I adore this machine. It's been a huge quality of life benefit for me both at home and in the field. This machine isn't without its oddities but if you can overlook that you'll find really convenient to use unit for espresso lovers on the go.
I'm a professional outdoor instructor and separately a working dog handler. I spend long stretches of time in wilderness areas. Or moving around at odd hours working K9. I enjoy a cup of black coffee but my long standing preference is for the much smaller and more concentrated espressos. Funny enough, this machine was offered up as a review item while I was in the backcountry. I had hiked out to a riverbank because it was the only spot with cell phone reception so I could get some paperwork done and I had happened to check my review offers. I was really excited when I saw this device being offered and I snapped it up immediately. Since then, I have brought this into the field with me and used it at home.
This device is a combination water heater and espresso machine. The water reservoir holds about 80 mL of water and can accept already hot water or heat up the water for you. It takes a few minutes to heat up the water if you go with the latter option and it burns more battery power than extraction alone. Which I see from some other reviews some people have an issue with but it's not particularly surprising since heating up water with battery power is quite energy intensive. As someone who has used this in a backcountry setting it takes less time and effort to heat up water with the built-in water heater then it does to brew a cup of coffee. And if I want to save power I can always boil up some water on a campfire or jetboil. Last week I even used water heated up by the sun.
Another particular oddity of this unit is that you have to hold it in your hand upright during extraction. You can't leave the included plastic cup stowed and just press the button for extraction. You need to hold the device over whatever cup you use. I don't mind this. I use the included plastic cup primarily to catch any spill and as a stand not as an actual drinking cup, instead use my own cups when making espresso. But this does mean this unit isn't set and forget. It does require user intervention.
This unit is compatible with two types of coffee pods and can be filled with ground coffee. At home I primarily use the ground coffee capability. The device hopefully comes with a small spoon to scoop in ground coffee into the respective ground container. You can pack it in quite tight and tamp it down with the cap for the container before you screw it in. This produces the best tasting coffee since you can use really good quality coffee grounds but the stream of espresso is a little bit more erratic so plan accordingly during extraction. It's also the most difficult to clean as the device uses a stainless steel filter instead of a removable filter. Which in practice just means you need to run some cold water over the container to wash out the leftover grounds. It only takes a few moments.
In the backcountry, in order to keep things more self-contained I use Nespresso pods. Or at least coffee pods using the Nespresso pod form factor. If you order Nespresso pods specifically for the device make sure you order the right ones. The larger form factor Nespresso Vertuo are not compatible. Using the pods is easy, you just put it in between the two relevant Nespresso pod containers and continue on as normal. Clean up with a pod as a breeze since grounds are contained within the Pod and you can easily toss those or pack them out. The Nespresso ecosystem is quite large and not just limited to Nespresso so you have a good mix of coffee options. I bought a bunch of pods from different brands specifically for this unit and I couldn't be happier. I haven't used the other pods that this device supports yet but I hope to try those in the near future since it only requires one specific insert instead of the two for the Nespresso or ground coffee.
One thing I will also note is that you can start and stop the extraction at will. Which means you can make Cuban espressos without too much trouble. I've been having a lot of fun with that and I'm currently drinking one as I write this review.
The unit is about the size of a small water bottle and lighter than what a small water bottle would weigh if it was filled with water. It also resembles a water bottle at first glance with a very sleek contemporary appearance. So it's not the largest or heaviest machine in the world but it's still a luxury in the field. For me, and the kind of contracts I work these days, it's a worthwhile space and weight sacrifice. And a massive quality of life and moral boost. But I wouldn't bring it on a long-term backpacking trip because I could use the space for other things and could tolerate the instant coffee packets instead. It's portability is context dependent. If space and weight are at a premium it might not be worth it, but if you have a little bit more wiggle room I think it's absolutely a good item to have. One thing I will be critical of is the fiction fit used for the cup and top of the water reservoir. The cup on the first unit I received (we'll go over that in a second) was quite loose on my second unit it's more of a solid fit but it will still work itself off if thrown into a bag. Because of it's o ring, the top of the reservoir does stay in place better than the cup but it can still work its way off. If you plan on using this in the field or during travel I would strongly recommend you find a baggie that keeps everything in place. I was able to find a spare drawstring bag fits this device perfectly and prevents the items from working themselves loose. Chinese made devices are somewhat infamous for coming with generic drawstring bags for storage even when they don't really need it. Funny enough the one time one would actually be relevant and helpful there isn't one included.
As a final note, product support is surprisingly robust. On my last contract I happened to lose one of the necessary pieces for Nespresso compatibility. I was able to hike to a spot with cell reception and contact the seller through Amazon's messaging portal (the only way Vine reviewers are allowed to contact brands) and ask if there was any way to order the part individually. The brand (keeping in mind they do not know I'm a Vine reviewer) offered to ship me the needed part directly from China free of charge. Unfortunately because of Amazon policies I wasn't allowed to communicate my shipping address for this to be arranged. So instead they worked with me to facilitate an official Amazon product exchange of my original unit for a brand new unit. My new unit just arrived and I will be mailing out my old one in a few days.
Overall I'm incredibly happy with this espresso maker, I've used it a bunch. I've purchased ground coffee and coffee pods specifically for it with no regrets. And have already recommended it to several of my colleagues who were interested in the unit. Sure, there are probably portable espresso machines that can do many of the same things more hands off, but at least for me I have found this device to be perfect for my unique needs. I feel that at the current asking price, this device is a bargain. I would absolutely purchase it with my own money.
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