Others say...

"Sirena makes very good espresso but too many little inconveniences"
I was very excited to be able to buy the Sirena for $299.99 on Amazon. What a great deal! I knew from reading the reviews here to immediately make the hole larger in the rubber disk if I wanted to use the portafilter in its pressurized configuration. Since I don't have a good tamper I decided to try it with the rubber inserts. It worked perfectly, no leakage or problems, so I must have successfully opened up the hole enough. Thanks to all of the reviewers who mentioned this!

From my very first shot the espresso was delicious. I am using the new organic Sumatra from Starbucks. I was worried about the grind being fine enough since I'm am using a cheapie grinder, not a burr, but had no problems and I am amazed at the consistency of the wonderful taste of the espresso. I like my coffee strong so I fill the portafilter more than the recommended 3/4 full.

Now for the little problems/inconveniences. I did not see this first item mentioned in any of the reviews I read. The stainless steel filter insert fits so tightly into the portafilter that the only way I can get it out is to pry it out with a thin screwdriver. Even my strong son could not get it out with his fingers. This becomes a real inconvenience for cleaning purposes if you frequently make espresso.

Also, the portafilter unit itself is extremely hard to twist into place. One reviewer mentioned that this machine was heavy enough that when guiding the portafilter into place you did not have to hold onto the machine. Well, that is not the case with mine; I have to practically "hug" the machine to hold it in place while I insert and move the portafilter into place. I thought it would loosen up after a few days but it has not.

Two other smaller issues. The top cup warmer simply does not warm anything. Even after the machine has been on for a couple of hours you can still place your hand on it. To truly warm up cups it would have to be way too hot to touch. Not a big deal but they shouldn't advertise a cup warmer feature that doesn't work. The other small annoyance is the water level warning light. It goes on when the tank is still 1/3 full and the machine will not function until you put more water in. Again, a small thing but basically you don't get the benefit of the amount of ounces of water the tank holds. There is enough water left in the tank when the warning light comes on to have been able to make several espresso shots.

From reading reviews here I knew to put a separate cup under the steam wand when first opening up the knob because hot water comes out. I find it very annoying to have to do that and I know that other espresso machines do not have this problem...I wonder why this one does. I also have problems regulating the steaming pressure, it is either too much or not enough as I move the knob, can't seem to get it right. I have edited my original review a bit....at first I attributed my steaming problems to my inexperience but now that I've been doing this awhile and also now have a second machine, the DeLonghi Bar32 (needed two) I realize that it wasn't just me; the DeLonghi steams/froths milk beautifully, no hot water comes out, and the pressure is perfect.

The bottom line is that you buy an espresso machine for the purpose of creating quality, good tasting espresso which the Sirena certainly accomplishes, but for frequent usage I think the small problems will become more of an issue down the road. For the price it is a great machine.

Laura

"I dont know what Im talkin about"
I wouldnt exactly call myself an espresso aficionado, but I do love my coffee. Ive had the sirena for a week now (and only have it because amazon dropped it to a sensible price, if only for a couple of days). 299.99 is by far the cheapest this thing has been. Anyway, my wife and I have been having a blast with this thing. She loves all the fuzzy starbucks drinks (decaf soy vanilla nut macahino 2 pump somethin or other) and seems to think I make them right on. Almost as soon as I had it set up, she had 10 bottles of syrups on the counter. So thats savin me 20 bucks a week right there.
To keep the review short, ill say that It looks great, its a perfect size, it functions completely as advertised, the steam wand is awesome for steaming or just getting a hot water for an americana. The only issue that Ive noticed is that it seems to be pretty inconsistent with the amount of water it dispenses for both single and double shots. Sometimes I get 2 oz's sometimes 1 3/4...sometimes even as little as 1 oz for a double shot. thats pretty annoying. However, Im guessing that their intention is that you learn to use a consistent amount of coffee and then program the buttons to get the perfect amount every time. Ill work on that when i get my burr grinder.

Update: FYI 2 times now, ive put coffee in the porta filter, pressed the double shot button and walked away only to have the porta filter flung from the machine spackling my kitchen with grounds and breaking my mug. Now, Im sure its not really a flaw with the machine, I think im just not getting the filter locked in properly. However, this may require a better locking mechanism in V2. Definitely something for users to watch out for.

"my wife likes it"
looks great, works great. i was concerned with the tamper, but it works decent if you don't like to load up your filter. has all the bells and whistles you'd expect from an above average machine. buttons are a little flimsy, but don't appear to be so bad that they'll stop working. for the price (300), it's hard to beat.

"Beached Mermaid"
Beautiful machine. First one did not function out of the box. Replacement lasted about 10 days when portafilter began spewing water when brewing. Cleaned all joining surfaces no help. Never did get the programing buttons to work. Finally, gave up and returned for refund. Purchasing the Gaggia classic. Things I really liked about it: excellent steam wand; nice piece of sculpture. Things I didn't like: everything else.

"ok"
For the limited time I had the machine I had a lot of problems with it. I did not have consistent quality from each espresso and it would easily burn the milk and hardly ever froth the milk like it should. I watched the video how to make all the drinks using this machine and I read the directions several times but it just would not work. The espresso stopped dispensing couple weeks after purchase and the machine shot down.

I purchased the machine on 3.21.08 and I started having problems with it the end of April. The full warranty (90 days) would cover it but you have to pay for shipping and since I just bought it I decided to return the machine. I don't want to put up with the shipping costs every time it breaks. I just did not trust the machine and I don't like the warranty policy after reading it.

Starbucks was great and took back the machine.