SMEG 50's Retro Style Espresso Maker

The Smeg espresso maker is a sleek looking appliance, and the red color is spectacular. However, unless the look of the machine is of primary importance or if you have other Smeg items to match, you will be paying a high premium for the looks. The machine is nearly identical to the De’Longhi Dedica, only with the Smeg skin, and a nicely upgraded portafilter, but the Dedica is nearly half the price for pretty much the same capabilities and mechanical functions and layout. On the positive side, there is almost no information on the Smeg website or anywhere else on how to use the machine, - but there is plenty of helpful info on the Dedica, which operates in the same manner. The machine makes a decent enough espresso or cappuccino, but with certain limitations. The machine utilizes special pressurized filters that allows a consistently good cup without the user needing sophisticated knowledge of tamping and grinding, but you could get a better cup with the use of unpressurized filters and greater user knowledge. You can program temperature and amount of water in the cup. The steam wand foams milk nicely and you can get only hot water out of the nozzle for tea or to make an Americana. The machine reaches temperature astoundingly quickly and it does look great on the counter. Despite its decent performance my average star rating is due to the price vs features compared to other makers.

I bought this espresso machine in July 2019. I've had a number of espresso machines over the years & have had this unit for awhile now that I believe I can provide a fair review. The machine looks great & the quality of the espresso, crema & froth are decent. I don't have any issues with these. I have problems however with the quality of the machine itself. The casing is made of plastic & so the machine is very light. The machine will move when trying to load and unload the filter holder. When unloading the filter holder, the ground coffee may also be left behind in the machine. I've had the Gaggia and Saeco espresso machines and never had these problems. Also, the plastic on/off button on the side of the machine is not reliable. Once depressed, it will stick & can be hard to turn off the machine manually. I've given up turning off the machine manually & just let the machine turn off automatically. Finally, the milk frother must be removed and cleaned out after each use. It is made up of 2 parts - a small plastic "tube" & an even smaller rubber nozzle. While cleaning out these parts under running water, I accidentally dropped the small rubber nozzle down the sink. Now, the milk frother is effectively useless. If given a second chance, I probably would not have bought this espresso machine and would have paid a bit more for a studier machine with a better milk frother.

I had wanted this for a long time but didn’t want to spend the money. After having it and using it for my family for the past month it makes my investment worth it. My daughter also purchased one. It’s easy to use and you have a perfect espresso in no time.

I just received my SMEG and I am thrilled with it. It is replacing the Breville Barista Express which I absolutely hated. The Breville never made consistent shots and even from day one just seemed to have so many issues that prevented it from making a decent cup of espresso (barely anything would come out). No drama with the SMEG. Just great espresso whenever you want it.

After 12 years my Breville broke and SMEG was my choice for replacement. What a great choice, super espresso, the best capuchino. Worth every penney. Big plust: very good looking machine.

Received a week ago. Very eazy to set up temp and strenght of coffee. Makes the best cup of espresso as well as capuccino.

Well made and stylish. Easy to use and fits on the counter.

If you are looking for a manual espresso machine, this one is it. Had a small learning curve in trying to get the temp and grind correct but after about 5 attempts, we had a good cup of espresso. I'm not much for milk and sugar so an espresso with a bit of hot water suits me. Having said that, the frothing wand is nice. It helps me create creamy, frothy milk. The only draw back is that the wand could be a tad longer but I managed to find a 14 oz frothing pitcher that works well with the machine. I also bought my own tamper as the one supplied is a plastic thingy that wasn't working for me. Overall, nice look (I got the red one). Easy to use. Easy to change temp and drip time. Dry puck at the end which is easy to dump. Good value