As many of you know, I love coffee. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not a snob about it…I don’t spend hours “temperature surfing” or searching for the prefect grind. I just want a good espresso coupled with an equal amount of steamed milk, with some foamed milk on top, and I don’t want to spend all day doing it.

In that search for a good cappuccino, I’ve gone through a lot of low-end pump machines. Some make good coffee but can’t steam milk very well (DeLonghi), others steam well (once removing the silly plastic or rubber steamer aids) but couldn’t produce crema to save their rear-ends (Hamilton Beach), and some can’t do either (Mr. Coffee). The only machine I ever really liked was the first one my wife gave me many many years ago, purchased at a chain that no longer exists, and I honestly cannot remember the brand…but it did everything really well and, more importantly, really fast.

I stumbled over a great deal on a mid-line espresso machine, the Saeco Sirena. Oh, before I go any farther, I need to mention that this machine is “branded” by a certain coffee chain I don’t have a lot of time for (I have frequently referred to it as, “The coffee shop for people who hate coffee”), but I will in this article refer to it by its manufacturer and name, not branding. Even with that name (only on the thermometer, which is easily ignored) I simply couldn’t pass up this machine…it lists at $599, sells at that faux-coffee shop for $399, can be found on Amazon for $350, and was mine new complete with warranty for $200 and $5 shipping. Now that I’ve played with it for a while, I thought I’d describe my experiences.

The main pro: this machine looks good. With a design by BMW, I suppose it should, but it really is one good-looking machine, and that photo up there really doesn’t so it justice. The “Ooh…Shiny!” factor of this puppy sitting on a counter-top or table simply cannot be ignored.

It’s a semi-automatic, which means only that it stops itself. It also has a self-pressurizing portafilter, which coffee snobs hate. I admit it’s a little odd not to be tamping down the portafilter, and odder still not getting a hockey-puck out of it when cleaning, but ok, I can live with this.
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