Lello 1375 Ariete Cafe Prestige Coffee Maker

I had mine for about a month before the pump completely died- the machine seemed to be well-built, so I'm giving it one more chance and having it replaced.

We have had the machine for about a month now and love it. Looks nice, works well. I heard that that the manual is lacking, it is quite thin, but still an easy to use machine. I probably would not like it on a daily basis, it is a bit messy. I would highly recommend it for special occasions and weekend use.

It was good while it lasted. I used it about twice a day for almost six months. I figure all in all I got 300-350 espressos out of it before the pump pretty much quit. It still makes a lot of noise and sputters a bit but just can't create the pressure any longer. So is it worth it? Actually I am still giving it three stars. I figure mine lasted for a shorter period than most but even if most last for about a year, for $100-$120 (free shipping with Prime) that comes out to about 30 cents per shot each morning. At $2.00 per Espresso con Panna at the local Starbucks it paid for itself in a month. So within 6 months I do think it is a bit disposable but still worth it...just consider I am not alone.

And no, I did not consider sending back. It is made in China and no local repair firm. I opened it and see no way to replace the pump myself. The thing weighs about 20# so shipping back when shipping a new one was free with Prime is just not worth it. So go ahead but buyer beware.

It's not a $2000 machine. Get used to it. I wanted something I could break even with after a few months of not paying for coffee, not a few years. There IS a trick to this though. I had a Delonghi that worked really well but it was plastic, low powered. And no quirks. This one..

When I first got it, I would make a cup of americano. The espresso had very little crema and tasted just a little off. I would try a second cup and it came out perfect. AHA. So it seems the 1st cup was maybe warming up the fluid in the tubes leading to the filter? Who knows? So here is now my procedure:

1) turn it on, wait for it to warm up - light goes off.
2) run it with WATER ONLY (no grounds) for 1/2 a shot glass of espresso. this also warms up the espresso cup better than the heater on top. take off portafilter, dump remaining water from portafilter into espresso cup, put aside.
3) fill portafilter with scoop of grounds, tamp only so no grounds are above the top level, dump out hot water in espresso cup.
4) MAKE your espresso!
5) dump out contents of portafilter, clean portafilter and its receptacle, put on empty portafilter, run with WATER ONLY again to clean.
6) remove portafilter, dump water, store on drip tray.

So basically I run it 3 times for 1 shot of espresso. But it works. Good espresso, clean machine. Faster than you would think. So yeah, I'm keeping it.

I got the double wall shot glasses and mugs. Seemingly fragile, but keeps stuff warmer longer. Not broken yet.

I've been drinking my morning coffee using the Melitta pour-thru
cone method for maybe 20 years. I didn't know what I was missing. This "little" Ariete Cafe Prestige quickly makes coffee that is FAR superior to the pour-thru cone method, using LESS COFFEE.
I'm talking "regular" coffee here which I drink 95% of the time.
The coffee that results has that "crema" that espresso-lovers
crave, and unlike ordinary drip coffee, there is no hint of bitterness in the beverage that is created. Needless to say, the espresso made by this little beauty is great as well. The only reason that I give it 4 out of 5 stars is that I've had espresso from machines costing many times what the Ariete costs that might be slightly better. But for this price for a machine with a "pump",
buying this one is a no-brainer if you love great coffee but decline to pay many hundreds more for what might be marginally better coffee. Oh, I use only premium, freshly-ground coffee here i.e.: like what you can get at ParadiseRoasters: [..]
.......... to do any less is just self-deprivation