Due to the high price I checked many reviews on many sites and most brands had specific problems or limitations. The Jura was consistently rated highly with few problems. When spending $1500+ I didn''t want a machine that was going to break down after a few months. I have now had this machine for about 6 months and have had no problems except a minor one explained below.
First the good
Very easy set up. I was up and going in about 30 minutes after opening the box and making sure all the parts and pieces were included.
The machine is pretty idiot proof. It tells you when to add water, when to add coffee beans, when to run the cleaning cycle, when to decalcify, and when to dispose the used grounds. The burr grinder is fairly quiet and has run without clogging. You do have to be careful not to use beans that are too oily but if they are all you have to do is let them sit for about 5 hours before using. The water capacity is very adequate at 70 oz. The bean hopper holds about 1/4 lb of beans so you don''t have to keep adding. There is no way to empty beans to add a different type, however there is a place for ground beans if someone want a different type. I like that you can change the height of the two nozzles for different height mugs and being able to separate the nozzles for brewing two cups at the same time. Cleaning is a snap. Just slide out the empty grounds tray, rinse and replace.
I like that you customize each button on the face of the machine (see below) and you can easily override how much coffee or water you use for a single use without losing the programmed amount.
Finally customer service, something important for such an expensive machine. When I registered the machine on line (and you have to do this in 2 weeks to get the warranty) I mistyped the serial number. The next day I got an email informing me of my error. Nice. Also, my mother got one of these for my father and one of the nozzles was not working properly. He called them up and they told him what to do. The nozzle was blocked and just needed to be wiped clean. My parents have well water that they bi-pass to some of their faucets. The machine comes with one water test strip to test for water hardness. When he called he asked them to send a few more and they did. Not that big a deal for them, but they did it.
Next the okay
The six buttons on the face of the machine for water, steam, 1 or 2 cups of espresso and 1 or 2 cups of coffee, are very easy. Not so easy is using the buttons on the top of the machine. These buttons work like folders on a computer and it is easy to forget where you are. These buttons are used to "customize" what comes out (heat, strength, amount per cup, language, auto on and off).
Every time you turn the machine on you need to rinse the nozzles (push a button and it runs about 1 oz of hot water through the nozzles), this is okay but you have to do it even if you just used hot water the last time. The full cleaning cycle is based on the number of rinses so if you use the machine for hot water you will end up using the cleaning cycle more than necessary. The machine also automatically rinses when it goes into sleep mode so I put a shot glass under the nozzles after use. Not a big deal, if I forget the water goes into a collection tray.
Finally the bad
There are two ways to make steam and froth. Without going into details, one of these is an attachment that doesn''t stay on very well due to the high pressure of the steam. When it comes off steam sprays all over until you push the steam button again. This happened to me a few times and while it did not burn me, it is quite a surprise. I just do it the other way
Overall a positive experience and I would recommend to family and friend.
Update on April 10th, 2012.
Unit still works well and customer support is excellent. I recently had a problem with the decalcify procedure. Emailed customer support on a Saturday and received a return email on Monday to call customer support. Called and the representative walked me through the fix (I was using too much water, you have to use the amount specified in the instructions). My father had a minor problem last week and when he called he had a solution in a matter or minutes.
This machine replaced a Spidem Divina. Although the Divina made good coffee, it was very temperamental and required numerous calls for on the phone repair. Finally, we just gave up. The Jura was twice the price and well worth it. We have not had one problem and love the coffee. I whole heartedly recommend this machine, you won''t be sorry. We purchased from a brick and mortar Sur La Table store. They said if there is ever any problem, just return and they would replace if they were unable to diagnose the problem. But, as I said, not one issue.
Buy Jura-Capresso 13548 Impressa J6 Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center Now
I''ve had this machine for about a week, and bought it at my local Sur le Table store. This was my first automatic machine and I am still totally freaked out at how expensive they are. That being said, the machine makes amazing coffee. It''s also really cool to make tea and hot soup with the hot water feature. The machine works well overall (knock on wood) and I expect to keep getting amazing coffee for years to come.
UPDATE:
I''ve now had the machine for two years and it is still going strong. Be sure to use the cleaning tablets regularly. I also have been using the filter (buying more at Sur Le Table and sometimes on Amazon). No issues, works great. Except for the fact I put the wand in the garbage disposal once, oops...
Read Best Reviews of Jura-Capresso 13548 Impressa J6 Automatic Coffee and Espresso Center Here
We have gone through 3 grind-and-brew style coffee makers in the last 3 years. They all stopped functioning or started leaking.
Extensive research and $400 off the sticker price led me to the Jura Impressa J6.
Less than ten minutes out of the box, we were enjoying the finest cup of coffee produced in our house. In the two weeks since that first cup, we are marveling at how spectacularly better a cup of coffee is when properly brewed.
