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Sent it back
I can only say one thing about purchasing the Roomba. Don't. I purchased the IRobot 560 and within 2 weeks it wasn't working. I was so disappointed.

560 Roomba is flat-out amazing
I originally bought the Roomba 560 for my mother who's getting older and having a hard time vacuuming. Long story short, it does a really great job of sucking up dirt and dust on all floor types, and does a good job transitioning from hardwood to carpet, or hardwood to rugs (even with fringe). And it can also handle very large rooms (>500sqft). HOWEVER, it will NOT cross onto a rug that has a black boarder. My mother's kitchen has 3 rugs, all with black boarders and black squares throughout, and for whatever reason the Roomba interprets black as a dip in the floor surface (akin to it not falling down stairs). It would vacuum all around the rugs, and climb onto rugs in the dining room that are cream-colored, and hall rugs that are dark red with patterns, but it won't cross a black line. So since it didn't serve my parent's needs, I brought it back to my apartment and it works like a charm, covering about 1100sqft in 45 minutes. I have it set to 3pm and every day it auto starts at 3pm sharp and cleans everything and returns to the base to recharge. It's fascinating to watch! It's fuzzy logic is incredible!

Some of the other reviews said it takes a while to clean out the dirt tray & filter, but it takes us less than 1 minute to slide out the tray, dump that, and then slide open the hinged filter and dump the second area. I suppose you could wash out the filter every time, but it really doesn't need that. We also don't empty the dirt tray every day (as some other reviews said was necessary), but we don't have kids or pets so we're not generating too much that needs to be vacuumed on a daily basis.

Bottom line; if you don't have rugs with black edges, I most certainly would suggest buying this thing -- it takes care of business. And it's really nice to have one less thing to do.

Nice vacuum!
I have to admit, I had my doubts after reading some of the reviews but after having my iRobot 560 for about 3 weeks now, my floors are spotless and I'm a very happy customer. I have it scheduled to clean daily when I'm not home and clean out the bin every few days (which only takes just a few seconds - they made it very simple). Just hoping it lasts over a year since the warranty ends at that time.

Beware! Roomba Treats Customers with Open Contempt
I wanted to alert potential buyers to the fact that iRobot treats their customers with open contempt.

I tried to buy a Roomba from iRobot website, but my purchase was rejected due to iRobot error. So I complained.

iRobot's reply was breathtaking:

"Once again our selection system proved flawless. We keep avoiding the pain in the a** customers."

This is no joke but an actual response to my complaint by iRobot's customer service. This is no malware either, as I checked, using WhoIs, that the website ([...]) actually belongs to iRobot.

This is an actual response from iRobot (Roomba manufacturers) service people, to a query in which I complained that my purchase had been rudely and groundlessly rejected. [Note: I have flawless credit history and all my credit cards work perfectly]

My message to any potential buyers is: BEWARE! These would be the people who you actually would have to deal with, should you ever require support for your Roomba. My experience makes me happy that my purchase was rejected, however erroneously.

P.S. After this experience I purchased Neato XV-11. I am very happy with this choice, and Neato went out of their way to assist the purchase process.

It broke in less than 6 months!
I WAS an IRobot fan. My first Roomba mas model 410, even though it was the cheapest model it worked fabulously well. Then I got a Scooba 380 and in the course of a year it broke 4 times. It kept going into the drying mode before completing the cleaning cycle. Every single replacement worked well for around 2 months and then it would break. In the final exchange I was so enraged for having paid 0 for this that I wanted instead of a replacement for another Scooba that would break, a Roomba. And guess what? In less than 6 months the Roomba 560 broke! It started to give the "Remove and Clean the Brushes" message. Brushes were clean, everything was checked and it kept on going with the same problem again and again. Nothing worked! End of story: These robots are a wonderful idea that doesn't work well.
Expensive toys that don't last long!
I WILL NEVER EVER AGAIN BUY ANOTHER IROBOT PRODUCT.

