14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
2000 cups and still going.
Date of Review: Jul 18, 2002
The Bottom Line: Buy one before they stop making them. You can probably find one at $200-$300 if you look around.
No, this is not the finest espresso machine out there but it is better than the negative reviews imply. If you have a good burr grinder, good quality coffee (I now roast my own)and get the grind right and control the extraction, the results can be impressive. Remember you can make bad espresso even in a professional machine if you don't control the ingredients and process.
After using a great Pavoni manual piston machine for many years(hand carried from Italy in 1980) I longed for speed and convenience for my morning shots. The Ultima did a more than respectable job and at a cost I was willing to pay. I've used it daily now for almost three years and it continues to serve me well. Sure my old Pavoni still makes better cups when I take the time, but the Ultima holds its own when in a hurry. It's almost as fast as some fully automatic machines out there once you get use to it and cleaning is not really a problem if you just run the machine with no coffee every round or so to flush the chamber area.
