Francis Francis X7 Iper Espresso Review:
Things I like:
1) The "Look"
: The machine has a very cool Retro look to it with lots of curvy lines that will catch any ones eyes.
2) Set-up: I love how easy it is to set up this machine. You fill the water reservoir, plug the machine in; it primes itself and starts to heat. You are ready to brew when the machine chimes and the display goes from orange to a pleasing blue color.
3) Easy brewing with minimal clean up: To brew, you simply place an Iper Illy Capsule into the porta filter, lock it into the brew group, push a brew button, and you are brewing. Clean up after brewing requires removing the porta filter, throwing the used capsule away, and wiping the counter.
4) Steaming volume: The Francis Francis provides almost continuous steam for easy steaming and frothing of milk for your lattes or cappuccinos.
5) Porta Filter construction: The porta filter is easy to lock into the brewgroup, made from heavyduty brass (to prevent heat loss when brewing ), and is chrome-plated.
Things I do not like:
1) The cup warmer design: The cup warmer does not hold many cups and is tilted towards the back, which makeit a bit difficult to keep cups from sliding to the back the machine
2) Brewing noise: The pump also is a bit loud (not enough to wake a household in the morning) however, this could be because I am brewing on a very hard surface.
Overall the Francis Francis X7 Iper Espresso machine is a good home use espresso machine. I would also say it could be used in a small office setting (of less than 5 people) who like Illy coffee and the easy use single serve espresso pods.