Poor quality, poor customer service.
Roomba #1:
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I bought my first Roomba from Target over 3 years ago and fell in love with it. The little guy does a pretty good job of cleaning. Then after a year or two, it started acting erratically and going in circles (I tried cleaning all its sensors, no luck).

Roomba #2:
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I wanted to save some money, so decided to get a more basic Roomba and went with the iRobot 110 Dirt Dog Workshop Robot. It's not a bad little machine, but it doesn't have the dust filters that other roombas have and doesn't seem to do as thorough a job of cleaning in my apartment. I can see why this is a shop robot. So I decided to get one more...

Roomba #3:
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I bought a Roomba 4235 on eBay, and it didn't work (caveat emptor!). It always had a flashing red status light, and replacing the battery didn't help, so I went with the last resort: calling customer service. It's a last resort for me because most customer service is bad. They treat you with suspicion and hostility, like every customer is calling to rip them off. Anyway, I'll save you the trouble of calling customer service if you have a similar problem:

1. Take the battery out and hold the power button down for 5 seconds. Good?

2. Okay, now put the battery back in and turn the power on. Nothing? Okay, buy a new Roomba.

Yes, that's literally what I was told to do. The lady I spoke with said it wasn't under warranty (and even if it was, that's still -40 for shipping round-trip), so the only option was to get a replacement unit. I thought maybe these would be cheaper units like OEM software that comes without the packaging or accessories, but alas, they didn't have a 4235 in stock, and she wanted to sell me a 4150 with NO ACCESSORIES for 0--basically the cost of a new Roomba. Upon prodding, I found out that NO ACCESSORIES meant no battery as well. Yeah, iRobot considers a battery as an accessory. Would you like an iRobot? Here ya go! Oh, you want to turn it on? That feature will cost you extra. Are you kidding me?

Roomba #4:
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While on the phone with iRobot, I decided to poke around online to see what new 4150s were going for... and a handfull of sites (eBay, craigslist, and a few odds & ends online retailers) were selling them for less than 0 with the battery, so I told them to cancel my order and that I'd be getting it online from someone else instead. It's a bad sign when the manufacturer can't compete with other retailers in price, especially when it comes to replacing a faulty unit.

I'm pretty tired of the run-around with this company. Either improve your quality, or lower your price. I'm considering going back to an upright vacuum. I think I can live with a few dustballs under my bed if it's going to cost me 0/year in junk technology to clean it. Thankfully there's the Neato XV-11 on the market to provide some competition. The Neato seems more advanced (it uses lasers to intelligently map out a room rather than Roomba's random bumping into things), but it also seems to be an expensive piece of technology at the moment. Still, the iRobot 610 Roomba is going for 0, and the Neaty for 0, so I'm not sure what exactly you're paying extra for with the Roomba. How is iRobot going to stay competitive against superior technology?

I don't know, but the honeymoon phase is over and this love affair is ending. I'm appealing to iRobot directly here: please take care of your loyal customers. We will pay you well and reward you with lots of referral business. Don't be cheap. I found a Roomba 4150 for 5 online, so you lost my business for and got a bad review in the process. Is the you saved really worth it?

good idea but company does not bacl product
the roomba cleans fairly good and saves work BUT THE CLEANING HEAD BREAKS EVERY 3 TO 4 MONTHS, ONCE YOUR YEAR WARRRENTY IS UP, YOU HAVE TO CONSTANTLY PAY FOR NEW EXPENSIVE CLEANING HEADS....IF ONLY THEY MADE A PRODUCT THAT WAS RELIEABLE OR THEY BACKED THE PARTS THEY KNOW ARE DEFECTIVEE. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY

A real good robot
This robot really does its work. My home now is clean all the day, I now never clean the room again.

