Mr. Coffee 4-Cup Steam Espresso Maker with Milk Frother - Perfect for Home Baristas & Small Kitchens | Make Lattes, Cappuccinos & Macchiatos at Home

I got this thing right around the holidays thinking that it would make a nice treat for guests and family, and because I secretly want to be a Barista. It was at first a disappointment. It took me about 2 months before I figured it out and got it making good shots. The first pot of "espresso" I got out of it by just letting it run tasted like it came out of the back side of a horse. But it was on par with the coffee I had been drinking out of an auto drip machine all my life. There were many reasons for this, mostly because of my own fault but the machine itself has a lot of quirks that must be accounted for before you get a good cup out of it. But I will say, with practice it is possible to get a good cup out of it. Rather than going through the good and bad things about the machine I'm gonna tall you how I was able to get a good shot out of it and general tips to make it work for you.General Tips:1. Get a good grinder. A burr grinder is a must. The hand grinders are good and cheap but take a lot of work. A decent auto one can be had for under 60. If you try to do it with anything less the brew will be pretty terrible. Use a pretty fine grind, but not as fine as "true espresso".2. Use whole beans, dark roast, and grind them yourself. Pre-ground coffee doesn't do well in this thing, and its often too coarse. ALthough they do sell some preground "espresso beans" that have the right grind and may work okay.3. Fill the tank up almost to the top with water before brewing.4. Buy a decent tamper. The one that comes with it wont work.5. If you fill the portafilter (the basket) to the very top with grounds, its good for about 1-2 shots and no more. Not the 4 that it advertises. If you fill it to the top and tamp it down its just about right for a single cup.6. The steaming wand is funny. Once it is up to pressure it puts out a good amount of steam. The bad is that its short as heck and it doesn't move. Use it with a 12-ounce pitcher and tilt the whole machine to get the angle right. It takes a lot of work to get it right and its like you need 3 hands but its possible. Also the froth assister only works if you line the intake hole right up against the surface of the milk, otherwise throw it away and learn to steam without it. Also the steaming wand MUST be cleaned after every use with soap and water, otherwise the milk will collect on it and stay there and make you sick.7. I don't think I've been able to use this thing without making at least a small mess in some way. Clean after every use.8. Start with making Americanos which are diluted 1:1 with water. They are very forgiving. Once you nail that, then try venturing to making a good espresso shot by itself and other milk based drinks.Brew Method:1. Fill the water tank.2. Clean out and dry the filter basket and head.3. Dry the basket and fill with grounds to the top, then tamp (fairly hard, this helps build up pressure when brewing). This is good for 1 shot. For 2 shots fill the basket again on top of the first tamp and tamp again. (Although if you don't tamp at all you can get decent americano like coffee)4. Put the head, without the basket with the grounds on the machine. Turn the machine to steam and wait for it to build up pressure.5. Once steam is coming out a full pressure (still without the grounds or basket in yet) put an empty cup under the spout and turn it to brew. This flushes out the water spout of old grounds, heats the head and the cup, and helps get the pressure up.6. Once a bit of water starts coming out turn the machine to the off position. Dump the water that came out and replace the cup, take off the head and put the basket with the grounds in it. Put it back on the machine and lock it in.7. Turn the dial to brew again. And begin the brew.8. Stop it after about 2-3 ounces for a single shot, or about 5 ounces for a double shot. Remove the cup immediately. The drops that continue to drip taste terrible. Either let it collect in the drip tray or put another cup to catch it and throw it out.9. Add water for an americano, or steamed milk for a latte or cappuccino. Or drink it straight if you're hardcore.Steaming Milk with the Steam Wand:1. Add cold milk to a cup or steaming pitcher. You only need about 3-6 ounces. Make sure its a pretty shallow container. The wand's not very long.2. Turn the dial to steam to let it build up pressure. Stop it after its at pressure.3. (Froth assister) Immerse the the milk so the surface is right at the intake hole on the black plastic piece. Turn the steam on and let it froth keeping the hole right at the surface, until the milk is just about too hot to touch. Turn the steam off.3. (No froth assister) If you're not using the froth assister then put the tip just below the surface and tilt the machine about 30 degrees. You are aiming for a smooth churring. If it sounds like a snake hiss you're too deep (can burn the milk) and if it sounds like blowing bubbles through a straw you're too shallow (losing texture). After you get enough air into it (about 10 seconds) sink the tip deeper and let it whirlpool. If it screeches, you need to bring it back up and get more air into it. Keep the angle the whole time. Once its just too hot to touch turn of the steam.4. Stamp the container on the counter a few times to get rid of the big bubbles, and swirl it for