KRUPS FND111 Allegro Espresso Maker, black

This little machine is perfect for making perfect cappuccinos in my dorm room! The size is perfect -- very small and compact. I must admit that I'm do not use the steamer because I'm afraid of it and it is a pain to clean, so I can't attest to that aspect of the machine. Instead, I heat my milk up in the microwave and foam it with a milk frother. For someone who is only mildly serious about coffee, this machine has been wonderful. It's also extremely easy to use (if I can figure it out, anyone can) and the whole process of making 2 shots of espresso only takes about three minutes, or so. But, most importantly -- this machine doesn't require purchase of any additional parts. Of course, if you want a tamper or a stainless steel milk steamer thing you have to get that yourself, but you really don't need it. Overall, I LOVE IT! I have only had it for a month... hoping it lasts! It seems very sturdy, though.

This espresso machine burns coffee grind because it takes too long for pressurized water to flow through the grind. I am not sure if my particular machine is defective but it takes about 2-3 minutes for 50ml of water to flow through. The result - just one pure shot of burnt espresso! This is not even the case of what you get is what you paid for. I don't think anyone would pay $[...] something bucks for making burnt espresso. Don't waste your cash. Try something a little bit more expensive, and hopefully it will be better than this one. To be fair, the frother did seem to work fine.Needless to say, I am planning to return it back.

I am a traveling consultant and coffee addict that ended up on a project in one of these areas in the US that SB did not conquer yet. The closest coffee shop serving decent espresso style coffee is more than an hour away. Driven by withdrawals the 3rd week into my project, I decided to get my own little espresso maker just for the duration of the project. I had it shipped directly to my customer about 6 weeks ago and used it probably a dozen times since.All I can say: was I surprised about the performance of this machine!I only drink lattes and had my difficulties to get decent milk froth in the past with different, much pricier machines. The Krups FND111 produces better foam than the $900 La Pavoni Europiccola Professional that we brought from Italy and use at home!!! Of course it does not have a lot of bells and whistles and it is kind of annoying that you can't remove the steaming nozzle (which will clog if you don't clean it thoroughly after each use) but in my opinion you can't beat the value that you get for the buck! Even though I still don't own it long enough to comment on quality and durability of this machine, I still give it five stars.

My old Krups died after valiant service, so, deprived of my elixir, I decided to try another Krups. I read a lot of froth here on the reviews for this model, and proceeded with purchase.Naturally, something as high tech as a cappuccino maker needs to constantly evolve to keep up with the times, so the new machine seemed quite different than our old model. After painful adjustment, and a steep learning curve, we finally succeeded in making our first cup of FND111 cappuccino - it was delicious. It was on the third day of its new life that I got steamed at the soul of my new machine. As I was enjoying the brew with my wife, she fished out from here cup a piece of debris. It was the frother.the FND111 still makes good cappuccino, but its once proud appendage that shot out the special steam is now merely the thin, ordinary appurtenance it was before.But hey, what can one expect, it is only a coffee maker.

We had an older Krups espresso maker with a cracked and leaky carafe, beginning to show its age in other ways. We needed to replace the carafe, but this newer model was so affordable we could replace the whole machine at only twice the price of the carafe. We normally to use it daily to make coffee of almost but not quite espresso strength in an amount suited to an American mug (enough for one person at a time, and achievable by putting in more water than indicated, roughly 16 oz. to obtain 13 oz. of coffee). Since the filter is slightly smaller than that of the previous model, my wife finds that she has to fill the filter completely and tamp down the grounds, then add slightly more water than she was accustomed to with the previous machine to obtain enough coffee, but that it is still slightly weaker than she'd like. I have found a combination of quantity of grounds and water that produces results essentially identical to those of the previous model, which could be made to turn out coffee superior to Starbucks' and Peets'. A great little machine at an unbeatable price. Sole reservation: with the machine on a counter under a cabinet, the light indicating it's on (on top of the machine) is harder to see than a light on the front, occasionally exposing us to our idiocy of leaving the machine on after removing the carafe. Also, there was an initial plastic smell in use, but the more volatile molecules have drifted elsewhere, and the smell seems to have disappeared.

I was disappointed in this product and returned it. This new model of an old standby seemed not to be as well made as earlier models. The coffee bowl did not fit tightly in the maker and steam leaked out. Also the maker recommended that the coffee not be tamped down (as I have been doing for years), and indeed when I tried to tamp the coffee down in the bowl the steam made the coffee spurt up into the coffee maker and made a big mess. When not tamped down, the espresso was weak and not as tasteful. Finally, I did not like the split between the steam function and the espresso making function. All in all, I like the older models better.