Not A Goddess, but Definitely Works
Task: Started Roomba 610 in a 32 x 40 open area that includes kitchen, living and dining room, entry. Area has 3 rugs, chairs, coffee tables, end tables, speakers on the floor.
Preparation: a)Placed recharge station on a wooden part of the floor, so roomba is on a flat surface as it
approaches the recharge station. b) Moved dining room chairs from under the table and spaced them around the
room. Took less than 10 mins.

What doesn't work:
a) Roomba side brush tangles itself in fringe. If you tuck the fringe under, the
Roomba has difficulty climbing over the fringe end. Solution: Cut the fringe.
b) If there are too many small spaces the roomba needs to navigate into and out
of (e.g. a narrow sofa table between the sofa and the wall, accessible only from
under the sofa.) the roomba will use up some battery power maneuvering, and
the duration of the clean cycle will be shorter.
c) Too many speaker wires/cords: Roomba 610 is much better at detangling
itself than a friend's older model, but there is a limit.

What works: a) Cleaned a week's worth of debris and cat hair (two long haired cats) in less than an
hour, even kitchen floor debris (except for a big fat rubber band), toddled back to
recharge station and bleeped. Would have run longer but for maneuvering around chair
and table legs, over humps of rugs with fringe tucked under, etc.
b)Regular capacity debris bin was full. Took about five minutes to clean it, the filters
and the brush and roller area. Would have taken less time if I had checked out how to
re-insert the brush and roller before I popped them out.
c) Avoided stairs
d) bumps against obstacles gently, so will not remove antique table next time
e) really quiet. Much quieter than my bathroom exhaust fan. My cats dozed in the
window between bouts of following it around. I had a phone conversation (try that with
a regular vac!)
f) amused my cats and my neighbor

Worth the Extra $$? Hard to say. Programming ability is not helpful, since I have to set up the area (too many chairs, too much rug fringe) Comes with accessories. Two "Lighthouses" that either call the Roomba to the next room (lighthouse mode) when the first is cleaned, or erect an electronic barrier to keep it out of areas (virtual wall mode), plus extra brushes, rollers, filters etc and larger capacity bin, all neatly stored in a case. Seems to run longer than my friend's older model. I bought it for the capacity and so far, do not regret it.

gary
Love it. Our home is open to dust and dirt, and this keeps the floors very clean. We live on St. Croix (us virgin islands), where dust and dirt is an every day thing. So far it is great.

Roomba is still the best
I own two Roomba 560s and now the Neato XV-11. After watching the Neato produced videos, I was pretty enthusiastic. According to Neato, the XV-11 won't hit your furniture and will cover an entire room by doing the perimeter and then going back and forth across the room the way you'd normally vacuum. Neither claim is totally accurate.

1. The XV-11 WILL hit your walls and furniture: While the XV-11 doesn't hit walls and furniture nearly as often as the Roomba (which uses its bumper to detect when to change direction), the XV-11 WILL hit your furniture and other items from time to time when the laser is unable to "see" the item. This seems to happen most often with irregularly shaped objects, where the portion at the level of the XV-11's laser is farther out than the portion that the XV-11's bumper actually hits.

2. The XV-11 misses some portions of the room: While the XV-11 does do the perimeter and then attempts to cover the entire room by going back and forth, I found that the XV-11 created long, thin islands of missed areas as it went back and forth. As the XV-11 turns around to come back, it goes just a bit too far and thus leaves a long thin gap in between where it went down one way and where it comes back the other way. As a result, the Roomba, which bounces around randomly, seems to do a better job at covering an entire room.

3. The Roomba has better battery life: The XV-11 does finish the room much more quickly than the Roomba, but the Roomba's battery life is significantly better. My XV-11 did two rooms before needing to re-charge, and my Roomba can usually get through 3 or 4.

4. The Roomba picks up more dirt and dust: For a cleaning test, I had the XV-11 go over a room twice, and then sent the Roomba in. In a single run, the Roomba picked up more dust and dirt than the XV-11 had in the two prior passes combined.

Given that the Roomba is significantly cheaper and works better overall, if I had to pick one, I'd take the Roomba.

