Francis X8 Espresso Machine: The Espresso Machine I Almost Bought

I’ve been debating getting an espresso machine and yesterday an email from Illy, the Italian coffee company, appeared in my inbox with an amazing, almost too good to be true offer.

Right now, Illy is selling their $499 Francis X8 espresso machine for only $150 when you join their Illy A Casa Espresso membership program. The first thing I did was check out the price and on other sites it is listed at $499, so it’s a legitimately good price.

Of course, there is that catch, you have to join their espresso membership program. It doesn’t sound too bad and if you don’t like it, you can cancel after the first shipment and keep the espresso maker. Worse comes to worse, they also have a thirty day money back guarantee.

I was dangerously close to taking them up on this offer.

The machine sounded pretty good: The Francis X8 iperEspresso machine is supposed to be easy to use, all you have to do is insert the capsule into the machine, turn the dial and within seconds, your espresso is ready. It makes cappuccinos, lattes and it’s pretty easy to clean.

It sounds great, but you may have noticed that I mentioned you’ll need a capsule, definitely not the standard way to make an espresso drink. It’s not a horrible thing, but it does come with some drawbacks. You’ll be stuck with using only Illy’s capsules and right now they only offer four varieties.

• Dark Roast – intense and robust flavor
• Medium Roast – sweet, balanced and pleasant flavor
• Decaffeinated – no information about the roast or flavor
• Lungo – medium roast long espresso for larger cups

However, the way the machine works with the capsules does sound like it would result in great espresso and would be easy for even someone like me to use.

The heart of the iperEspresso method is the proprietary capsule with its unique iperChamber™ where illy coffee extraction takes place in two stages.

In the first stage, hyper-infusion, hot water under ultra-high pressure mixes with the coffee under optimal conditions to enhance extraction of precious flavors and aromas, creating a richly complex flavor.

In the second stage, emulsification, coffee is forced through the patented e-valve™ at the bottom of the capsule, mixing the aromatic oils with air to produce a full-bodied espresso and a thick, long-lasting velvety crema.

The capsules don’t sound bad and the canisters are only $16 each, but there is some fine print. You have to order three of these capsules at a time, there’s a $12.95 handling fee for the espresso machine, plus there’s shipping expenses. When you add it all up, you’re spending over $200.

It’s still a great deal if you want to join their espresso program and use their espresso, however, if you’re like me and want to have some options, you’ll have to keep looking.

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Tagged as: Espresso Makers, Francis X8 Espresso Machine, Illy Coffee