casabrews compact espresso machine 20 bar

I bet I've spent over a thousand bucks over the years trying to make a good cup of coffee, starting with a Chemex filter when I was young (in the pre-Jurassic age). I tried everything and thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I found the wonderful Rancilio Silvia. It lasted almost 30 years before it made expensive noises and died. I considered replacing it with a new one...but its price has more than doubled (to almost a grand) so I decided to have it repaired (almost as expensive). Needing some way to feed my espresso habit while the Silvia was in the shop, I took a chance on the Casabrews machine. Surprise! The espresso it brew tastes almost as good as the Rancilio's (a nine-out-of-ten) and the milk frother is much, much better. The Casabrews is relatively inexpensive, relatively compact, easy to use (it has a pressure gauge like the expensive machines), easy to clean, relatively quick to deliver, well-made (except for the portafilter handle, which feels like something made for a child's tea set) and brews heavenly espresso. I don't expect it to last 30 years, but then, neither do I expect to last that long.

This machine is sleek and compact and takes up little space on my counter. It makes good espresso and steams milk well. All things considered, (because espresso is a process) is easy to use. I've never made espresso myself before, but it was easy enough to figure out using this machine. I'm very happy with my purchase.However, where this really shines is customer service.The first machine I received had a broken piece inside and water leaked within a few minutes of filling. I reached out to customer service and by the next day they had shipped a new machine to my address. This one worked perfectly with no issues.They have a good product and they stand by it. I would definitely recommend and would buy again.

Before jumping headfirst into a hobby that can eat weeks of pay, I wanted to find a reliable semi-auto espresso machine similar to the Breville Bambino. This is essentially very very close to the same as a Bambino with the addition of the pressure gauge all at about a third of the price!I can't speak to long term reliability, I have only had this machine for 2 months and pull and avg of 6 shots a week, but I will be glad to update down the road. (I also purchased the 4 year equipment coverage plan so I am not left with a counter weight)What I love, the size is just right and the tank has a good capacity to get through several shots. The heat block heats the system up very quick and to the needed temperature. The pump is more than ample to get the job done(most would say overpowered for the actual 9psi needed for great shots) but you can control getting that 9psi in your puck preparation. Speaking of that, the gauge will let you know what psi range you are running, you can can get the ideal range by adjusting your grind and you tamp until it's perfect. It's nice that there are pre-programmed shot buttons, which come out to either 1oz for single or 2 oz for the double, it dispenses very accurately! You can also manually program them to the amount you desire, which is a plus if making a 1:2 or similar grounds in/espresso out ratio.I elected to buy an aftermarket stainless steel bottomless and 2 spout portafilter with single wall baskets, as this machine comes with a generic portafilter with pressurized baskets. The stock portafilter and baskets with be great if you just want to make a quick shot without getting all technical into the grind/tamp and that business. I just personally prefer to dial mine in and enjoy the process :)It has its ups and downs, but for the features and this price, the ups far outweigh the downs to me.

Bought it Feb 2023, It died this weekend June 25th 2025. No reason at all. It was working normally, All of the sudden one day it looked like it was leaking, I assumed that it was leaking from the water container in the back removed the coffee dispenser Cleaned it all up dried it up and everything was fine.We had guest this weekend visiting us, The coffee maker was working the day before, Our guest in front of me tried to make himself coffee and the coffee maker poured coffee from the single setting but wouldn’t stop. So we turned it off, unplugged it, I assumed maybe the buttons were pressed twice or too long…We left it be, I made french press coffee and we let it cool off. Then it would not turn on. At this point, I know this coffee maker very well. This has never happened to me every time I unplugged it unplugged it back in all lights would flush and then nothing. It would blink once and then be off so we figured it must be something with the settings. We have done everything…. The coffee maker literally died, For no apparent reason and aside from that one time leaking, I have not had any issues with it. I will be contacting Amazon to figure this out. I have not purchased the coffee maker to last two years only. My coffee maker worked 20 years before we had to replace parts. This is completely absurd, but do not recommend it and I purchased two because one I gave as a gift to my mother-in-law. So far, I have not heard anything about the other one, but they use it sparingly, I use coffee maker once a week at the most because Sundays are my only coffee/Tacchino days. So 2x52 weeks is 104 times!