Best Vacuum Robot!
Used to own a Roomba, and quickly realized how very dumb it was; just bounced everywhere. The XV-11 methodically cleans the house, and does a good job of it. For me, its useful for keeping the pet hair down.

Best Vacuum Robot
I am the owner of 4 Roomba vacuum cleaner robots (4 different versions since September 2002) from IRobot. I received my Neato Robotic vacuum cleaner on the second week of August 2010 and my Roomba looks like toys compare to Neato Robotics. The vacuum is strong, my pet's hair doesn't get stuck in the brush (I didn't have to clean it once and I used to clean my Roomba brush after every run), it is fast (entire room in 10 minutes compare to 50 minutes with Roomba). It doesn't hit walls and furnitures like my Roomba does. This is what I called Automation at your service.

The Best and Smartest methodical robotic vacuum ever!!!!!!!
My Neato XV-11 is the most awesome robotic vacuum cleaner on the market today. With RPS technology, to a scheduler it really cleans my house methodically with out missing any spots. I know I sound like an infomercial but all of this is true, it has really good suction power and I never have to be at home to vacuum anymore. Just like the Jetsons Rosie the robot and the robot vacuum, the Neato makes me feel like i'm in the future!!!!!!!!!!!

Review by; Patrick Austin Eng

"I" Vacuum Frequently, Now That We've Got The NEATO XV-11: Watch My "Neato-Cam" Videos
Neatoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

On a scale of 1 to 10: my new, first-off-of the production line* Neato XV-11 Robotic All-Floor Vacuum Cleaner is an 11.

It's an understatement to say, I am thrilled with my Neato that arrived Tuesday, July 13, 2010. Who knew that vacuuming could be so much fun.

In the last few months, my wife and I noticed that she had been coughing a lot in the bedroom, so we (or I should really say she) did a deep clean of the bedroom: tumbled-dusted the curtains in the dryer; vacuumed under the bed (with our Oreck XL Pro Plus Vacuum that we also love for its light weight and deep cleaning); changed the bed liner (already hypo-allergenic); removed dust gathering magazines: you get the picture. While the bedroom felt much cleaner, she was still coughing intermittently. So, perhaps she needed to visit an allergist.

Then, "I" vacuumed the bedroom with my Neato XV-11 (including under the bed). I couldn't believe how much dirt was in the dirt bin. So, "I" immediately vacuumed the bedroom with Neato a second time, and, while not as much dirt, enough that I ran Neato two more times: four times in all.

The result: my wife no longer coughs in the bedroom. Period. That's huge! My wife agrees that Neato's best feature is its ability to vacuum under our bed (and do a deep clean of the carpets. (A close second is that "I" vacuum more more frequently!) We love that Neato does base boards, corners and cleans around bed legs and support posts. It just works!

It's fun to watch Neato vacuum. ("I am" vacuuming now.) Press the start button, and Neato comes alive. First, Neato starts out slowly to get the "lay of the land" and then - those nice, neat(o) rows that gives the carpet a "racked" look like a lawn that has been professionally cut. Plus, "I" can vacuum while we're out to dinner. In my home office, about the size of four bedrooms, Neato needs to re-charge once to complete the space. That said, Neato "knew" it needed to re-charge (in its charging based station); re-charged and remembered where it left off to finish the cleaning - all on its own. "I" vacuum frequently, now that we've got Neato.

To read more of my Neato XV-11 review (includes my 'Neato-Cam' video, please visit my blog: [...] (7/27/10)

*Disclosure: I won the first-off-the-production-line Neato XV-11 at the Last Gadget Standing competition at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas by screaming the longest and loudest that I want the robotic vacuum cleaner.