I had always thought if you kept your beans vacuum sealed up to the point of grinding, you were going to get the best cup of joe possible. Well, you can banish that thought forever. The J6 grinds the beans then tamps them right before brewing, and the flavor extraction is far beyond that of mortal brewers.
Two design features make this the perfect purchase. 1] You can fill both the water tank and the bean receptacle without having to move the machine from under the cabinets! All the other brewers were top-loaders. I had to pull the them out from under the cabinet, eyeball the water level, then push them back under the cabinet. The J6 has a detachable water tank on the side that lifts about a half-inch and easily separates from the main body. Once filled, the tank''s clever disappearing handle makes it a snap to replace. A full tank lasts two or three days for us. 2] The start/stop and program buttons are super-simple to use. One session with the owners manual and you will be customizing your coffee, latte and cappuccino''s to perfection.
Obviously I cannot address reliability issues. We have a whole-house water treatment system, and specific drinking water spigots at our kitchen sinks. I''m hoping these will contribute to the J6''s longevity. If it lasts five years, it will have cost me about the same as annually buying the most expensive Grind N Brew unit.
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I love the Jura Impressa J6 and have been using it at least twice a day for almost a year.
Pros:
Pulls the Perfect Espresso!
Makes a Great Latte
Brews Good coffee
Everything is frothy
Automatic Cleaning Cycles
Easy to remove drip/grounds tray
Stylish Looks
Cons:
Not for causal coffee drinkers
Outside gets dirty fast
Doesn''t brew very hot coffee
Can''t take Oily Beans
Automatic Cleaning Cycles
Needs filters and cleaning tablets
Coffee is only "good"
Lots of rules to follow
Again, I love this machine. It''s made me an espresso snob and instead of helping me cut back on Starbucks, I drink more coffee all the time. In my opinion, the Jura Impressa J6 brews the perfect espresso, every time. If that''s what you''ve been searching for, buy this machine now without giving it a second thought. If you''re primarily a coffee drinker, think twice. If you''ve never ground your own beans and store your coffee in the freezer, stop reading now and look somewhere else. At most, it makes two cups at a time, and compared to what you''re probably already drinking, it''s kinda weak and can''t make you a full pot. It''s not for coffee drinkers that drown their drink in cream and sugar to get rid of that "bitter" coffee taste. It''s best if you appreciate a good cup of freshly ground black coffee. If you want a latte, the water spout does a great job frothing milk, both with a standard attachment that goes into the milk, and a hose that I prefer to use. So, in order of tastiness: Perfect Espresso, Great Latte, Good Coffee.
The machine also brews at what it considers to be the perfect temperature. (Translation: not as hot as drip coffee) To keep your drink at the perfect temperature, you''ll need to heat up your cups or else it may taste cold. Before I brew anything, I have to use the machine to add a little hot water into each cup. (this is actually the suggested procedure in the manual) After it warms for a minute or two, dump the water and you''re good to go. Some people may not like having to do this.
The Jura Impressa J6 will automatically clean itself when it gets dirty. All you need to do is push a few buttons, add a tablet, and dispose of the dirty water. This convenience comes at a price. You NEED to buy cleaning tablets and filters for the machine. Let me stress again, NEED. If you don''t, the machine will get dirty, or clogged with hard water buildup and... well, it might break. Some people may not like spending more money on extras for an already expensive machine but I''ll admit that the cleaning cycles work and I''ve had consistently great tasting coffee and espresso for the past year because I''ve cleaned it as directed.
My Jura Impressa J6 is the most stylish appliance in my kitchen. I love how it looks. But that beautiful piano black finish is a dust and finger print magnet. It scratches very easily. Be careful how you wipe down the outside of the machine.
I hope you like rules, this machine has a lot. Don''t try to fix it yourself, don''t scratch the chrome cup ledge, warm your cups, follow the cleaning cycle, use clean water, empty the drip tray, don''t overfill the pre-ground chute, and whatever you do, DON''T USE OILY BEANS. If you use the built in bean hopper and grinder, only use dry medium beans that ARE NOT oily. Otherwise you''ll quickly gunk up the grinder and internal workings of the machine. Look at the beans you normally use. Are they shiny? Are they flavored? Sorry, don''t use them. But if you must use oily beans, do like I do. Grind them separately and add them into the pre-ground chute.
Even with all the rules, requirements, and extra expenses, I love my Jura Impressa J6. After daily use for almost a year, I can safely say that I''ve gotten my money''s worth with consistently perfect shots of espresso, rich brewed coffee, and deliciously frothy latte''s. If you want a high end automatic espresso machine, buy the Jura Impressa J6.
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I have been using this filter for the past four years, and just ordered my third pair from FiltersFast.com today. This is a replacement cartridge for the QC10 undersink filter system. It has proved to be reliable and long lasting; I usually change filters about once a year, but the one now in place was installed in May, 2011 and still does a decent job of removing all the bad tastes except the chloramine the water department is now using to chlorinate the water.
