CM5418 Espresso Machine, Espresso Coffee Maker with Steam Wand

I am not one to write reviews very often, and I am not a coffee snob obsessing over everything to do with the perfect espresso shot. I do have lots to say about this machine though.My previous Mr Coffee Cafe Barista machine died after many years and I wanted something that would allow me to steam my own milk instead of it being done for me. I also didn’t want to spend more than $150 either as my circumstances are not great right now… Anyway, after reading many reviews on similar machines, I settled on this beaut. I am more than happy with my purchase!The machine is small and takes up half the space my old machine did, which earns high spousal approval. The all stainless steel body looks good and durable and wipes down easily. It looks good on the countertop. It heats up fast for a thermoblock design, and while the water capacity in the tank isn’t the greatest, a full tank is enough to pull two espresso shots, steam two jugs of milk, plus allows for preheating the group head and portafilter and flushing everything afterwards.The machine pulls a pretty decent shot with pre-ground espresso and leaves a hard puck after extraction, something I always had issues with on my old machine which would always leave a soupy mess. I do weigh my dose (13 grams), use a WDT needle tool, distributor, tamper and puck screen. While I do not have control over everything, you can set the volume of water dispensed for each of the buttons on the panel. The single shot button is set at 30 milliliters. I can’t get a full 15 grams into the portafilter for a true 1:2 ratio but it’s close enough.The milk frother is fast and steams the milk in about a minute and actually produces some good results. The wand seems durable and the rubber grip is well placed so you don’t scald your fingers. This does a great job for frothy cappuccinos or silky lattes. The pump is not loud either which is good for a machine at this price point.Please follow the instructions to prep the machine when you first set it up. Run a few shots through the machine before you start using it to remove any trace particles in the water lines and pump. And plastic smell from the water tank will be removed by doing this.For a basic espresso machine, this is a good buy. It seems to be well made, and it suits my present financial circumstances. Sure, I wouldn’t mind a more mainstream brand and probably a better quality machine, but for the money, don’t hesitate in buying this machine. I got mine for $129 in early 2025 and I’ve seen this at $99 before over the holidays. It’s a simply delightful espresso machine that I’m glad to have.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into the espresso game, so I wanted an economically priced machine to start. I’ve had this machine for about a month now, and have zero complaints. It’s simple to use and pulls a great shot of espresso. It’s compact and doesn’t take up a ton of counter space. The frother isn’t amazing, but it gets the job done.

I love my espresso machine! I was a barista for a few years out of HS and always enjoyed making drinks. I don't have a lot of counter space to house a large machine, nor do I need something crazy fancy. I just wanted a machine that is reliable, consistent, sturdy and makes a great shot. This checked all my boxes based on reviews when I originally purchased it. I've had it for almost a year now and have had zero issues. It runs great (is a bit noisy but that's expected.) I did purchase a cone burr grinder separately that has an attachment for a direct grind into the portafilter, which has been a great addition to the machine.The only thing I wish this machine had was a rinse button to quickly clean between shot pulls. Instead I empty the portafilter, rinse in my sink, attach it and run a 1 cup shot then rinse again and wipe dry.Otherwise, this a great machine. I'd recommend it and is great for people who have no experience as a barista. Very user friendly and non complex like other machine can be.

This brews a great espresso with perfect crema! The machine is beautiful and just the right size for the counter top. I initially had trouble with this machine not producing a double shot- it would start and only brew a few drops, so I had to use the single shot twice to produce a double shot-not ideal. I was finally able to get some tech support today and reset the water amounts for the double shot. It works great now. I initially gave this item 1 star because I did not hear back from the seller after contacting them twice and none of the videos I found on the casabrews site fixed my problem. I would give this item a 5 star if it were not for the lack of communication/help from the seller.

I should have written this review a long time ago as I bought this machine over two and a half years ago. It gets to operating temperature very quickly and makes very good espresso with nice crema. The frother is also ready to steam very quickly. The compact size is a plus. It's an excellent machine at an extraordinary value. A speaking of extraordinary, what prompted this overdue review are recent interactions I had with Casasbrews customer service over some technical questions I had. Despite being well past warranty period, they were extremely responsive and helpful. For a basic espresso maker this one is hard to beat - highly recommended.

