illy X1 Espresso Machine, 13 x 9.8 x 10.60, Black

Edit: since many people looking at this listing are also considering Nespresso, I just added a comparison of Illy vs Nespresso at the bottom of this review…

Ignore the review that said the arm falls off when brewing, or makes a mess, as the reviewer isn’t using the machine correctly: when brewing, leave the pod filter arm 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, as designed (and as pictured in this product’s Amazon listing), and it will produce an excellent shot of espresso.

(in the other reviewer’s defense, the perspective of the drawings in the quick start guide makes it look like the arm is positioned towards center, but it’s just a badly drawn illustration)

Pros:
+ Illy’s iPerespresso machines produce an excellent quality espresso shot, using the Iperespresso capsules, and produce the best possible shot of espresso from *any* pod machine (Nespresso doesn’t even come close to tasting like real espresso)
+ uses the physics of the extraction process produce an authentic crema (not a machine-enhanced foamy fake crema like Nespresso)
+ also includes the ability to pull “drip” coffee using Illy’s iPer Coffee capsules
+ programmable to produce longer or shorter shots
+ super attractive machine
+ all metal construction

Cons:
– the Iper Coffee capsules produce an ok cup of coffee, more on par with a K-cup machine than actual drip coffee

Tips:
1) you can reprogram the amount of water per cup, by holding down the brewing button towards the espresso or coffee image until it reaches the desired amount of water, then let go of the switch… from that point on the button will produce the new amount of water unless you program it again
2) I left the Espresso shots as programmed by the factory for 1 ounce shots, but I preprogrammed the coffee switch from 8 oz, to 6 oz, which markedly improved the quality of the iPer Coffee servings

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Illy vs Nespresso: comparison:

Let me start by saying that I was a long-time Nespresso customer, but recently made the switch to Illy iPerEspresso. The iPerEspresso capsules and FrancisFrancis machines produce a far superior espresso shot than the Nespresso machines are capable of, for multiple reasons…
1) more coffee per capsule: Illy capsules contain 7 grams of coffee, while Nespresso uses a scant 5 grams… which might not seem like much of a difference difference at first glance, but that’s actually 40% more coffee per shot in the Illy capsules, which *is* a big difference in terms of shot quality, richness, and taste
2) less water per shot: Illy’s machines are preprogrammed to dispense 1 ounce shots while Nespresso’s are 1.35 ounces, so combined with the differences in the amount of coffee in each, this actually results in far richer and tastier espresso shots from the Illy.
3) illy let’s the physics of the extraction process create a natural crema, while Nespresso’s system are engineered to produce an “enhanced” crema. As a result, the crema on the Illy shots looks and tastes just like that on a an espresso from a regular machine, because it *is* just like that on a regular machine, while there is an observable difference in the crema on a Nespresso shot.

Bottom line: the espressos I get from this machine are far superior shots, to anything that any of my Nespresso machines that I’ve owned have ever produced.

Beautiful black expresso machine but what I like as well is you can make coffee with this machine as well. You have to buy the COFFEE pods which are hard to find unless you order from Illy – Amazon may or may not have the COFFEE pods.

Stopped brewing a full cup of coffee after about 3 months. I’ve descaled routinely as I also have a larger built in system in my main kitchen. This machine is a beautiful design and I placed it it in my office. At this point a waste of money bc it’s stopped working and I haven’t been able to get any support to address the issue! I have a lot of Illy products and have enjoyed them especially their coffees and espressos so this was a disappointment. 🙁

I really love this machine, it makes amazing espresso and froths milk perfectly. However I’m on my 3rd machine in 3 years. They work flawlessly for about 14 months (or 500 cups), and then fail in various ways. The first one the boiler died, and since i’m an engineer, I attempted to replaced it and was able to keep using it for another month until the pump died. The second one worked for about 14 months until the pump on that one just stopped working. It wont even make hot water now. So now im on my 3rd and final one. I cant justify buying a 4th, so when this one fails, I’ll be looking for an alternate option. If you consider that the machine costs about $500 and makes 500 cups, thats $1 in machine cost per cup, an espresso requires two pods so thats an additional $2 per cup. So with this machine, you’ll be paying $3 for an espresso you have to make yourself at home… This thing is absolutely not a good value as much as I love the coffee it makes. I can buy an espresso down the street of equal or greater quality for $2, the only drawback is I have to get dressed first.