STARESSOPortable Espresso Maker - Third Generation Mini Espresso Maker for Two Shots at One Time Upgrade Version Hand Espresso Maker for Rich & Thick Crema with Ground Coffee for Camping & Office

This is an easy-using machine to make espresso at home. With properly grind coffee, it will make some nice and decent espresso shots. I like it so far after the first couple runs, and I am able to spot some pros and cons right way. It is easy to use and assemble, so it makes easy to clean. All of part is able to remove for cleaning purpose. Personally, I like the idea that even though you have only access to boil water, people will make some nice coffee out of it. it is definitely portable. recommended for people who like to go hiking and camping. The downsides are the pressure and hot water will make a little difficult to disassemble, so it is going to be challenging if you try to make coffee for a group people. it is understanding the machine will leave some water and wet coffee pot. I wish that I am able to take out a whole piece of dry coffee pot and throw it away. that will make it easy and clean. It is a nice machine over all.

I really wanted to like this little device. It would have been a really inexpensive way to have espresso drinks at home. It can make a strong coffee with the crema that people associate with good espresso. I'm just not sure that the end product is worth the hassle. The Staresso uses a very small diameter pump and a pressurized basket and little pressure regulator to develop pressure. The small pump is a good idea because it allows for a lower force to achieve higher pressures, but that comes at the expense of having to do a lot of pumping. I think that part of the problem is that the pump and pressure regulator system doesn't do a very good job of maintaining pressure. The pump is only really pressurizing the small space between the water reservoir and the pressure regulator. That space might develop as much pressure as that found in an espresso machine momentarily, but the pressure isn't maintained well and it's nearly impossible to predict how much water you can pump through the puck before the system just stops pumping. What you end up with is a water chamber with ~1oz of water leftover, a wet mess of coffee grounds where your puck should be and some strong aerated coffee. The other problem I ran into was related to the coffee volume. Staresso claims that the basket can hold 18-22g of coffee. I had trouble getting 16g of coffee to fit in the basket. The scoop and pump handle both seemed too small to function as sufficient tampers as they suggest. The pump is domed and that's not in ideal shape for a tamper anyway. My pump part was also dented even though the box showed no signs of damage. The basket is 53.5mm diameter, so a 53mm tamper should work. Ultimately I found that the coffee produced from the machine wasn't doing justice to the beans I buy and it wasn't worth the time and trouble of the pre-heating, pumping and clean-up that this thing requires.

This little machine actually makes a pretty good double shot of espresso. There's good crema and flavor. I don't find it hard to clean, especially since most of its parts only require rinsing. I love that it doesn't take up much space, because I really don't have much in my kitchen. Including boiling water, it takes me less than 10 minutes to make espresso using this machine.The first time I used it, the espresso was watery, so I made some changes which improved the flavor a lot:- Grind the coffee beans really fine- Fill the grounds container as much as possible and tamp like crazy (add grounds, tamp, if there's still space, add more and tamp again over and over until full)- Pre-heat the water chamber (don't screw on the part that holds the grounds. Stand the staresso up in the sink. Pour freshly boiled water into the water chamber, place the part with the handle pump on top, do not screw it on. Let the hot water drain through the machine and into the sink) You can also pre-heat the little cup by pouring boiled water in it and letting it sit while the water drains through the rest of the machine.- Make sure the part where the coffee comes out is turned as tightly as possible before attaching it to the water chamber. (Turn the part with the nozzles upside down so that the nozzles are facing you. Using the nozzles for grip, turn it as tightly as possible to the right.)Once the machine is put together and has grounds in it, I just follow the directions exactly. Wait 2 seconds, pump, wait, pump, and so on. To lessen mess, once I'm done pumping, I pour the espresso into a cup, and place the little cup that comes with the machine back under it so it can catch the drips. I'm pretty quick, so I rarely get any espresso on my counter. Getting the grounds into the coffee chamber and tamping is the messiest part for me, so I just do that over the sink.Once you're done pumping the espresso, slowly unscrew the hand pump part. Let it sit on the counter to cool and depressurize. I don't recommend attempting to clean the machine right away, since it might be really hot and there might still be a lot of pressure built up inside. I usually make coffee in the morning and then clean the machine at night, because that's when I do the dishes. It hasn't caused any problems to be lazy about cleaning.Unscrew the part containing coffee grounds over the sink. That can be messy otherwise.There are only 2 things I'd change about the Staresso:1. Make more espresso at once - I love triple and quad shots. I could just buy another machine, but I don't feel like shelling out the cash for another just yet.2. Include a tamp that fits over the coffee ground chamber perfectly. This would probably be less messy and take less time than using the spoon that comes with it.