Not worth the $
The biggest issue with this machine is that it makes weak espresso. Even on the 'strong' setting, it just doesn't use enough grounds to produce a good strong espresso. Once this weak espresso is combined with milk and/or flavoring syrups, the coffee flavor is all but gone. The water tank is also quite small, so you have to fill it a lot. I don't have any available counter space that doesn't have cupboards above, so every time I had to fill it I had to drag the thing out from underneath the cabinets since the tank is in the way back. This is not an easy task since the machine is heavy and sits on rubber. Lastly, the one-touch rotary button is self-defeating. I imagine they put the one button on there to make it easy to use...but to try and finangle all the menus and settings with one button is needlessly confusing. Lastly, every time you start it up or turn it off, it goes through a rinse cycle, so you had better have a cup nearby to collect the brown water it'll be shooting out! This is mildly annoying and wasn't ever mentioned in the directions. Given the cost, it's just not worth it. I exchanged this machine for a Saeco. The Saeco's tank is on the side, the machine is on rotary wheels so it can easily rotate around, and it can make a dark, strong espresso shot, or a weak one, all with the turn of a dial.

Happy With My Machine
My husband bought this machine for me about 7 months ago. As many of the other reviewers have said, the wand popped off on a daily basis. I found it very annoying and was to the point of returning it when my husband suggested I call Jura's Customer Service department. I didn't really think the problem could be fixed. It seemed like a design flaw that I'd have to live with if I wanted to keep this machine. I'm glad I called them though because after telling them my problem, they sent me a brand new wand for free. I've used this wand to make at least 2 drinks on a daily basis for the last 6 months and it has never popped off! I'm very happy with the purchase now. The one complaint I do have however is that even though it's set on the highest setting, the espresso comes out a littler weaker than I'd like it. I can live with this and I would definately purchase the machine again!

Great coffee and customer service!!
When I received the machine it failed to execute the start-up procedure. I called customer service to see if I was missing something, but there was indeed a defect. Jura promptly offered to replace it and a new one arrived a couple of days later.
This time all worked perfectly and I was able to enjoy the wonderful coffee the ENA makes. The machine provides enough adjustments to suit one's taste and is pretty straightforward to use. The LCD will display any actions that need to be taken (i.e. low water, low coffee, empty grounds, etc...) so no need to check anything.
Overall, I am very happy with the ENA! The only complaint I would make regards the water tank size. As I use the steamer a lot I usually have to fill it up after something like 8 cups. Not too annoying, but might be important if there are more people using the machine.

Good coffee, minor technical flaws
Coffee produced is very good, easy to operate, progammable.
Minor problems with the frother, the entire thing flies off sometimes
when you start steaming, with the risk of getting burned by the steam, and of cource
spilling your milk all over the machine.
As it must be removed for cleaning, the socket wears out and eventually the
frother wand does not hold on anymore.
This is the only concern.

Great coffee, some flaws with the machine
I've had the jura for 4 months now and previously owned a gaggia automatic expresso machine and have made over 200 lattes so far with the jura. I love the small size of the jura, the coffee is great once you adjust it to suit your tastes. i like the fact that everything is automated and being warned stops me running out of water half way through an expresso like i did with the gaggia. it is easy to clean and is a great machine.

There are two flaws which is why I'm giving this 3 stars. Firstly the milk frothing wand comes lose and when it does sprays milk and stream over nearby surfaces and you. At first this happened rarely and i put it down to me not having the wand seated securely, however after 4 months of making lattes i check before every coffee and the wand will no longer stay on long enough to do enough milk for one latte. this is very annoying and potentially dangerous as steam and hot milk tend to go over your hand. The second problem is the water tank, it is fairly small but is around the back of the machine so if you have the machine on a kitchen surface with a cupboard above it is awkward to get the water tank out and more awkward getting it back in when filled with water.

would i buy one again? not sure have complained to jura and will see if they can fix the problem with the wand. I suspect it is a design flaw since I've seen other people also complain about this. if you are using mainly for lattes like me I wouldn't buy this model.

Only cleaning tablets for Jura Capresso
We have a Jura Capresso Impressa E8.

