Mr. Coffee ECM21 4Shot Espresso Machine and 8Cup
by admin on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 | 15 Comments
| Brand: | Mr. Coffee | ||
| Average Rating |
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Indulge creating your specialty coffee drinks at home. You can have fun serving Espresso, Cappuccinos and Lattes to your guest while conveniently being able to also make regular black coffee. Show off with your Combination Coffeemaker and Espresso/ Cappuccino Maker machine. Coffeemaker has a removable cone filter basket, removable water reservoir and 8 cup capacity. Espresso/ Cappuccino Maker is a steam-driven unit with a variable steam control, powerful frothing aid and 4 cup capacity. more info
Bad Caraf
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I really liked the way it brews coffee and the expresso machine has worked well and easy to use, however, I had to give this 3 stars because the coffe caraf pours all over the counter and the lid broke. It has two little buttons that hold it on the caraf and that is not enough. My husband said I don’t care what you buy just get a coffee maker that does not pour all over. We had a cuisinart before and they are GREAT, but, I wanted a coffee/espresso duo. We will be purchasing the Krups xp1500. There will be a review after 6mo for that one.
What fun!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Being compact,this is ideal for a small kitchen. Though I have had slightly better coffee makers,this is a perfect unit for a beginner barista. Basic operation is straight forward and can be adapted as you learn the techniques. With proper care it should perform well for a long time. As with any culinary undertaking it takes practice and good ingredients to make an excellent product. I’ve discovered a couple tricks that have improved the quality of my cappuccino a lot since I first gave it a go a month ago. Fine tuning the machine operation beyond the instructions in the booklet was key. First of all,I got rid of the rubber frothing aid tip cover-it was not helpfull.I fill the tank to a quarter inch below the bar that goes across the opening and seal, turn the dial to “steam” until water stops spitting out of the frothing tube (this gets the water temperature a bit higher for brewing and produces an espresso with a trace of caramel froth around the rim),turn the machine off, attach the brew basket with prepared grind, turn on and brew espresso. Then immediately return dial to steam and let it hiss until its pure hot steam-almost invisible. With milk in a metal frothing pitcher(an essential accessory)held in the palm of your hand,emerse the tip just under the surface of the milk,turn the steam back on and inject steam until you hear the pitch change and the heat on the bottom of the pitcher begins to get uncomforable, insert the tip a bit deeper into the milk for a couple seconds then shut off. Appart from that, getting the right coffee is important and a matter of taste and getting the grind just right is a trick too(a wee bit more fine than salt I find). Most of all its fun!
POOR CARAFE DESIGN CREATES TOO MANY SPILLS!
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
The shape of the pour spout is incorrect (too shallow). Thus, the lid opens up while pouring the coffee, causing a serious and consistent spill with every pour.
One can minimize spillage to some degree by pouring very, very slowly and by placing pressure on the lid to keep it closed. But, this is way too much effort than should be required to pour oneself a nice cup of coffee. Furthermore, these preventive measures do not always work. And by the time you realize that, the spilled coffee has quietly and invisibly run along the carafe and created a puddle on the counter. It’s a real mess.
If I had to do it all over again, I would not purchase this machine due to the coffee wasted and the inconvenience caused by the multiple cleanups.
Mr. Coffee needs to correct this design error! Shame on Mr. Coffee!
Great! Until…
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I was initially scared by the mixed ratings this appliance got from everyone, but I bought it anyways, because there are days I want coffee, and days I want espresso/ lattés and mochas, and this mixed the two machines together. I might add that as I write this review, I’m enjoying some of the coffee from this very machine.
On the coffee side of it all:
The coffee comes out nicely. I haven’t a single trouble with it at all. The coffee tastes just like every other kind I get and have drinking from all sorts of machines, like at friends’ houses, or at coffee shops. It’s not my personal problem, but I figured that I would point it out that the coffee isn’t boiling hot. I personally love the temperature that the coffee comes out at, but I think it could still be a little hotter. I felt an extreme need to also include this in my review like everyone else: My carafe DOES NOT leak whatsoever. I have no idea what everyone is having trouble with (are you pouring it upside down?). I make about 4-6 cups each time I brew with it, and I have yet to spill a droplet of coffee. The coffee side gets a 4 star rating: because of coffee temperature.
