Mr. Coffee ECM160 4-Cup Steam Espresso Machine

Review by Dassit
Rating:
I’ve had this machine for over a year. I have tried other machines, even a pump. It makes good cappuccinos/lattes when the milk is steamed properly at the right temperature. If your only into espresso shots, I would go with a pump.

PROS

-Inexpensive

-Frother is strong, plastic tip is removable

-Quiet (then a pump machine)

-Small

CONS

-Supplied tamper is just a slightly flattened end of the coffee scooper.

-No frothing pitcher.

-Multiple shots requires de-pressuring the machine.

NOTES

-It is important to have a correct tamp and grind. A weak tamp or a course grind will cause the machine to brew too fast and cause the steamer to become weak because not enough pressure built up, resulting in weak taste. Too hard of a tamp or too fine of a grind will cause the brew to be too slow and build up too much heat, resulting in bitter taste.

-I rarely make a “4cup” with this machine, but when I do, it is somewhat tricky. The machine has a hard time pushing thru a 4 cup filled basket. In this situation, it most often then not brews too slow and too hot and results bitter. You have to compensate by tamping very lightly.

-It is very possible to create thick dense micro foam as well as light fluffy airy foam. It all depends where and how you place the frothing tip near the surface of the milk. Using a thermometer is very useful too. Overheating the milk will make it lose its sweetness.

-Descale it if it becomes slow. I use Durgol.

-Sometimes excess water builds the tank. I believe this causes the machine to become less efficient. Run an empty cycle to remove the water every once in a while.

EDIT

I’ve had this machine for almost 3 years and the frothing wand tip broke on me while using a wrench to disassemble and clean the wand tip. You’re supposed to use the supplied plastic wrench but I used a metal wrench and it tore the tip right off. It is a 7 dollar part on amazon, but I decided to just buy a new one since these are so cheap and it was 3 years old. I still think for what this is, it is a good machine. The new version of this model has a different shaped wand.

Review by Pampeliska
Rating:
I bought this machine after somewhat careful research, but still was feeling a bit cheap, and since this one had such great reviews, decided to get one ($30 including shipping from Ebay).

The frothing part was flawless, and the cappuccinos were almost perfect. However, as at least one other reviewer noted, if you really like espresso, opt for a pump-driven machine, as the steam-driven ones will not produce the coveted “crema”, the froth on top of the espresso.

The espresso I got from this machine was not bad, but really not THAT different from a coffee produced by my beloved french press.

So I decided to give this machine to a friend, who likes it’s milk-frothing ability (to make delicious hot-chocolate beverages) and bought for myself the pump-driven Mr.Coffee ECMP50 Espresso/ Cappuccino Maker.

I have had that one over a week, and so far am completely delighted with it. The espresso is fabulous, very comparable or often better, than some of the ready-made espresso drinks in the stores, and frother works perfect as well.

Overall – if you are on a tight budget and do not really drink espresso much, only cappuccinos, definitely go for this machine, it is a hard-to-beat deal. It takes minimum amount of time to get ready and is very easy to operate and clean.

If you like the crema (coffee froth) on top of your espresso, then skip this and look for a pump-driven machine.