Updated 2/25/25 - after being contacted in January by Casabrews and keeping the machine rather than returning it… it now leaks water all over the counter out of the bottom of the water container when I’m adding water and when I’m making espresso. I’ve taken it apart and put it back together - didn’t help. Video attached.Turns out the Bambino is worth the price. I do not recommend this machine - it is NOT made to last.Alright… longest story short - I’m directly comparing this machine to what seems to be the highly coveted Breville Bambino Plus that costs 3.6% more than this machine. For the overall response without reading any further - get this one over the more expensive option! For the longer version keep reading.I need a new machine to replace my very old espresso machine that isn’t working properly anymore. I didn’t want to go too crazy with spending if I didn’t have to.So many people seem to LOVE the Bambino Plus. I bought one three days ago. I returned it two days ago. It made espresso, but not well, and the auto milk frothing, two out of three times, did not stop and boiled fairly hot milk over the pitcher and everywhere. Not a good feature. Not worth the extra $200 they add for that feature over the regular Bambino. The regular Bambino is still slightly more than 2x the price of this machine.This morning out of frustration I opened Amazon and looked for the highest rated/reviewed machine that I could get TODAY before 3pm. Helped narrow it down out of thousands of machines quickly.So here we are. Why 3 stars? Here are the pros and cons for me (and mind you I’ve made ONE drink - the video that is attached).Pros:It’s cute / kinda retro looking with the guage. Which due to filming and watching the coffee flow I realize I didn’t even look at it so I don’t know if it is helpful or not yet.It’s very compact and is smaller than most drip coffee machines. It should cause zero space issues for anyone.It seems fairly sturdy despite the price. It didn’t rattle my cup around etc. Yes I had to hold onto it for the portafilter - but not in an agressive way. The Bambino felt like I had to hold onto it more so.The box and the directions it comes with - they really do cover a lot of information for people who are new to espresso making - which I think is a nice added touch.Cons:The steam wand, turned all the way up, does a terrible job at frothing. If you want hot milk that doesn’t get any real texture - that was my experience. Again - first use - but I steam milk everyday and this steam wand was a let down.The portafilter, the baskets, the "tamper"…. All three need to be replaced immediately. The portafilter is very lightweight and the baskets have to be turned and placed inside with little slots. They feel very low quality overall. The tamper is the flat side of a plastic spoon. I didn’t open the bag with the spoon or the single basket - I didn’t bother trying to use it. I used one I already have.No milk pitcher included.Casabrews does sell upgraded portafilters and baskets and a tamper. I don’t know if I am going to keep this machine (I make milk drinks all day and that steam wand is rough for me) - but if I do - I will spend the extra for the better accessories (bottomless portafilter - non pressurized basket etc).For a budget machine though - overall I’d say this machines reviews are pretty accurate.I did follow all the instructions - and I’m going to go make another coffee now.Update: 1/7/25 - I will still leave my rating at 3 stars because of everything I said a couple of days ago. After a couple of days with this machine and many espresso drinks made - I wanted to add a couple things.First - it really does not froth milk. I’ve tried three different kinds and it just gets it really hot with zero texture and zero froth. Massive letdown for me since I like milk drinks. I also meant to mention in the first review, the steam wand is not the insulated kind - so it gets VERY hot. Just something to be careful with if you aren’t aware that not all steam wands are made the same.I tested the machine with coffee ground for espresso machines and it did not like it. With the pressurized basket it comes with, the machine does better with a more coarse grind (similar to a drip coffee/sea salt texture grind). That would be a plus if you want to use pre ground coffee from the grocery store.The instructions for the machine also say that you cannot use the steam wand and then make another espresso shot right after. If you try to do that the machine goes into heat protection mode. It locks the machine and there is a sequence you run that ends up using a lot of water in your reservoir to cool the machine back down. If you wanted to make a milk drink for someone and make another drink right after for someone else, you can’t. Or you can’t without either waiting an unknown amount of cool down time OR running the routine to cool the machine first.HOPEFULLY this review helps in someone’s decision making.If you ONLY drink espresso shots - this machine is probably tidally worth it! If you like milk drinks…. Maybe try it out and see if you have better luck than me. Today I had to use my old espresso machine’s steam wand to go with my espresso shot from this new machine.

This a fantastic little machine that delivers exceptional coffee in under two minutes. Heats up quickly. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Delicious crema. And it looks beautiful on my countertop :)

I thought the barrier to entry into espresso would cost more. I assumed the machines under $500 would be absolute junk. I still have a $600 unit in my save for later that I was going to "graduate" to if it turned out I'm into espresso as much as I thought I'd be.Decided to get my feet wet with this unit fully expecting to eventually buy the $600 one I had my eyes on.Turns out, I could not possibly fathom what I'd need to replace this thing for? It does exactly as it should. Maybe the pressure isn't perfect or the temps are not 100% stable like a professional grade machine, but this makes a damn good cup of double shot espresso. The steamer wand works well. I will use this thing until it doesn't espresso no more.One thing I had to get used to is the order of operation: 1. Get the steamer going by spraying water/steam mix into your cup, when it's fully steam, use your chilled milk pitcher to get your steamed milk, 2. Clean off the steam wand, turn off the steam button, then open up the steamer again until it spits out nothing but hot water (no steam) because this cools down the machine's internals, if you try to brew a cup of espresso before this step, it will not work, it must cool down and the only way to do that is to send water through the steamer, 3. Brew a single cup with no grinds, just pass water through to pre-heat everything, 4. Load the grinds and make your actual espresso.If you're on the fence, don't hesitate, this thing is amazing for the price.

