SAECO - Incanto Super Automatic Espresso Machine Review

October 7, 2004
I love pressure brewed coffee and always find myself adjusting the grinder so that my extraction for a 10oz cup of coffee is not going beyond 30 seconds. Then going back to a finer grind for a short one. Well, that's a thing of the past with the new SBS system from Saeco. I'm surprised no-one has ever thought of this sooner. In one instance, I removed the little orifice behind the piston screen to get a faster extraction.

It's simple, just turn the dial on the coffee spout to the left for a faster extraction and to the right for a slower extraction.

Coffee Spout

Another new development is the coffee spout. You can slide the double spout backwards and place a tall cup underneath the spout, which has become a single spout. The maximum cup height is now 5.5" from 3.5" with the double spout. So you gain 2", that's great news for us pressure brewed coffee lovers.

Grinder

Too bad Saeco didn't incorporate the grinder noise reduction technology they used on the last new model, the V'Spresso. The grinder sounds just like the predecessors Magic and Vienna. O well, guess we're used to that...

Steam Wand

The new ball joint allows you to move the steam wand in all directions, not just up and down like the Magic or sideways on like on the V'Spresso. This makes the operation more barista like. I did read many reviews complaining about the large steam orifice making it more difficult to control foam quality. I find it sufficient and comparable to the old Pannarello.

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