At first, I wasn't sure if I loved this machine and would send it back. I looked through the videos and reviews for some hints on what could be going wrong. --I like a very strong cup of coffee, latte, cappuccino, espresso shot, etc. If it's not strong, I don't enjoy it and most coffee that I don't get in a coffee shop doesn't hit the mark. But I figured it out. I cracked the code. It took me about a week or so of trial and error (trying once a day) and now I can make my perfect latte (my favorite drink and the one I've been working on). I'll tell you what I do, but this may not be your secret recipe. Give it a chance, you can figure out your favorite way with this machine too.Here's how I make my perfect latte.I use espresso roasted beans. (I tried regular dark roasted coffee and it's not great, in my opinion.)I use the 2 cup basket and I run it twice.I bought a heavy tamper made of stainless steel. The one that comes with it wasn't making a consistent enough cup. (inexpensive on Amazon)While I'm making my shots, I put the stainless steel frothing pitcher I bought in the freezer. (inexpensive on Amazon)I run the fresh grounds through with the 2 cup setting, I leave the portafilter in place and then I run it again.I put the two espresso cups into my latte cup and prepare the milk.I use 6 ounces of whole milk in the pitcher that was in the freezer for a couple of minutes. I run the steam setting into the milk until the pitcher gets just a little bit uncomfortable to the touch. Then I pour half of the liquid into my latte cup.I then steam the remaining pitcher of milk until it froths to the top of the pitcher. Even though this is only 6 ounces of milk, with the amount of foam this makes, it makes a full "Vente" amount of latte. When I used 8 ounces of milk it was too milky and when I used less, it wasn't quite the volume I like. So play around with it based on your likes.Hint: You may need to empty the tray of water a few times in this process. When you run the steamer as long as I do, it fills up pretty quick.Here's a KEY hint: After you throw out the grounds and rinse the basket, put it back empty and run it again. This will help the basket not to clog and give you a full-bodied shot. I found just rinsing it and not doing this, that the shots were becoming weak.Run the steamer into a cup to clear out any milk or clog that might happen if you don't. Use a wet paper towel or washcloth and get all the milk residue off the steam wand. Remove the attachment to get it clean.I feel like if anyone comes over and would like me to make them a good espresso, I could figure out, based on their likes, how to do it well on this machine.