Grande Coffee/Espresso Machine (Black/Copper)

My wife bought me a Verismo machine from Starbucks 5 years ago and I really enjoyed the reliability, ease of use and flavor of the coffee it dispensed. When the compressor finally gave up I had to find a replacement that could utilize my favorite Starbucks pods. After much research I chose K-fee Grande Verismo and Amazon delivered a day early (Thank you). The new machine reflects an advanced technology enabling me to adjust the amount of water used to achieve the perfect brew. It is aesthetically pleasing and have a similar footprint to my old machine. It costs twice the price, but if it lasts a long, I will be very happy.

I read the reviews prior to purchasing and I cant help but wonder if they are reviewing some other coffee machine than the one listed here which i purchased. I thought I was purchasing a Starbucks Verismo machine but i discovered after it arrived that its a Verismo "knockoff". For the price i paid I am not at all happy with this machine. Its all plastic, lightweight, and overall feels cheap. Its very loud when brewing coffee, for that matter even when brewing "hot" water. The machine forces me to run a clean cycle every time I turn the machine on. The "empty" pod station light comes on even when there are no pods in the pod station. Its a simple fix but still, I should not be having these issues as this machine is brand new, i've only had it maybe two weeks. I owned a Verismo machine for years and i absolutely loved it which is why i decided to purchase another one (mine started acting up but its also 5 years old and very used). If i could do it over again i would not purchase this machine. I feel i was scammed. You can still buy an original Verismo machine and they are less than $200.00. This is a scam

For those of you with the Starbucks Verismo coffee machine, my observations are largely a comparison to help you in the decision making process. From my perspective, since I can still get Verismo pods as part of my monthly Amazon subscribe & save, the investment in this new machine was worth it so far. Pros - 1.) the increased water (& pod disposal) is huge selling feature. The water compartment is also lightweight & easy to lift/fill. Btw - don’t let the Grande’s size scare you off (the footprint it takes up in your countertop is no big deal). 2.) the fact that the “mug deck” is bigger on the Grande & can finally fit my Starbucks mug underneath of it (without wedging it like I had to do w/old machine) is also a step-in a positive direction. 3.) Getting this going in the morning (I.e. power on / cleanse step) is way faster. I don’t need to explain why this is important. 4.) Nice froth with the Verismo milk pods if you enjoy a cappuccino. Cons (or rather - the verdict is still out): 1.) after turning on & running the clean cycle, if I go to make a mug sized coffee, it always seems to come out as espresso sized for the 1st pour. It’s suspicious- not sure if I have a ‘bad’ batch of verismo pods but they’re pretty spendy to sort this out thru trial and error. 2.) it’s a little messy in terms of splatter (so is the Verismo though, so that’s life). 3.) the factory setting for coffee mug is 10.1 oz which is slightly more than Verismo (out of the box) But at least you can override that supposedly. I haven’t tried yet but directions are on page 12 of manual. 4.) Seemingly no more ‘double dipping’ - for you espresso purists, please don’t take offense but with the verismo system, if I wanted a double espresso, I simply pressed the espresso button 2x (same pod). The Grande system seems to be too smart to let you get away with being a cheapo with your pods - oh well. I intend to order some of the other manufacturer’s pods that work with this system to see how they taste/produce crema. I suspect that at some point, the remaining Starbucks Versimo pods inventory will be depleted and I’ll have to face that reality...but for now, kudos on the Grande machine and thanks for offering at a palatable price point. Cheers.

So far the Verismo has been great. nice to enjoy my morning cappuccino. I love the large water tank. I have an older model at our lake home, but the tank has to be refilled often. This new model has a large water tank.

It brew perfectly, large capacity and looks nice.

The espresso maker has started having a problem with making the espresso come out (the rinse button as well.) It makes the sound (sort of) but nothing comes out. It's like it will not push the liquid through. I have kept the machine very clean and taken good care of it so it has to be a bad machine. I would think for $250 it would last longer than a year.

It makes good coffee has a huge water tank and a large used pod holder. The BUTTONS are not illuminated like the web site says. It has a LCD display above the buttons so they decided to save a couple bucks and not lite them on this model. So in the mourning you have to turn on enough lights to see the buttons or feel your around like brail

Haven’t had any issues with it, been in use a couple months.