I previously owned the S8 for about 7 years and after it broke, I decided to upgrade. I love the way Jura will repair a broken super automatic for 275.00 including round trip shipping no matter what the problem but I still wanted a newer model. I did a great deal of research on superautomatics and even bought a Saeco Xelsis. Unfortunately I had to return it as the latte temp never got above 120 degrees despite calling Saeco and working with their support line. I then bought a Jura Z7 as the manual stated that the milk could be heated up to 159 degrees and the espresso/ coffee up to 197 degrees. I love hot coffee/latte. After trying out the Xelsis, I wanted to buy a sure thing that I knew would make me happy. However, the milk at first came out about 130-140 degrees. It took three calls to Jura to figure out how to get the milk to the temp to what they advertise. One helpful person told me to pinch the tubing exiting the milk container before it enters the machine. This slows the stream of milk and increases its exposure to the heating elements but who wants to spend 3 grand on a machine and have to jury with it to get the milk hot enough. Finally, I was told of two things to do to get the milk temp up and how to keep the temp up in the cup. First, when putting the empty cup under the cappucino spout, press the milk button while the cappucino dial is set on steam water. This will spray very hot steam out of the cappucino spout into the cup. This heats up the tubing in the machine and heats up the cup. The third and most important thing is to align the notch in the cappucino spout dial on the border between the steam water icon and the steam milk icon. After flow begins, turn the dial counter-clockwise until the notch is actually into the steam water section but not so far that it stops the milk flow. By doing this I was able to get my milk temps up to the 180s (checking the temps as the milk exits the spout and before it hits the cup). NOW, I could not be happier with the taste AND and the temp of my lattes. Go Jura!!!
I don''t write many reviews, but just this week, we decided to call it quits with our 4 year old Jura, which was about as expensive as the one Amazon is selling. During long stretches, the coffee was great, as was the frother. But during the 4 years, we had to ship it back to Jura for repairs 5 times, and every time, it was for the same problem. According to Jura''s customer service agent, "an air bubble gets trapped in the line and the machine must be disassembled to fix it." Last time, I got pretty annoyed, and the service guy told me quietly that lots of machines have to be serviced more than once for the same reason..For Hello? How about manufacturing a new part, or finding some other way to deal with this design defect? Nope. Instead, it was better for them to keep fixing the machines. After the warranty ended, the cost of the repair, plus professional packing, shipping and insurance was about $300 each trip,
Jura makes beautiful machines, but I"m not going to buy another one. The company doesn''t care about its customers once they get your money.
Buy Jura Impressa Z7 One-Touch Automatic Coffee Center Now
Bought this capuccino maker about 7 months ago, so we know it well. The initial rationale was that we would save 8 dollars a day and countless wait time both of us stopping at starbucks every day. That has happened. I have been to starbucks twice since I bought this. It makes a pretty good cappuccino, I would say is on par with starbucks, my gold standard. The coffee setting tastes different, since it is really a cup of watered down espresso, but you aren''t buying this to brew coffee.
In spite of having the tallest spout on the market (at least at the time of my purchase), I still cannot fit my travel mug under it. You know the stainless steel, 16 oz mug you would want to fill up giving you a vente latte on the way out the door. Maybe they dont use these travel mugs in Switzerland, but we all do here... (In fact, I had to build my own wooden holder that holds a tilted travel mug under the spout.)
Well not only does the standard version of such mug not actually fit, (most are about .5 to 1 cm off), it brings up my second point, its almost hot enough. Well if you have prewarmed your cup in the microwave, and sat down to sip you cappuccino right then, the temperature will be a barely "ok". But if you are used to ordering your starbucks extra hot, your definately going to be found wanting. And if you have to dispense your drink into a cup, and then transfer your drink to your tall travel mug because it wont fit, your really going to be dissapointed in the temperature.
A few other gripes: the thing will only stay on 2 hours, IE it will always turn off, kudos to their green power saving. Problem is, it takes a solid 3 minutes or so to warm up. Then each type of drink you make only contains one shot of espresso. If you want 8 oz of milk with three shots of espresso, you have to turn it on, stand there for 3 minutes for it warm up, then push a button to put an 8 oz cappuccino in, wait another 2 or 3 minutes, then push the button for another shot of espresso, another 1-2 min, then push for another shot of espresso in, another 1-2 moinutes. Does that sound "one touch" to you? For me, it is stading next to a machine for 10 minutes, which is exactly what I am supposed to not have to do. (Not to mention, in the middle of all this you might run out of water, need to empty the tray, or add beans. The chances of one of these lottery wins in your 3 button oddessey are probably 25%)
What this machine needs are:
Taller spout
The milk needs a temperature setting, its not hot enough for me.
The machine needs a timer, so it can turn on in the morning and warm up.
Programmable drinks with multiple shots.
Larger bean bin, it probly cooks up only a dozen shots or so per bin.
For three grand, these things should be a given!
