I'm hoping that you guys can help me figure out which coffee machines
I should be looking at buying. Right now I think I'm looking for a
machine that:

(a) Is fully automatic
(b) Has a decent rinse/purge cycle so I don't have to clean the brew cup
every few days
(c) Has a bypass so that I can put decaf beans in the side
(d) Is of quality construction (needn't be pretty, but shouldn't break down)
(e) Has decent warranty repair/replacement for US customers

I don't especially need a high degree of configurability, fancy LCD
displays, lots of metal parts, inbuilt water filtering (I can always
use distilled water when I care), quietness or speed. I don't object
to such things, but it's really convenience that most attracts me:
that the thing will stay working, be easy to get fixed when it doesn't
work, will grind beans and make a cup of coffee at the push of a
button, and will not need lots of tender loving care in cleaning, etc.

I'm curious about (c) - might there still be enough trace caffeinated
beans in the internal grinder that it's hard to use the same automatic
machine for decaf too?

There seem to be a few machines in the $500-$600 sort of range that do
well on the earlier points, but I'm having trouble finding any good
reports of (e) - everyone seems to have complaints ranging from
extreme rudeness to non-existence.

So, your thoughts would certainly be appreciated, as would any
confidence of high reliability or, at least, good customer service
reports of any attempts at warranty claims.

-- Mark

I now own a Capresso S9 and a Capresso Z5 which I've had since
April/May that I've found work wonderfully. But, I have to admit that
although I'm entirely capable of geeking out completely on anything I
get interested in I feel like I've catapulted over all the
time-sucking, money-wasting on the way to figuring this question out. I
feel as if I have arrived. I wake up in the morning and press a button
and I get the greatest-tasting espresso anywhere on earth. I know there
are cheaper, better, faster, more custom-modifiable and easily tune
able machines out there in the world. For my money though - I vote for
the Capresso line - and in particular the Z5 because if you like
impeccably frothed milk for your cappuccino you can't beat this system.
As far as cleaning it's done automatically and you are alerted by the
machine when it's necessary - after about 200 espresso's are drawn.
Filter - you can go with or without - I'm with you - I thought I'd just
used distilled water, but with my Capresso it's so easy to just stick
the filter in there and not worry about calcium build-up I just do it
and don't worry about it anymore. And my wife drinks decaf, so we
needed the Bypass thing - got that. The machines come with a standard
warranty of 1 year or 6000 brewings (whichever comes first) and you can
pay more for an extended warranty. I don't know the rules with posting
here, but if you can't tell already, I sell the things now too. Along
with about 5 other lines of products, but in my own defense I was a
hobby roaster and coffee geek since the early 70's and to my credit I
didn't start selling beans or machines until it was easy to recommend
something I would use myself. Good luck in your pursuit in any case.

Mark,

I am not familiar of any machines with feature (c). Bosch and Saeco
both advertise the pre-ground coffee bypass selection to make a decaf
drink. Good luck finding a machine that allows you to bypass with whole
beans.

Jason