a bit to polish the texture and infuse the foam.5. Pour it into your drink. Use a spoon to hold back the foam, and scoop it on top for a cappuccino. If you want latte art, its possible but you'll have to learn on your own.Overall: Comparing this to other espresso machines that cost 10 times or a 100 times more, this machine is pretty terrible. But as a way to learn how to make a good shot this machine is perfect. If you can get a good shot out of this thing, you can get a good shot out of almost anything. Its perfect for what I needed, but if you just want it to work, look elsewhere.I have had two of these Mr. Coffee expresso machines both lasted well over 5 years. Gave the last one to my son to use. I bought this one in November 2021. I use filtered water. The one thing I did notice is that the reservoir cap when screwed on would end up fitting very tight and after the machine cooled down it would be somewhat difficult to unscrew it (that never happened with my other 2). Everything worked well until one day the water came pouring out very fast and I thought that was odd -- happened a couple more times. Steamer was fine. Then one day the water just stopped coming out. I wasn't standing there watching it (I left it alone for a couple of minutes), and on my way back to the kitchen it blew it's reservoir lid (major explosion scared the heck out of my cats). Fortunately it was situated partially under my new cabinets so the cabinet stopped the reservoir cap (it blew off backward) from knocking out my ceiling lighting that is over the counter. Water everywhere -- fortunately just water but it was all over my cabinets and dripping from my ceiling. I thought well one more try maybe it's clogged with sediment (even though I use filtered water). I used white vinegar -- it started boiling and pressure built up in the reservoir, water started leaking out of the reservoir even though the cap was on tight.Vinegar wouldn't come out, steam wouldn't come out. I turned the machine off to avoid another blow out episode. Didn't even last a year. Wrote to Mr. Coffee website with what happened, it's been 8 days now since I sent the email, never heard a thing from from them. It's within the one year warranty but they don't back their product. Mr. Coffee used to be a really good brand. Would I try an expresso machine again? Maybe only because it's a Mr. Coffee and Joltin' Joe used to do the commercials.Update: After 5 Days of UseThe machine is still a good low cost espresso machine and I retain the 4 stars. However, I have to take back the fact that it's a fantastic coffee machine. If you use the specified amount of beans with the water, it makes a great espresso. However, trying to use it as a coffee machine by adding more water is not so good. The problem lies in the the fact that the pressurized steam water literally shoots like a jet rocket half way through. This cause the water to essentially pass through the grind that's already been drained of flavor super heated, adding a cigarette/ashe taste to the robust inital drain. I wasn't expecting so much pressure from the machine. Expensive pump based machines aren't like this and can be used as a coffee like machine. I'll just use it as an espresso machine, as it was meant to be. My Mr Coffee 4 cup coffee machine, which is discontinued i think, still is the best coffee machine.-----------------------------------------------------I'm a very picky coffee drinker, who is also budget conscious. I've gone through years of evolution in my coffee brewing techniques to try to brew the best tasting coffee at the lowest price. My current setup is a 4 cup Mr Coffee coffee maker with a Krups burr grinder. Previously, I used to use a Krups coffee maker with a cone filter and the typical low end spinning blade grinder. I was reasonably satisfied with the current setup, but wanted a stronger punch to the coffee flavor, closer to an espresso. The Mr Coffee coffee machine is the best coffee maker, because it had a water drip that wasn't just a one hole in the center like 99% of the coffee makers, but had multiple drip holes that truelly spread the water over much of the beans. This extracted the maximum flavor from the coffee beans. However, I still felt that a hotter water like steam and more concentrated wetting of all the beans would bring out the maximum flavor. This is where Mr Coffee ECM160 espresso machine came into the picture. Because the water comes down as super heated steam level into a tiny sealed container spread over the entire surface area, the maximum flavor extraction is achieved. This makes a fantastic strong flavor coffee with equal amount of beans as my previous coffee machine, which means I can use even less beans and still make a better tasting coffee. I can put in 2 servings worth of coffee grind with 4 servings of water (espresso), which equates to about 2 cups of coffee, and it still taste better and stronger then when i used twice the amount of beans in a regular coffee machine. If your used to using a coffee filter so u don't get the fine coffee grinds, you will initially be dissapointed with the murky trasparency of the coffee. However, the way to get around this is use a metal mesh Krups cone filter, as a filter to pour the coffee into your mug or cup. This removes any large grinds and you end up with a fantastic coffee with incredibly strong robust flavor. As far as making an espresso, all you need to do is just use less water. It does