The carafe can also be taken off the base and placed on any surface since it doesn’t get hot on the outside, which is handy if my parents are visiting and we want to sit in the living room drinking our coffee. No more interrupting conversation to get up and go to the kitchen for a refill! I was going to buy an insulated carafe for this very reason, but I decided to get this when my old coffee maker (not a Mr. Coffee, for anyone who was wondering) stopped working. The cost was a little higher than standard coffee makers with glass carafes, but it was cheaper than buying a standard coffee maker and a separate insulated carafe, and I don’t have to worry about finding a place in my kitchen to store a separate carafe with this.

I use my Nissan Thermos travel mug with this and have warm coffee to drink all morning. Thermos Nissan 18-Ounce Stainless-Steel Insulated Travel Tumbler

Best Coffee Maker for Under 0! – Mr. Thomas E. Gackle – Michigan USA
Mine was white instead of black but I owned it for years without any problems and it was destroyed by a house fire…wish I could find another one just like it in white. It’s perfect for anyone that likes to keep coffee hot for hours without needing to reheat or warm up…mine kept the coffee hot for several hours…it would still be warm at the end of the day without losing flavor or degrading.

Started out grate then two months later NOTHING – XanthNovels – lockport,il
Started out great luckily i kept the box… this coffee pot kept shutting off and brewing only half way which I had to keep pressing the button twice. My coffee in the carafe was COLD not hot like when I first had it. TOOK it back now switching away from MR. COFFEE !!

disappointing – F. Chubirka –
I was really upset with the shipping. This was a wedding gift and UPS could not see their way clear to deliver this package in a timely fashion. Also the product was broken when the recipient removed it from the packaging. Not a good way to do business.

Mr. Coffee ECM20 Steam Espresso Maker – Larry Degenhart – Valley Park, MO United States
Mr. Coffee ECM20 Steam Espresso Maker is OK, but the new models are much better preform quicker and all for the same price.

A disappointment – Ruth E. Prendergast – Denver
I have owned several Mr. Coffee latte machines – but this one is difficult to operate with the smooth knobs – inadequate water storage. I miss my old Mr. Coffee which I do not believe they make anymore.

Yes, there is one little quirk: the filter basket doesn’t seat firmly if the lid is up (due to the spring mechanism that allows the pause ‘n pour function)so you do have to take the carafe off of the plate at the very beginning of preparation and put it back at the very last (once the lid is closed and before pressing “START”), but that’s such a minor thing, it’s not even an issue with me (I just wanted to let you all know). Overall, I really like this coffeemaker and am very pleased with it.

coffee maker – J. W. Barnes – deatsville al.
I have used this item several times and find it an excellant product which is used every day

Dribble Pot – Eye heart tango whiskey alpha tango – Boston, ma
The coffee maker itself works fine. Brews pretty quick. BUT!!!! The damn “decanter”, pot, whatever… DRIBBLES every time you pour!!! When i fill the back with the decanter- it dribbles water all over the counter. When i pour out the first 2 cups of coffee- it dribbles coffee all over the counter. It’s doubled my paper towel consumption!!! Tried everything- lifting the lid to pour, pouring slowly, pouring quickly etc. Haven’t tried running it over with the car yet.

It’s Ok – Teena B – Phoenix, AZ
I don’t like this Mr Coffee as much as my last one. It causes alot of fluid spill. The pot spout is narrow, so when pouring coffee into our cups it overflows the spout onto the countertop no matter how slow you pour it. There are two holes in the back of the coffee maker designed, I guess, so you don’t overfill the water resevoir. When I’m pushing the coffeemaker back into place on our countertop after filling it, the water swishes and spills out of the holes. Then, when you lift the lid and pull out the coffee basket, condensed water spills onto the hot plate, another area you have to wipe up. I’ll deal with it because I don’t want to pay the ridiculous prices for another time delay coffee pot but it’s a pain in the neck to keep having to wipe up spills

For those of you who have the machine:

When I first received my Mr. Coffee Espresso Machine for Christmas, I was with my brother, who is a former barista, and whom was quite impressed with the little machine! He worked it like a charm and made my first latte for me. YUM!! He was even thinking about getting his own machine as he was pleasantly surprised how great it worked. For who can beat that? Once I got home it was a different story. I discovered the cord wrapped around the bottom and chuckled at the people who thought the “cord was too short”. =) With the first few lattes I tried to make, some worked and some didn’t. Sometimes the steam would run out and I wouldn’t have enough to finish frothing my milk. Frustrating! I was only filling up the decanter to 2 cups, which apparently wasn’t enough to produce steam to froth the milk. I started filling the decanter to 4 cups (and pouring it into the machine obviously) and it’s worked like a charm ever since! Hope that helps if anyone else is having the same problem.

**Definitely make sure you buy a frothing pitcher! I can’t imagine frothing the milk in a coffee mug. Wow!

I still haven’t bought a tamper, but should probably invest in one! I’ve just used the flat end of the measuring scoop and it’s sufficed. My brother showed me how to tamper it, so it’s worked fine for me. I’m not saying that’s what you should use.

Save money on all your store bought lattes and DON’T spend a fortune on an expensive espresso machine when you can use this machine! You’ll love it!

Great Price for Great Machine – alfafemme – CA United States
This affordable, little machine is full of surprises. Quick and easy to make, and as long as you don’t overfill w/ coffee, it’s smooth and delicious. I made the mistake of “more is better” on the first try. It’s best to follow the recommended amounts.

It’s great to get up and make your own without having to drive somewhere and stand in line. My machine paid for itself in two weeks.

Sorry Starbucks and local coffee house, I’m makin’ my own!

p.s. I use the espresso maker and not the frothing attachment, and so can only tell you about the espresso.

got the job done – J. L. Turner – APO, AE
I ordered this espresso machine bc my husband and i were spending alot of money at starbucks and i was trying to save some $$$. When we first got it, it was easy to use and the directions were clear. it is a very basic espresso machine. The steamer worked great- it just took a few minutes to heat up the 20 oz of milk– but i like my coffee very hot. the machine is easy to clean and doesnt take up much space on my countertop. we got it in july and its now dec and it wtill works but has some problems- the espresso isnt heated now- comes out cold. and the steamer works sometimes. i think that we just used it too much i would order this again bc it is cheap and got the job done. just wish that it would have lasted a bit longer.

Best Buy of my year! – P. Clarke –
This makes excellent lattes! Even better than the major chains and every bit as good as my favorite independent shops. It’s also compact and fits perfectly in my smallish kitchen! I LOVE it!!

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 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!

Broke in 3 months – Shakeitlikeapolaroidpicture – Pittsburgh
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 0.

Mr Coffee just Average – L. A. – Milwaukee, WI
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 – Elizabeth Chipps – Wilkesboro, NC
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.