This is my first time making espresso, but I've been making fresh coffee for a few years now. Freshly ground with a bur grinder, perfect water temperature, filtered water, I take it pretty seriously. Understanding the factors that come into play when brewing coffee is like understanding the acoustics to making music. Yea, you can turn on the regular coffee pot, pour in some tap water, and some stale coffee grounds, and call it coffee, but there's a reason you add a cup of sugar and milk to cover up the taste. It's not pleasant, or enjoyable. Many people don't realize, but making coffee is an art, and leaving it all up to a machine, you end up with something unsatisfying.All that being said, making great art, takes quality, reliable tools. This is a quality, reliable tool. So far I've only used it once, but in all my experience, and lack of experience, even my first shot of espresso was something amazing. The flavors I never knew coffee had, and I could taste them. I'm no professional, but I am proud to own this.Let's get into a few details. The surface feels like a kind of textured rubber, so easy to grip, not easy to scratch up or anything. Underneath, it feels like solid steal base. Some parts may be plastic, but parts that are safe from damage. Thoroughly cleaning this, I'd say it's obviously very well made, and the craftsmanship is worth the price tag.Cleaning was easy. There were artifacts left from manufacturing I image, little pieces of, whatever it was, and some kind of oil, or residue. Hot water and dish soup cleaned all that away, which you should clean anything you get new like this anyway, so no extra work there. Afterwards, I ran hot water through the system as if pressing a shot, to clear out any left over soupy water. After brewing, all the coffee grounds easily washed away with just a rinse of water, didn't even need to use soup, or scrub. Very happy with this effortless clean up. (:The espresso maker came with a little plastic scoop for coffee grounds, however nothing to tamp with. 18 grams of finely ground coffee is about 3 scoops of whole beans, and after grinding, it won't all fit in the filter unless you tamp it down, so getting a tamp is highly recommended. You want an even, dense puck of fine coffee, not a mounds of loosely packed, lumpy coffee. Pumping the water took a little force once the pressure built up, but not too much.Considering the volume of water, the size of the basket, and adjustable pressure valve, this tool can work how you want it to work, figure out your own perfect shot of espresso, and that flexibility is amazing in my opinion. Also, the duel outlets which make it possible to make 2 separate shots at once.Bottom line, durable, solid build, easy to clean, easy to use, flexible usage, and works great. Only missing a tamper, or the product page should at least tell us that it doesn't have one, and what size to get.This is the Gen 3, Mirage Portable Espresso Maker.

At first I was pretty happy with this despite the shortcomings others mentioned: Hassle filling the basket since it is really hard to get the proper amount of grinds into it and there's no tamp. Hassle of a process in general and to clean but that is understandable for a portable piece like this.My problem was the pressure and, I suppose, overall quality. At first, it was making espresso. Maybe not the best shots and maybe not with a lot of user control but it was good. I was surprised at how much pressure it seemed to build. But after a week the pressure was gone. I could hear the reason why. Air started leaking out around the base of the press handle or whatever one wishes to call it. I pump and I hear air squeaking out and now it makes a small strong cup of coffee with some crema but I would not call it espresso. Maybe it is defective but I expect something I bought for $80 to work more than 10 or 11 times. Not recommended.