create that mild foam that most expensive espresso machine make, but not as good. But the flavor is almost identical to a $200 espresso machine I've used in the past at work. I can't speak for the foaming stick, cuz I don't make cappucinos.Now, why only 4 stars ?Well, the huge power on off wheel on the left is an overkill, and takes up alot of space. They could have just had 1 on/off switch for brewing and 1 button for the foaming stick. As mentioned by another reviewer, the aluminum molded water container/heating element could be health issue if it ever degrades over time. IMO, it will be fine as long as u follow the direction to NOT open the pressure lid until the machine has fully cooled off. This is to prevent the water drying up inside the aluminum holding tank while it's super hot, causing the minerals to deposit and break down the aluminum from both heat, minerals, and chemicals.It also does not come with a tamper, and the plastic scooper it comes has an inadequate tiny flat bottom that your supposed to use as tamper. It does not fit properly to tamper down the coffee without making a mess. You do need to use a real tamper or, if you don't want to buy a tamper, you can use anything round that is flat and large enough to press down the coffee grind uniformly. A 49 mm tamper fits perfectly, as it is large enough for full 4 servings of grind and small enough to go lower to press down 2 servings of grind.It doesn't come with a foaming container, but I didn't expect it to. However, I think it should have come with atleast a cheap plastic tamper that fits.Now the bonus of using this machine over a regular coffee machine, is that you don't have to buy coffee filters AND you don't have to use those white cholorinated 4 cup coffee filters. That means your not drinking any more chlorine or any chemicals that came from the paper. A health benefit.Other then that, for the price of $37, it's a great deal. It makes the best coffee u could possibly make and will save you on beans to pay for itself over time.Love this machine. Had trouble at first with the steamer splashing milk all over the place. Turned out it was my technique. Two things I was doing wrong. Heating the milk before steaming, and putting the spout in too deep. I watched a tutorial on YouTube and now my milk is perfectly frothed, no splashing. Also, I was making the espresso first and then steaming the milk, and having to add new water every time. User's fault again. I watched another tutorial, and found it works better to do the milk steaming first, then turn the knob to make the espresso. Turns out the espresso/latte is much hotter doing it this way. Don't need a $500 machine. I had a $25 machine from K-Mart that made great espresso for 20 years. Honestly, this Mr. Coffee makes way better latte's than Starbucks. They never make it strong enough. Very happy with this machine.Recently the Mr. Coffee Espresso we have used for 10 years started acting up - twice it spewed out the top. There is a valve in the lid and it was wearing out. The original came from the US and the only retailer for a replacement I could find in Canada was Amazon.ca. My wife and I do not use this machine as an Espresso machine but rather an individual coffee maker. It is both the fastest and most flavorful way to make a single cup of coffee. The new machine is very similar to the old one and we are hoping to get many years of daily use out of it too.I've been using this for about a year now and I've made about 30 lattes I'd say.When I first got this unit it was kind of stinky. It smelled very metallic and I had to run about 20 cups of water through it to flush it out. Since then it has been fine.I'd say that this machine is basic but does what it is supposed to do. It makes decent strength espresso and the side steamer, when used with a metal cup, will heat the milk for a latte very well. It does not make a ton of foam so if you want lots of foam I'd look to a frother machine. It heats up fast and is relatively easy to clean up afterwards.If you're on a budget and you want to save some money this unit will do the job. So far, it hasn't broken so I feel like I've seen the value in it. If I paid 30X$5=$150 for the lattes I have made at a coffee shop, I'd have spent twice the money. Plus, it's convenient to do it at home and you can make it the way you like.I had one of these that I purchased in 2009 and it was still going great but figured I should update as it had slowed a bit and I had lost some of the accessories. Hoping to get 13 years out of this new one! I use it as a regular one-cup coffee maker as the flavour of the coffee is so good (I use Starbucks Pike Place and about 3 spoons pressed down. I like strong coffee!). Takes less than 5 minutes. The steam arm is great if you want to froth up some milk. It’s simple and good. Not complicated or costly.Was very disappointed to not even be able to get one cup of coffee out of this machine. The dial on the side just fell off when opening. It seems that the component inside the off/steam/brew dial is cracked in half and won't stay on. It looks to me as though this could have been used before as when my son's girlfriend pulled it out, I mentioned that it looked dirty on the side. Also, delivering the coffee machine without any wrapping whatsoever and leaving it on my step for all to see, was not a very good idea. Had she come home before me, she would have immediately known what she was getting for xmas.