On sale now for Emerson Combination Machine is now alive. This cool product is currently on the market, you may purchase it now for just
Product Information
* Keep warm plate will keep coffee warm for 2 hours with automatic shut-off
* Pause and serve feature lets you enjoy a cup of coffee before brewing has finished
* 1-touch espresso and cappuccino buttons
* Built-in steam nozzle to create froth for cappuccinos
* Digital clock with timer
* 14 7/8 W x 14 5/16 H x 10 3/16 D, weighs 15 lbs.
Pros
- Emerson CCM901 Programmable Coffee, Espresso, and Cappuccino Maker
Customer Opinions
Joe
Wow! I am a student, so money is not too abundant; however, my wife and I love coffee and dig good espresso, but don't like paying $4+ for a latte. When I saw this combo unit I was skeptical that I could make a good espresso. Machines that friends have are $500+. However, it does a great job.Pros:1. Coffee has an automatic brew timer.2. Good sized water reservoir, especially if you are making a load of espressos.3. Has a frother. The frothing wand could be longer.4. The PRICE is the best out there for a good beginner espresso machine. I've had cheaper ones that break easily and do not produce a good espresso WITH crema.5. Simple operation. You'll read some reviews about the instructions, but come on-it's not rocket science...it's coffee. Water in the water reserve. Check. Grounds in the mesh filter (no more paper-yah!). Check. Push the on button. Check = Coffee. For espresso: Water in reservoir. Push espresso on button. Make sure that you are set for the cup and not steam (pictures). Pump should be off. Put empty portafilter in machine and turn the pump on when green indicator light is on. Run water through for 5 seconds and then turn the pump off. Remove portafilter and put finely ground beans in. Lock portafilter into machine. Turn on the pump. Here is the confusing part: How long do I run the machine for? The manufacturer does not say. I run it until the brown crema gets too light (yeah, subjective-I know). Turn the pump off and turn the machine to steam production. Wait until the green indicator light turns on and then turn the dial ever-so-slowly to flush out water in the line. Then bring your milk to the frothing wand (that you have perfectly placed the rubber tip onto according to my advice below) and turn the steam on ever-so-slowly. When the green light turns off, it's still ok to keep running the steam (if you check, sculding hot steam is still coming from the machine) unless you go way too long. You should be able to steam and foam with this machine in one pass (I started out requiring two warm ups of the steam boiler to get this right, but I guess I really wasn't getting it right-it should take you one pass).6. Looks attractive.7. 15 bars of pressure is competitive with very expensive machines.8. Has a removable drip tray under the espresso machine.Cons:1. Only makes 10 cups of coffee.2. The frothing tip is rubber and sits over a single-walled metal wand. The wand gets very hot, which can burn the milk (so I am told by "experts"-can't tell the difference except for the dried milk that requires a quick and easy rub with a wet rag for clean-up). Nonetheless, the metal part does not have a side spout, which is needed for microfoam production. So, if you want microfoam, you have to place the rubber tip over the wand ever-so-perfectly. Looking inside the rubber tip, there is a groove along the inner cylinder. If the metal tip is just a little higher than this inner cylinder groove exit, then you can actually produce microfoam with this machine and do it quickly-complicated? Sorry. You'll understand when you make a dozen lattes and can't understand what you're doing wrong and then start to experiment.3.If you get leakage out of the portafilter (the part where ground espresso goes) then you are probably not tamping the grounds down hard enough (requires ~30 lbs of pressure) OR have grounds in the groove. The machine is sensitive in this regard. Also, make sure you do not remove the portafilter until the pressure dissipates (just leave it off for a few minutes) otherwise when you unlock the portafilter grounds are shot into the groove and makes a small mess.4. There is not a carafe temperature control knob.5. There are no temperature gauges to tell you what the operating water temperature is (good to know for perfect espresso).6. Portafilter is fairly small, so making double shot espressos is hard.Tips:1. Get coffee flavoring-vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, mocha-whatever you prefer and put 1/2 a shot glass amount into each latte. It really changes everything.2. Tamp a little ground cinnamon onto the final product for a little extra. It adds flavor and a good smell.I hope this helps. I do not usually write reviews, but this machine is very impressive for the price, so I wanted to help you out by giving more details.Follow-up 2/14/10: Unfortunately, the Emerson boiler broke just a few months after purchase. I was still able to produce coffee, but could not make espressos. I contacted the manufacturer and they gave me a return number. I packaged everything up and mailed the entire unit to Emerson's repair department. I didn't have all of the required documentation of purchase, but they did not hassle me. The representative was very polite and effective. She understood the problem and just told me to send it back with a note on the defect. About a week or two later, a brand new Emerson arrived on my doorstep. Haven't had any problems since. Great customer service. The only complaint I could muster if forced to was that I had to eat the shipping cost to Emerson for the unit (~$20); however, they have a $15 charge for all returned products for mailing back to your home. They waived this fee without me even asking about it!
Josh Coulter
Okay, so the instructions are less than clear. Do yourself a favor, throw away the brown 'quick start' sheet that came in the box.Using the instructions in the book, I had this baby up and brewing in no time. I wish the steamer arm were a little longer to reach deeper into my frothing pitcher, but c'est la vie.I looked around all over for a reasonably priced espresso machine for a beginner, and I'm glad I picked this one. It brews well both on the drip side and the espresso side. The steamer works great, everything cleans up easily and it just looks cool sitting on my counter!
B. GENIER
Update- 1/2011Would definitely not buy this machine again. The "start" button broke off inside so now I have to stick a pencil tip in the hole to turn the dang thing on. Again, it makes a decent cup of coffee but it's very poorly made. Pass on this machine. Spend the $ on something more substantial.Update- 3/2010A year on and I have to revise my review. It does make a decent cup of coffee on the drip side, but in retrospect I wish I had invested in a nicer machine. This one is fine for awhile, but like other inexpensive coffee makers, it doesn't hold up.The most annoying thing about this is the reusable filter basket. It's a white mesh (not gold tone) filter that has fallen apart. I cannot find a replacement and the other reusable filters I've tried simply don't fit in this machine. The filter is oval shaped and other cone and basket replacements are round.I've also had issues with the coffee not going into the pot...waking up to find coffee all over the kitchen counter. It doesn't happen every time, but it's still annoying. After a year, I still can't figure out why this happens. The overflow issue has also caused the heating plate to rust, which is exactly why I had to replace my last coffee maker. :(I have only used the expresso side once or twice, but I'm not really impressed with it either.Bottom line...I'd pass on this one and invest in something nicer.
Key: Combination Machine, Emerson Machine, Emerson Combination