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There are so many problems with this product I scarcely know where to start. The first sign of trouble is the manual: it is all but incomprehensible and only describes some of the maintenance required to keep the unit functioning. In other words, after diligently completing all the maintenance requested by the manual, the unit would still break down every couple of months; when I''d call customer service, I''d learn that far more maintenance is needed if you want to keep the unit functioning for long. Unfortunately, experience has taught me that even the most extensive maintenance will only delay but not prevent the unit from breaking down.
The need for endless maintenance is annoying since the main advantage of the unit is its ostensible convenience: in other words, it is true that you can make a cappuccino with one touch -but what they don''t tell you is that after that one touch you''ll need to complete half a dozen or a dozen steps before making another one. This obviously isn''t very convenient, nor is it inexpensive: I''ve spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars on cleaning fluids, cleaning tablets, filters, and decalcifying tablets in an attempt to keep it functioning, but all this has only delayed the inevitable breakdown.
And this is where things get ugly: after the unit failed completely recently, I contacted Capresso and was told I could get the unit repaired for a $300 fee. I sent the unit in, and to their credit, it was returned promptly; unfortunately, I could see no evidence that the unit had actually been repaired: when I started it up and filled it with water, the unit proceeded to dump the water all over the counter. I thus contacted Capresso and asked them to send out shipping labels so I could return the unit and have them correct the repair. I received no response. After waiting three business days, I asked again; still no response. After waiting three more days, I let them know that I had contacted my credit card and would be refusing the charges until such time as the unit was actually repaired; within the hour I received an email apologizing and letting me know that the customer service manager was out of the office and would return the next day. I thus waited three more days but never heard anything from the customer service manager. I then wrote to the company president asking him to intercede and address the problem: after a month, I still haven''t heard anything from him.
But the extraordinary inability to provide even the most basic level of customer service isn''t my main complaint with the product: my main complaint is that it doesn''t make very good espresso. I say this, not because I consider myself an expert when it comes to evaluating espresso, but because the unit simply does not work with pre-ground espresso. In other words, I''ve tried pre-ground espresso from each and every brand I can find; they all cause the unit to clog and thus leak. Worse, when I called to ask about this, I was told it was "normal" and that I would need to use the grinder instead. At that time, I didn''t realize that if the unit couldn''t process pre-ground espresso, then it presumably wasn''t grinding the beans to the same level of fineness as pre-ground espresso. As a result, what Capresso calls espresso is quite different from what I''m used to: its quite thin and watery and I''ve never found a way to make it any thicker. If you''re a fan of espresso, I''d encourage you to find the unit in a store and see if their version of espresso is to your liking. Of course, this may prove hard to do: Williams-Sonoma no longer carries Capresso products, and I''m not sure if you''ll be able to find anyone who still does. Given my experience with both their customer service and the quality of the products offered by Capresso, I''m sorry to say I simply don''t find this surprising.
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We purchased this machine in May 2012 for use in a small office. We probably make 2 or 3 cups of cappuccinos and an espresso each day. The original machine started giving an error message to "add beans" even though the bin was full of beans about 4 weeks after purchase. We were told to remove all the beans and `air out'' the machine because there might be an oil build up (oil from the beans). We scooped out the beans and let it `air out'' over the weekend and it still didn''t work on Monday. I called customer service again and did everything they told me to do but it still didn''t work. So we shipped back the machine and they shipped us a new Z7. After about 4 weeks the 2nd machine stopped making froth for the cappuccino. Customer service told us that it could be the froth dial. We could not use the machine but they sent us a new froth dial and it worked. 8 weeks later, here we go again we''re getting a "add beans" message on the 2nd machine. To make matters worse, even the hot water sprout stopped working so we can''t even make a cup of tea. The machine does nothing. We called Customer Service and were told, AGAIN, to remove all the beans and `air out'' the machine because there might be an oil build up, etc. We scooped out the beans and let it `air out'' over the weekend and it still hasn''t worked for 5 days. This time because we''ve had the machine for over 3 months JURA won''t send a replacement. We have to find a box and ship the 2nd machine back to them. JURA doesn''t even pay for UPS to pick-up the machine they send a receipt but you have to carry the machine to a UPS drop off location. I have a bad back and the machine weights approximately 40 pounds packed this is inconvenient and is a big deal to me. It''s too late to get our money back so we are stuck with the JURA Z7 but we are not pleased with it at all. I would NOT purchase this machine again ever. For $3,000 I expect a machine that works for more than 4 weeks before needing to be repaired. Do not purchase if you want a machine that works.
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I bought two of these for our church, expecting that the commercial-grade would hold up better than the home-grade coffee urn would. We only used them on Sunday mornings and occasionally once during the week. Two months after the one year warranty had expired, they both quit working within a month of each other. (That was how long the home-grade ones we bought for $20 had lasted.) Since the warranty had expired, I took them to a small appliance repair shop only to be told they could not be fixed. I was extremely disappointed in this product!