J'ai longtemps hésité à commander cette machine à espresso, cherchant à avoir un bon café de qualité sans trop y mettre d'argent.J'ai finalement passée ma commande et reçu la machine le lendemain. Je pensais sérieusement que j'allais devoir faire des essais-erreurs avant de réussir à avoir un bon espresso. J'ai préchauffé la machine comme recommandé par la marque, en faisant couler un 2 tasses, sans y mettre d'espresso, avant de faire une vraie tasse.Hé bien, mon tout premier espresso était vraiment excellent. J'ai choisi un sac de café Lavazza "crema e gusto" moulu finement que j'ai trouvé au supermarché, j'ai mis 11-13g dans mon portafilter, et dès ma première gorgée j'ai été grandement surprise. Aucun arrière-goût, aucune amertume. Un café très doux, mais fort en même temps.Points importants à noter:- Le mousseur à lait prend parfois un peu de temps à être bien chaud et je n'ai pas réussi à faire mousser mon lait au complet, mais ce n'était pas ma priorité.- Le mousseur est aussi très bruyant, au point de faire siler mes oreilles.- J'utilise l'eau chaude du mousseur à lait (sans mettre l'option steam) pour allonger mon espresso, mais parfois l'eau n'est pas aussi chaude que j'aimerais qu'elle le soit.Je suis très contente de mon achat, et après une semaine à me faire des café régulièrement je n'ai aucun problème majeur avec la machine. Je recommanderais clairement cette machine pour ceux qui souhaitent se faire des espressos, ou allongés de qualité, sans trop dépenser (surtout considérant que certaines machines à pods sont encore plus chères que celle-ci).Évidemment il est possible de "modder" la machine en changeant le portafilter, mais honnêtement, étant quelqu'un qui prend de 2-5 cafés par jour, je ne vois pas l'intérêt pour le moment puisque le café est très bon!Je recommande!!

Estoy muy satisfecho con este producto. La calidad y como se ve es muy buena!

Great coffee machine. It’s slim and take a little space on my countertop. This already second one, first had an issue with programming after two years of hard working in our family (three adult coffee addicted person - it’s definitely hard life for appliances).The taste of coffee rich and froster for milk works perfectly. I do recommend this brand and their products.Other word what to say about customer service - friendly and fast answering all of the time with wise suggestions.

Muy buena con accesorios mas adecuados hace maravillas

I have a bit of a love dislike relationship with this machine. I have been using it for just over a week now for my daily lattes so I am still getting a feel for it. We purchased this one after my old Breville began to seem like it was about to go. We have had the same machine for about 10-11 years and it just started going after we were travelling back and forth with it to our cottage. They don’t make the model we have anymore so after some research my husband thought it was worth trying the casabrews.I am a hard core espresso connoisseur by any means. I don’t weigh my beans or shot, etc. but I do have a bit of a picky taste and don’t like just any espresso.Here is what I like about the unitIt looks nice and sleek. Because it is such a sleek model it doesn’t take up a lot of space on the counter and is easy to move.The pressure gauge on the front is something I haven’t had before and I like seeing that my grind is in the right range.It makes a good crema on top of the espressoThe machine automatically stops when the 1 or 2 cups of espresso have brewed. This took a little getting used to as I haven’t had that before. So sometimes it feels a little too much water is in. But you can always just stop the pour if you prefer it a little stronger.I have only frothed milk once as it is summer and I prefer iced. But it worked well and it quickly heated the milk. Much faster than my old machine. Seemed to make a good foam.Here is what I don’t love.Because the machine is so lightweight you have to hold the machine while trying to lock in the espresso holder. It’s not a big deal but I often have a baby of child in my arms while making coffee so it’s a bit of a pain. Not a dealbreaker just worth noting.After you use the frothing arm you have to run hot water for about 8 seconds so the machine doesn’t overheat. All of this is detailed in instructions. If you don’t the lights on the 1 and 2 cup buttons just flash on and off and you can’t brew. It will also just flash like that and not brew if the overflow on the bottom of the machine is full and needs to be emptied. I had this happened and I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t get the machine to brew. It was so frustrating and I was ready to pack the machine up and send it back. My old Breville didn’t have any of that automation so it takes getting used to.Now that I am getting the feel of things I am pretty happy with it. The real test is how long it will last.