Review on ☕ Experience Excellence with the Saeco HD8964/47 Gran Baristo Espresso Machine in Black by Teambringit Truitt

I bought it to replace my Saeco Talea touchscreen that was getting on in years (Talea still works after 10 years). Stupidly, I replaced a Saeco (where I had to replace the millstones) with another. Basically, owning an Italian espresso machine is like owning an Italian car - it's fun to drive, which is a shame for all the little hassles that keep it in business half the time. Loaded with fresh, medium-roasted beans, the GranBaristo makes passable lattes and espressos — a far cry from your local LaMarzocco or even a top-of-the-line, temperature-and-pressure-controlled manual machine, but still decent for a superautomatic. This allows for customization, although the strongest espresso will not be as strong or hot. The problem is maintenance - it was designed by a complete idiot. It has an overly sensitive water sensor in the drip tray - even if there is the tiniest drop of water in the top left corner of the drip tray, there will be an error and good luck cleaning! The compartment can be completely empty and dry - but as soon as you put it back in the machine, moisture will leak out onto it. I put a paper towel and a microfiber towel in there to get rid of the moisture, it doesn't work - I'd have to dry myself completely first. For this reason, avoid descaling like the plague as the process will take all day. It goes without saying that in this case you will not be able to use the machine at all. EDIT: I finally found a way to override the "empty drip tray" message by filling the tray with paper towels and letting them soak up all the moisture. was - the descaling process was significantly reduced.