On the latté/ espresso side:
I must admit that I am no pure-espresso lover. I know that a good thing of pure espresso tastes like what I’d imagine a tire to taste like. As such, it tastes just as much like a tire as the other coffee shops I go to. The steamer is very nice. I would recommend removing the steam wand’s cover, unless you want bacteria getting you sick. That cover is just a nesting ground for those bacteria. The instructions are very clear for the pressure in the water canister for this side, as well as how to clean the frothing wand. This machine hasn’t let me down a bit for my lattés. I bought mocha sauce, and peppermint flavors online, to start out my flavor collection. This machine is a good part of making a killer Andes Candies latté (my description for the flavor of it). The frother makes up for any lack in espresso temperature (remember, I don’t drink it plain, so I have no clue how hot it is). If you let the milk froth in a pitcher (bought separately for a couple bucks) your lattés can be extremely hot. So if my rating was for the latté portion only, it’d be a 5 out of 5 easily.
Overall:
I still work at a coffee shop, but I really hate the high prices of drinking lattés and the like, so I know what to look for in a machine. This machine could be a little better with temperatures, or a faster-heating frothing wand, but you gotta remember this machine is cheap ( I got mine for about $65 including shipping) compared to coffee shop makers that cost thousands of dollars. The most surprising thing is that the end result of both machines taste about the same! Just about 10-15 stops to a Starbucks for example, will pay for this machine. In the long run it’s so much cheaper and convenient. If you must have boiling hot coffee, consider a different machine, but if you don’t mind having just pretty hot coffee, and great espresso, I’d definitely recommend this machine, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better machine for a comparable price!
UPDATE AS OF 1/4/10
I would definitely lower my overall rating, due to the fact that this machine is going pretty downhill.
First off, the coffee side is still the same as it was; I rarely use it, and it’s just ok coffee. I have a smaller Mr. Coffee coffee maker that makes considerably better coffee, so it voids the use of the right half of this appliance.
But since most of my initial review was on the espresso side, I will continue the reasoning in regards to only this side. So, the cap to the compression chamber…thingy, is very touchy. Sometimes it seems to think I twisted too tightly or not enough, not exactly sure which, because it lets steam escape. I don’t feel this is my error, because I make sure the lid is tight, and that the letters are facing the same direction every time. When steam escapes, it makes the machine very loud, dangerous (I tried to take off the cap too soon, and it launched) and you have to wait for a long while for it to cool down and loose all the pressure. Secondly, the espresso itself is tasting less delicious, and I haven’t done anything differently. Likewise, I have always lightly tamped the espresso to about the same degree everytime I use it, but sometimes steam comes out of the portafilter, and the espresso comes out tasting like mud, instead of that really welcome tire flavor I mentioned earlier. Also, the portafilter has gotten pretty nasty looking despite all of the regular hand washing I do to it. I don’t even know how to describe the way it looks other than “not what I’d really want to serve espresso with.” Everything else is in decent condition, but the flavor of my lattés seems to be rapidly deteriorating, and due to this, I fear I’ll need a new machine. Based on the loss of need of the coffee side, and the relative short-livedness of this machine, I’m definitely not buying another one of these.
I’d still give this 3 or 4 stars, because I certainly got my money’s worth, but I am still a little disappointed. After the whole kit and caboodle, I’d say this machine is great for people willing to take the plunge into espresso without having a coffee maker already, and might rather make coffee most of the time and have cappuccino occasionally. It’s also a great machine to learn the basics on, in case you’ve never made espresso before. Since the price is so cheap, it’s pretty forgiving if you make a mistake and need to replace the machine or a part (though that’d have to be a pretty serious mistake to do that).
