Honestly, can’t beat the price. And this is more of great starter espresso machine for those who are on the fence about if they think they will be too lazy to make it.Personally I make it whenever I can, the taste is great. I go to Starbucks or any coffe shop and buy the coffee and ask them to grind it up and freeze the left over so it doesn’t go bad.Machine is easy to use and takes up very little space which is what I wanted since my kitchen is on the smaller end.Only thing I have against it, is that I do like my espresso pretty hot and this makes it kind of at a temperature that you can feel is warm but still easily drinkable. Which is ideal sometimes when you just want the caffeine. A little trick I use is I just heat up the cup in the microwave before I brew it.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.I read other reviews with complaints about water leaking all over the counter. The filter holder needs to be placed with the tab to the back, seated properly. If a guest were to make the coffee, it is not obvious to do that. I only noticed due to having a leak issue on first run and closely looked at the holder...under bight light and saw tiny print with the instruction. Nowhere in the booklet did it say to do that.The lid was hard to open and close at first but after a couple of uses it is no problem....make sure it snaps in place.The carafe leaves a small amount of coffee in it unless you turn it almost upside down.The carafe is hard to clean the interior with a dish rag due to a narrow opening... I am a woman with thin hands and can barely get my hand holding the rag in it... my husband has to use a bottle brush.With that all said, it is a good little coffee pot for the amount we paid. Coffee tastes good enough (we are not picky about coffee) and it makes about 2 measuring cups of coffee.I cannot speak for longevity since we have only had it about 3 weeks.I wish it had alittle weight to it. When you pull the pot out or put it back on the heating pat the whole coffee maker moves. It's so light you have to hold it down so it takes two hands. Other then that, great buy! Make sure you know the size of the pot before buying tho. Perfect for a couple!there was nothing I disliked about this order. It was timely and in good shape and I enjoyed a good cup of coffeeI bought this to replace a 4-cup Mr. Coffee coffee maker which finally broke after years of use. I rate this 4 of 5 stars because overall it makes coffee well, but there are a few things that would make it 5 stars and as good as the Mr. Coffee machine: 1) The coffee pot dribbles when you pour it. No matter how fast or how slow you pour, it dribbles. A little annoying to have to clean coffee off your counter each time you pour a cup? 2) The water marker is only on the right side. I wish it was on both sides like the Mr. Coffee machine does.I have used it 3 times. With and without a paper filter. It has never given me the entire 4 cups of water I put in even if I let it set for 5 minutes after it stops dripping. Could be the way my beans were ground.Easy to operate, you just have to put grounded powder and water in, then press the switch button; takes about 10 minutes to brew the whole pot. Very easy to wash, since it has only 2 internal parts to hold coffee + the coffee pot. The quality of the beverage is solid, I enjoy black coffee it makes.Look at that nice foam head, I can’t complain about anything so far. If you complain about how hot it is wait longer before brewing and it’s will get hotter. It’s not loud at all and is very easy to clean. I’m using a friends and still waiting for mine to arrive… its a great machine