Crew Review: Saeco Royal Professional One-Touch
In a world filled with reboot mania, can we really handle yet another? If that reboot is centered on the Royal Professional, then we can answer, quite heartily, YES!
Saeco has taken their popular superautomatic, dressed it up a little bit and implemented one-touch cappuccino functionality.
Watch Gail break it down for us — features, functionality and whipping up a one-touch cappuccino.
Compare: Saeco Superautomatic Espresso Machines
There’s a whole slew of them available these days, so how would you choose the one that’s right for you? Gail takes on Saeco’s currently available (as of July 2012) suite of superautomatic espresso machines to help you decide.
Watch her discuss features and functionality, compare how they function and discuss why you might select one model over another.
How do the Pucks Compare?
If you’ve ever wondered about the finer points of the coffee pucks created by superautomatic espresso machines, we’re here to put that mystery to rest. Finally!
We setup three different machines — the Saeco Syntia, the Jura Ena 4 and the DeLonghi Magnifica S — to grind at their finest and dose their maximum quantity, then we compared them side by side. Check out how they differ in grind, consistency and dose.
The Great Saeco Semi-Automatic Battle: Aroma vs. Venezia vs. Poemia
In search of a small single boiler espresso machine? Check out how these three models from Saeco stack up.
| Machine |
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| Casing | Cased in a steel casing, this compact machine won’t take up too much space with it’s boxy figure. | Internally you can call this bad boy and the Aroma twins, but externally it’s a little more of an upgrade. Cased in the same steel material, the Venezia’s curves do more of the talking. |
Like triplets on the inside, it’s the Poemia that physically stands out from the rest of them by far. Modeled after the Saeco Xelsis and Exprelia, it has a compact metal and plastic casing. |
| Footprint | 8.25″ W x 9.75″ D x 11.75″ H | 9.63″ W x 11.5″ D x 13″ H |
7″ W x 9.5″ D x 11.5″ H |
| Steam Wand | Making life a little easier with the panarello wand, you’ll be able to get foamy milk in no time. However, this wand will only move left to right making it a little more difficult to fit bigger frothing pitchers underneath. | With the ease to foam your milk into velvety goodness, this panarello wand gives you a little more clearance with your frothing pitcher. Its ability to swivel also makes for easier clean-up. |
Taking a cue from its superautomatic cousins, the Poemia’s panarello wand has their design and will allow you to easily create milk with microfoam. However, like the Aroma, its right to left motion makes fitting larger frothing pitchers underneath more difficult. |
| Drip Tray | This may be a little messier than most. But with a more compact machine comes smaller parts. You’ll find yourself having to lift the tray out of the casing to empty out a lot more often than not. |
With more room and accessibility to slide the drip tray out when it’s time to empty, the Venezia gives you less of a mess. It also sports an accessory drawer underneath that is removable to provide more room for larger cups. |
Ridged (baffled) that will prevent messes and sloshing, you’ll find it easier to empty out your drip tray when it’s time, no matter how full it is. |
| Water Reservoir | 80 oz. |
98 oz. | 34 oz. |
| Portafilter | Equipped with a pressurized stainless steel with plastic cased portafilter, it will help you pull ideal shots no matter what grind you use. However, the quality of this portafilter is more basic than the sleek portafilter that comes with the Black Via Venezia. | The Black Via Venezia comes with a sleek upgraded look to the heavy metal portafilter, however you’ll find the stainless steel version to have the same basic portafilter as the Aromas. |
Functions as well as both the Aroma and Venezia portafilters, you’ll find that the quality of the Poemia is not as sturdy. Made of aluminum wrapped in a plastic case, it will still do the job. |
| Pods/Grounds | Both | Both | Both |
Crew Review: Saeco Thermal Carafe for Exprelia & Xelsis
Better safe than sorry, no? Especially when it comes to your dairy products!
To assist you with keeping your milk fresh and cool, Saeco has released a thermal version of their one-touch carafe fro the Exprelia and Xelsis superautomatic espresso machines.
Watch Gail show off how it works!
Brewin’ with Brandi: Iced Coffee and Iced Americano
Since summer is (officially!) here, we asked Brandi to brew up a couple of classic warm weather drinks.
Watch as she makes us an iced coffee (using coffee cold brewed in a Sowden) and iced Americano (using the Saeco Poemia).
Crew Review: Saeco Poemia
It’s the little espresso machine that could! Saeco’s newest small single boiler espresso machine takes design queues from their Xelsis-era of machines and functional queues from the tried-and-true Via Venezia and Aroma.
Watch Gail take us through features, show us how it works and then talk to us about how it compares to its predecessors.
Crew Review: E.S.E Pod Adapter Extravaganza
As a follow-up to our introduction to Easy Serving Espresso (E.S.E.) pods earlier this week, we asked Gail to take us through the pod adapters for a few of the machines that we carry and then we did a taste test comparing them against a machine that comes pod-friendly. This series of videos shows how the adapters are installed and how well they perform, shot-quality-wise.
First up, the Nuova Simonelli Musica pod adapter installation and taste test:
Next, the La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi pod adapter installation and taste test:
Now we install the adapter on the Rancilio Silvia and taste some shots:
Finally, we asked Brandi and Teri to join Gail as she performs a taste test, comparing the three adapted machines with the Saeco Via Venezia, which is a pod-friendly machine without the requirement of an adapter:
Crew Review: Saeco Maintenance Kit
Keep your Saeco superautomatic squeaky clean and well cared for with Saeco’s new upgraded maintenance kit. It now includes Intenza filters, Saeco-branded liquid descaling solution, brew group lubricant and a cleaning kit that includes O-ring replacements for your brew group.
Watch as Gail walks us through all of the lovely goodies included in this kit. Joy!
Crew Review: Saeco Odea Cappuccino
Superautomatics can’t be beat when it comes to ease of use and convenience. Saeco’s recent addition to their Odea series not only brews up your shot at the touch of a button, it also provides you with an optional cappuccinatore for auto-frothing on the side.
Watch Gail take us through the features and functionality, then demonstrate how this lil dude works.