However, if you are finally comfortable with making espresso drinks, and/or are in need of a more serious machine, I’d suggest a pump driven machine (this is steam-driven). You will need more money for a pump driven machine, but it has better results.
Mr Coffee just Average
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I was excited to have one machine to make espresso and coffee in a compact size at a reasonable price. Be warned – you get what you pay for. We have had the machine about three months now and we are starting to have some issues with it. The espresso carafe is cracked and it was never dropped or mishandled. The cost to replace it is outrageous. In general, it takes 20 minutes to brew a full pot of coffee and the temperature is never consistent. The coffee pot spills everywhere when you pour due to the venting on the lid. It is pretty easy to clean. But the whole design is odd/poor overall. I am not very pleased with it as a whole. I will not buy another one of these. I will buck up and buy a more expensive one with better features.
Just an update. The coffee maker suddenly stopped working completely. We cleaned it repeatedly on a regular basis and have no idea what the problem is. The espresso make still works. I pulled out the old Cuisinart and it works like a charm, even at five years old. You really do get what you pay for. After we get back from vacation, I will be looking for a higher quality dual machine that will hopefully last more than three months. Buyer beware.
Pros and Cons
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
Please note that I just got this machine yesterday. Today I used the espresso side and the coffee side. The review I am giving is based on these uses only.
First of all, this is one nice looking machine. I love how it looks on my counter, and I really like the fact that the frother can be tucked in when not in use.
When the machine came out of the box, there was a very strong smell of plastic. I immediately put every removable piece through the dishwasher. I was worried, but NO there was NO plastic taste to anything that I made.
Some things about the espresso side that I was very very pleased with: the frother worked very well, moreso than with other Mr. Coffee machines I have used in the past. The lid to the carafe was a rubbery material rather than hard plastic, which is good because with my last machine I had a problem with the lid falling into the carafe. I made a great cappuccino in a very short period of time. I will agree with other reviewers that it was warm rather than hot, but I don’t anticipate this being a problem.
Now, I read the reviews stating that the coffee pot leaks from the lid when pouring, but it was not in my mind when I was pouring my first cup. It leaked in a horrible way, all over my countertop. I really hope it isn’t hard to remember to hold the top open. Luckily, I only make coffee when I have company over… it is the espresso side that I will personally use every day.
I think that the sheer sexiness of this machine makes it a keeper, and for a coffee pot and espresso machine in one, it wasn’t a bad price. I don’t HIGHLY recommend it, but I wouldn’t recommend against it, either.
Broke in 3 months
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I have no idea why I won’t just rate this a 1….after all, it did break. While it worked, it made decent expresso and decent coffee. I used it daily for about 3 months to make great lattes. One day, the steamer just didn’t steam anymore. I cleaned it b/c I thought maybe it was clogged. I can’t figure out what happened to it. Too bad. There doesn’t seem to be many expresso/coffee maker combos out there under $200.
Does not always produce steam
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I’ve had this machine for just over 3 months. It does fine making espresso and coffee, although brewing a pot of coffee takes longer then my previous coffee machine, but every month the steam wand seems to work less and less. In fact, the last 5 times I’ve tried using the steam wand this week it has not worked. Very frustrating.
Don’t waste your money…
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
This is the worst coffee maker I have ever owned! The plastic parts broke within a month and the esspresso maker didn’t work. Don’t waste your money on this machine!! Look elsewhere. This is now on the garage sale table.
Horribly disappointing.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
My first combo machine was the original Krups Cafepresso, which I managed to actually wear out over the course of four years in college. At roughly a third of the price, I wasn’t expecting the Mr. Coffee ECM21 to be its equal, but neither was I expecting the cheap, flimsy, poorly designed POS I got.
