Tag Archive 'saeco'

Automating Mediocrity: The Saeco Syntia Focus Home Espresso Machine, Part II

Posted by TheShot on 23 Oct 2012 | Filed under: Add Milk, Consumer Trends, Home Brew, Machine, Quality Issues, Starbucks

Two months ago we reported on our trials with a superautomatic home espresso machine representing much of the state-of-the-art: the Philips Saeco Syntia Focus. Reading Saeco’s product literature and marketing communications, you’d be led to believe that this machine made “the perfect espresso” every time. But to most people who read our original post two [...]

Domo Arigato, Mr. Saeco

Posted by TheShot on 02 Aug 2012 | Filed under: Home Brew, Machine, Quality Issues

The sad state of home espresso machines is a topic we’ve tried to avoid for long stretches. After our last depressing installment in 2009, we’ve been blissfully ignorant — ratcheting up the solid-but-rarely-outstanding shot pulls on our relatively decent home espresso setup of a Gaggia G106 Factory manual lever machine and a Mazzer Mini grinder. [...]

Trip Report: Saeco Caffè (Cape Town, South Africa)

Posted by TheShot on 28 Jul 2010 | Filed under: Café Society, Consumer Trends, Foreign Brew, Home Brew, Machine, Roasting

This unusual, two-story café resides at the base of the ultra modern, five-star 15 on Orange Hotel. On the upper floor, it has a serving area with a two-group Saeco Steel SE 200 at a bar, a number of black tables and chairs, a branded lit display, a couple of Saeco home machines on display, [...]