Part of the simplicity of this machine is the simplicity of cleaning it.

They work perfectly well and extend the life of the machine.

coffee cleaning tablets
not sure if these make any difference but since the machine directions require them, and it was a very large investment, I figure I better go along for the ride.

Too much static
I purchased this grinder about 3 months ago to replace a cuisinart that had stopped working. The Capresso is fairly quiet (compared to other grinders). It is fairly narrow and fits nicely in my small kitchen. My problem with the grinder is that when I remove the reservoir of ground coffee each morning- static pulls grinds out of the container and makes a mess. Before purchasing this grinder I read several reviews stating a small amount of grinds were pulled up by static- but I have much more than a small amount. I have a mess every morning- and am thinking of replacing this grinder with one that has no static.
Other than the static issue, I am very pleased with the features and quality of the grinder.

New Item Received Was Clearly Used!!
Received my new Capresso Burr Grinder the other day and very excited to get "burrrrrring" for my new french press! Trouble is . . . as I was unpackaging and getting ready to wash the few washable items to prepare for first use - I noticed that inside the top compartment was clearly coffee bean ground residue from being used prior. Sure the plastic bean holder and grounds collector looked brand new; but the main motor housing that does the grinding had brown coffee specs and residue all in it. Clearly had been used before, returned (possibly with factory defects - not known because I haven't even plugged it in yet!), re-packaged and then sent back out to some unsuspecting customer as a new product! Shame. Just a shame that our country continues to travel down this path of making immoral decisions to try and put-one-past-the-other-guy!

Good for regular grinds but not for espresso
I bought this grinder two months ago mainly to grind espresso to make decent shots with crema. That is not happening as the machine does not grind fine enough no matter the espresso bean . Otherwise it is great. I am disappointed since I must go back to having the store pregrind the bean and that isn't ideal for keeping coffee fresh. A better grind is is my future.

Good Grinder - Burrs Not Replaceable
All of Capresso's grinders are good grinders and do a great job, until the burrs dull, then you're out of luck.

Capresso refuses to sell anything but the upper burr ring. They will not sell the lower burr. When your burrs dull, you have no option but to throw the grinder away. Capresso may have a refurbed unit to sell you but their price is about what they go for new.

Just be warned that a normally replaceable part is not replaceable part on any of Capresso's burr grinders. The saddest part is that there is no reason to not sell the lower burr, except to force you to buy a new grinder.

Great machine. Bargain. Love it.
I am reviewing the brushed stainless steel Capresso 560 Infinity Burr grinder. It has an attractive appearance, but what is nicer is how well it works.

The stainless steel base is heavy giving it not only a real quality feel, but it also does not vibrate on the counter. The weight of the grinder also makes it easy to pull out the grounds cup and push it back in one handed--something my previous grinder, a Soleus Maestro couldn't do because it was too lightweight.

I have been using the grinder for about 4 months now, which means its ground at minimum 240 pots worth of coffee. I have not had many difficulties with the machine whatsoever. My only difficulty has been a self induced problem where the grinder almost ground to a halt because the grounds cup was full--an early morning mistake I had made.

Not all grinding has been completely static free, but most all times have been static free. The mess on the counter-top has been minimal. It seems to follow with which roast I have been grinding as to whether or not I get static. Trader Joe Peaberry gave me static. But Starbucks Sumatra, Cafe Verona, World Market Sumatra and Costa Rican Terazzu have not. I have chucked it up to nothing being 100% all the time. The grinder seems to do well with either oily beans or dryer ones. Other machines I have had usually had trouble with grinding oily or larger size beans.

It is not quiet but it is not as loud as some sort of crappy portable blade grinder. The motor sounds a tad bit cheaper than previous grinders I've had, but I'm not convinced entirely its the motor I hear. It could be the gearing that gives it such a whiny sound.

The hopper is easy to remove. The grinder is easy to clean out. The chute may become blocked if you fill up the grounds cup and keep grinding because it doesn't shut off automatically if the cup becomes full.

