Never had a espresso machine so when the offer came in to try one out I jumped on it. It the directions are pretty straight forward and easy to follow. The machine does take some trial and error for getting the coffee just right and for frothing milk and such. The reservoir for water on the back of the machine could be bigger, seems to not last that long. A downside for a heavy coffee drinker is having to grind, fill, tamper, brew, empty, clean, then repeat the process each time you want to make another coffee. Happy with the unit but it will not be keeping a permanent place on my counter.