I had been putting off purchasing this machine due to some reviews stating that the coffee was not hot enough. It turns out that most of those reviews were for the original models. The new Vertuoline machines seem to brew a slightly hotter cup than the original. Granted it is not so hot as to scald you but who drinks coffee that hot? When I received the machine I was first very impressed with how it was packaged. After unpacking it I was delighted to see that it came with a box of 12 capsules, 9 coffee and 3 espresso. All of various flavors and intensities, it also explained what made up each flavor and used a 1 to 11 number system to tell you how strong the blend was, 1 being the weakest and 11 the strongest. The bundle also came with a fabulous milk frothier. The initial setup is very easy to follow, it tells you how to do a first time use cleaning and how to brew your first cup of coffee.