I paid 89.95 for this grinder. Its well worth the price. I love the grinder. I gives me trouble free action and a consistent grind every time. I think for most people this grinder would satisfy!

Good But Disappointed also
we've had an S9 Jura for over 7 years and made over 6,000 coffees with it. It was a trooper and fantastic but sadly died on us so we wanted a replacement. I checked the specs for the S9 and C9 and seemed they were pretty much the same so for the price difference it felt living with a black and slimmer model with slightly less horsepower was a sensible trade-off.

The good;

1. Quiet
2. Small
3. Makes a nice cup of coffee (if administered well)
4. Button layout and customization is way easier than the old S9

The Bad

1. Black is not as attractive as the silver and also shows marks easier
2. Water filters are different sizes to the S9 (had a stock so that's a little annoying)
3. All the essentials feel twice as small as the S9 and a pain.. the milk container cannot even support two Lattes, the water container is too small and the coffee store is also.
4. The One-Touch button makes for a warm and hot coffee so is also a pointless feature IMO.
5. Fixed steam spout so with large cups it will be a pain to remove them without spilling

When we made a coffee with the S9 and new with the C9 we put the coffee in first, fill the milk and 3/4 up we switch to steam and give it a blast for the heat. This on either machine makes a fabulous coffee but negates the value of the one-touch.

If I were doing this again, I'd go for either a cheaper model knowing the one-touch is pointless and if budget is the concern OR I'd sucked it in and gone for the S9 for the added capacity.. For me I wish I'd chosen the S9 as the capacity thing will probably grind on me more than anything else.. but the above will give you an idea of variances.

All this said, I LOVE Jura, for the years we've had them, they're reliable, provide great service and well worth the investment. I'll begrudgingly live with the C9 knowing I made the wrong choice,.. Hope this helps your decision process..

Over priced junk
This is the upgrade for the older model they sold me. The older one was in the shop at least once year for the tune of 150.00 a pop!!They then sold me this unit for an extra 500 and it was doing the samething the old one did. So whatch out for the hidden cost of servicing it once a year .

Wonderful machine, not so user-friendly
I love my Impressa C9, it makes wonderful cappuccino without having to manually froth, but I must say the settings and instructions are quite opaque. This is why I'm giving it only four stars.

After 4 months, I still have to refer to the manual (not very well designed) to know what the machine is trying to tell me at times. This is my fourth superautomatic espresso machine, all the others having been Saeco machines with very easy instructions (but Saeco service being virtually impossible in the U.S., I really didn't want to get another Saeco).

Doesn't steam Milk
DO NOT BUY THE C9. Before you buy the C9, know that it can only steam milk for Latte's to 120 degrees. The minimum temperature required is 150 degrees. I was the one that discivered this product defeciency, so before you spend B001EZCK1C,799, call Jura and ask them how hot the C9 will steam milk

Gorgeous machine
This is my second fully automatic espresso maker. The first one was a Jura Espresso E8. They seem to have a life span of about 5 years with very frequent use -- probably 10-15 single cups a day.

The Jura-Capresso espresso maker only needs you to feed it with water and espresso beans and empty out the grounds drawer every once in a while. It does every single other thing. At the touch of a button, it grinds the beans to the perfect texture, tamps it to perfection, and brews espresso exactly. Finding espresso beans is always interesting. Right now, my favorite are from a small roaster called Ancora in Wisconsin. This espresso maker prefers beans that are not too dark and oily and never likes flavored beans. French Roasts are good, as are Columbian, for a rich flavor. Lavazza beans are good for everyday use. My only complaint? The espresso is just a little too perfect.

It is not the same as sitting in a cafe on a sidewalk in Paris sipping espresso and smoking gauloises. But very few things are.

Makes it Easy to Clean After Frothing
This works great for our automatic coffee center, for cleaning parts after frothing. It's fast and easy, and there's no milk residue afterwards.