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Thermoblock machines never make really good espresso because the water is not a constant temperature. Initially the water is scalded by the hot aluminum block, but by the time you're finished drawing the shot the water is too cool because the block has lost too much heat. But thermoblock is what you get unless you spend >$150.

Uses coffee cartridges that you must buy instead of beans = overpriced coffee.

junk

We have something very similar that we've used for 10 years, and it works great. It uses ground coffee, though maybe they now sell pre-measured pods to make things even simpler. You tamp the coffee into the stainless microfilter. Never had any issues with temperature, either.

I never got the hang of making good foam with the steam injector, and in any event the steam injector was a pain to clean. Instead, we bought one of those high-speed spinner things (like a battery-operated Dremel tool with a wire coil on the end) that makes amazing foam in milk in 5 seconds.

Where does it say it uses cartridges?

" Filter Holder with 3 interchangeable pre-measured inserts that hold a single, double or E pods"