The build quality is roughly equivalent to the $9.99 no-brand coffee makers you can buy in any grocery store, and in fact seems a little less sturdy than my last one of THOSE. It’s poorly designed as well, with a pivoting shower head that has to be rotated to the side to remove the drip basket, and swung back into place to brew. Furthermore, to make it all fit in one package, Mr. Coffee chose to shrink the carafe to an 8-cup one, but made it so squatty and with such a tiny spout that any pour over a thin, tiny trickle sends coffee gushing down the side of the carafe and all over the counter. It’s possible to mostly get the hang of over time, but takes a ridiculously long time to fill a cup.
The espresso side of the operation is equally flimsy and too light, and seals badly. Sometimes an extra cupmark of water is enough to steam milk for a latte, sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes no matter how much extra you allowed, steam comes out of everywhere and you’re left with lukewarm milk at best. Also, the cup is so flimsy and its handle so light that I fully expect it to be the first part of the machine to break.
Dreadful product. For the price point, I wasn’t expecting a Cadillac, but good functional design shouldn’t add to a product’s cost—it’s just as easy to build a decent coffeemaker as a crappy one. Save your money.
FALLS APART FAST! Waste of good money.
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Bought this over the summer.
Problem 1- Coffee maker- the carafe does not fit properly under the dispenser.
Problem 2- Coffee maker- the carafe is poorly designed so you have to pour your coffee over the sink because it spills all over the counter.
Problem 3- Coffee maker- makes coffee slooooooowwwwwwwly
Problem 4- Little parts started to bend or break off after 1 month.
The espresso maker is ok, but it does take quite a long time to steam the milk.
I am now shopping for a new coffee maker and espresso machine. This one has only been used since August.
Don’t do it!
Terrible on both sides
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
I bought this hopeless contraption two months ago. The caraffe leaks when pouring no matter how slowly you pour. The expresso part quit working on the 3rd day. It never would make the designated amount of expresso. I’ve had many Mr. Coffee’s and most were very good. This one isn’t…at all…in any way, shape or fashion.
Poor Design
Rating:1 out of 5 stars
Mr Coffee used to be a reliable brand, but this model is/was a total “let-down”. It’s poor design is almost a hazard waiting to happen.
First – Performance: It’s slow to brew, although expresso side works fairly well, the coffee side is slow brewing, leaks at reservoir and internal design is poor and cheaply made.
Second – Safety; The expresso side is sturdy and has safety in mind, but the coffee side is hazardous at best. It easily overflows, jams and the decanter leaks while pouring. Tried multiple attempts (how hard can it be to pour a cup of coffee? DUH?) yet it leaks from the pour spout lip down the face of coffee pot.
I called & reported this problem to Mr Coffee directly and am waiting for replacement they promised to send over a week ago. I’m extremely disappointed in this product and advise anyone considering to pass on this product.
Not a great machine but a good deal.
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
With this machine you get what you paid for.
It looks cheap, but then it was.
The espresso machine works just fine. I like the froster, even if it took me a while to learn WHEN to start steaming in order to have enough steam for the milk.
The coffee machine is OK. The drip is very slow on the 1-4 cup setting, but you get more aroma for it. I was surprized to have to agree with a lot of the reviews on the trouble pouring the coffee. I thought people didn’t know how to do it properly, but I ended up with coffee on my countertop more than a few times… you are NOT allowed to forget to lift the lid before serving!
If you’re only using one side, I would not buy this product but look for a non-combo – either coffeemaker or espresso machine. But if you like capuccino one day and a whole pot of coffee the next and you’re not ready to put too much money into it… this is the one for you.
Carafe lid is major problem
Rating:2 out of 5 stars
I see that other reviewers had the same problem as I did with the leaky carafe lid. It is a real pain….literally. When you lift the lid with your thumb as you pour to prevent spilling, you burn yourself with the steam. It is a design flaw by the manufacturer. I can’t help but think that if ONE HUMAN actually tested this thing before it when on the market that this lid problem would have been corrected. I guess that doesn’t happen anymore. It makes fine coffee though, and the espresso maker is very good for the money. I have had other Mr. Coffee makers in the past and have been satisfied, but this dumb carafe lid is making me question their quality control.