and clean. Also much faster from start to coffee.

It's difficult to separate the machine from the coffee because, essentially, buying this machine means you are committed to only ever drinking Illy coffee. I'll try to give comments on both the coffee and the machine.The machine: It's a showpiece for sure. It's heavy, nice quality and seems to justify its price. I've only had it for a couple weeks so I can't comment on durability. That being said, you do sacrifice some function for the sake of form. As others have said, the water tank is limited and the used pod tray fills fast. Not only does it fill fast, but if you wait until it's completely full, it can jam and be hard to wiggle out. The cup warmer is a novelty and really doesn't do much unless you leave the machine on and use it constantly throughout the day.The coffee: This is where I was most let down. I have tried Nespresso, Keurig, Dolce Gusto and now Illy (in addition to trying a conventional espresso machine). I travel to Italy twice a year and spend a total of 4-6 weeks there and I keep trying to reproduce the coffee at home. It seems like I'm chasing an unattainable dream at this point. I bought EVERY SINGLE POD that Illy sells in the US: the dark, medium and lungo. I bought all the monoarabica pods: India, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. I tried them as lungo and ristretto; I played with the water levels and used bottled water. Nothing I could do could make me like this coffee with the exception of actually adding cream and sugar: a huge NO NO for espresso! The problem is that they all, in varying levels, have a sourness and unacceptable acidity. The dark roast is probably the closest to drinkable out of them all. I have the same issue with Nespresso: sour sour sour.... blah!Obviously taste is subjective and for some people this may be delicious. Then again, some people find Keurig heaven-on-earth and I think it's absolutely disgusting (no matter which pod). Admittedly I have set a high bar, but for this kind of money (not just the machine, but the cost of pods), I really expected more.A note about the pods... Illy brags about their two stage process for brewing, but I've found that this works maybe 60% of the time. The result is sometimes you get more or less water depending on the quality of manufacture of the pod. Sometimes the pressure releases too early and too much water comes out and sometimes the pressure valve doesn't break at all until the second stage and you get less coffee in the cup and the taste is off.I'm afraid that I will have to return this machine and continue my quest for the perfect espresso.

I like to pull my own espressos with a Breville 15 bar pump machine, which is a process starting with selecting the bean, grinding it just right, measuring and tamping with the right amount of pressure...to get the perfect super strong, black gold and crema without the bitterness of starbucks garbage, and more flavorful than those Kcup dishwater coffees. I guess I'm a coffee snob, but I don't like that label - I just love a good espresso and won't waste my time drinking sub par coffee.This machine matches my brews and needs perfectly...in fact the espresso is strong enough to give me a momentary buzz and when I close my eyes it takes me back to those dingy little side street cafes in Portugal and Italy that made the best espressos around the world.If you are looking for true, european espresso, get this machine.