I confess, I have become a bit of a coffee snob. For literally years I tried to perfect the art of making great coffee without much success. I’ve tried different brands of coffee, different filters, different machines and different quantities of the raw ingredient, but with only mediocre results.
You can literally spend hundreds of pounds on espresso machines, so despite my previous success with coffee machines I decided to have a look for a new espresso machine on ebay. Much to my surprise I found a screen full of decent branded European machines (the Europeans definitely make the best espresso) on ebay going for some very reasonable prices. After a bit of Google based research I decided to go for a Krups machine, either a Krups Artese or a Krups Muvo. The Muvo would probably be a little cheaper and looks nicer but the Artese seems like it will heat quicker. I decided to go for better performance, if the Artese ended up being too ugly it would just have to live in the cupboard when it’s not in use.
After bidding on a few machines and losing I eventually won a new factory graded Krups Artese 2 for just over £60 (RRP is £100 to £120).
Features & Function : 9
The Artese 2 has a pretty powerful 15 bar pump which is essential for good espresso (“express-o”). It heats up very quickly and is ready to make coffee after about only 30 seconds after you switch it on. The filter holder (the bit you actually put the coffee into) has a clever mechanism to enable you to switch between making 1 cup or 2 cups at a time. The drip tray has a 3 position height adjustment so that you can use different size cups and reduce splashes (although our “best” Denby mugs are just too big to fit under). There is a big switch on the top that switches between the coffee mode and the steam mode (the steam mode is for heating and frothing your milk, essential for Latte and Capucino). Also included in the box was a free vacuum-sealed tin of 18 Illy espresso coffee ESE pods. This was much appreciated as Illy has long been my favourite brand of coffee. ESE pods are small paper pods squeezed full of coffee ready to make one cup of espresso without any mess. Unfortunately you can’t use the 2 cup mode with the ESE pods. The big question is does it make good coffee and I have to report it certainly does. This machine makes a great espresso coffee every time.
Note on ESE pods: I priced up the Illy ESE pods compared to a standard Illy tin of ground coffee. The ESE pods were £5.49 for 18 pods (125g), the ground coffee was £3.99 for 250g. That’s quite a premium to pay to avoid a little bit of cleaning up! I expect I’ll end up with one tin of each in the cupboard. The ESE pods for when I want to make one quick cup and the ground coffee for when I am making a few cups of coffee at a time.
Ease of use : 7
Although I find it easy to use this machine, my wife refuses to use it (although I suspect that is just an excuse to make me go and fetch the coffee in the mornings!). The icons on the switch that changes the operation between coffee, steam and hot water modes is not so obvious and it’s a shame you can do steam and coffee at the same time.
Looks and style : 8
Despite my earlier concerns it actually looks good, although it’s quite a bit a larger than any machine we’ve had previously. It must look all right because my wife hasn’t forced me to hide it in the cupboard yet! It would have scored higher if they had disguised the very plastic water tank which sits on the back.
Build quality : 8
You can tell this machine is Swiss made. It has a good solid feel and everything clips together perfectly. The manual also shows how pieces can be disassembled for cleaning and maintenance. I just get the feeling this machine will be with us for many years to come. The only piece that looks a bit too plasticy is the water tank on the back.
Value for money : 8
At around £60 I am very happy, at £120 I don’t think I would have gone for it. Nothing against the Artese, it’s just that £120 is a lot of money to pay just for good coffee (although some might think that about £60…). Finding the pack of Illy coffee inside made me even happier about the price.
Day-to-day impact : 8
So far so good, the machine is being used regularly and I’m nearly through my second tin of Illy coffee. Only drawback is that breakfast-in-bed in our hose has now become solely my responsibility.
Overall Rating : 80%
All in all, the Artese 2 has definitely enabled me to consistently make great cups of coffee. I am finally a happy man (at least in the coffee department).
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