KitchenAid, KES6551 Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine with Burr Grinder, 2 Cup, Juniper

I spent 16months looking at this machine—dreaming of it before I purchased. Literally LOVE this machine. I use fresh air roasted beans, vanilla bean sugar, starbucks vanilla syrup, Kemps 2%milk. Took a few months until new grinder. Makes espresso perfect. Amazing value at discount. Designers put thought into this for under counter space, design and even for clean up. Frother is top tier better than any brand. Its sleek, crisp and innovative. I push it hard 3-5 times a day. DO NOT use tap water, just use filtered bottled water so no purging machine for 2months(if used every other day). Just remove filter from water tank to use filtered bottled water(NO SPRING WATER). Do not leave machine "unused" for 2+ weeks, then clean water will smell, if used ovbiously no smell. Ease of use is extremely easy, i recommend for everyone. DO NOT FORGET TO PRIME FIRST #1 Rule. Or Prime every 2 weeks because you can. Purge every 2 weeks because you can. Clean water tank every 2 weeks because you can. This is a tool not a toy. Pretty sure all the bad reviews are paid actors or amateurs. Water does not spill/leak everywhere, its the drip tray over flowing. Rinse drip tray everyday or after every 4 espresso makes. You will 100% need some tools and this goes for ALL home espresso brands not just kitchen aid, so dont think another brand is going to save you. Its actually going to be worse because other brand portafilters are only (54mm). Kitchen-aids, is professional size (58mm). Most home espresso machine grinders are to small in mm(40mm)(42mm)(44mm) so not every bean works and will grind to fine on max course. I wasted many beans. So no matter what you will have to buy a df54mm or df64mm coffee grinder to make "ANY" coffee bean you want instead of guessing. I myself have saved a $1000 since I can make it myself now. The set up below is for kitchenaid semi-automatic espresso machine(non negotiable)— 1. df54mm grinder. 2. 58.5mm Espresso Tamper—6 Adjustable Pressure Settings. 3. A set of 0.2mm Ultra-Thin Coffee Espresso Filter Screen. 4. Electronic Coffee Scale. 5. Dosing Ring. 6. Espresso Distribution Tool 7. One 2.5oz-One 4oz Espresso Shot glass for weighing espresso. 8. 20oz Stainless steel froth cup if you want extra foam like me(do not have to). The rest you can figure out. You're all extremely welcome for this review that you wont even find a video on the internet for.

Love this machine.Cons - 1. Did all the setup as required including priming the system but like others, it was leaking after I attached a 'max' water tank. I was really discouraged because I had read other reviews of the leaking. But so many people loved it. So my wife and I decided we'd do a ln experiment. We kept the tank off and put it back on to use the first time. After the first two coffees, there was no leak. Not sure if the system just needed to run a coffee or two first before the leak would stop? Anyway, we've been using it for 4 days now and not a single leak.Pros - Super quiet!! Beautiful machine. High quality built and accessories. Love that the hopper can be switched out for other beans (decaf, etc.).Update - we've had this for several months now and it continues to make great coffee. Lots to learn on how to get the right grid with the right amount of beans and the right amount of water (we love fully automatic espresso machines so this is our first espresso machine where we've had to do the work).So, the leak has not come back since day one. Easy to clean. We have periods of static grinds like some other customers, but then it will disappear with a different bean. But it only takes a few seconds to wipe up.Overall, very happy with the machine.

I tested this unit against two other brands. This KitchenAid machine makes perfect espresso! Zero mess. No grind static. Very consistant grinding. Very quite. Only issue is directions seem lacking and so I had to websearch how to fix an issue as I didn't see what I needed in the manual. Fyi, often with people not getting any pressure on extraction is because their coffee is old. Oh, then it started leaking water out back. Pretty sure it's a bad seal between tank and machine. Too bad.

Leaked everywhere. So upsetting as I love kitchenAid. Returning.

J’adore cette machine à espresso. Elle fonctionne super bien et est facile à nettoyer en plus d’être jolie et solide .