Swan SK22110CN Retro Espresso Coffee Machine with Milk Frother, Steam Pressure Control, 1.2L Detachable Water Tank, 1100W, Retro Cream

I bought this to see whether I would use a coffee machine daily or even if enough to justify buying a more expensive model. On opening the box though I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, style and size, and how it eventually looked on the countertop.To be fair, I wasn’t expecting this machine to be as good as it is. Easy to use, good pressure to give you a perfect crema layer on your espresso and the milk steamer is also quite powerful - ideal for latte’s, short continental style and cappuccino’s.I’ve found the best coffee is a level scoop (scoop provided with machine) of a dark roast but I prefer strong coffee so it’s down to how you personally like yours.The coffee press is easy to use and clean after use, I do find that sometimes if I use a coarser grind that they form hard cakes which are quite difficult to remove but that’s just a minor issue.I’m so happy with this machine that I’ve decided that I don’t need to upgrade any time soon.Looks good, does the job exceptionally well and is great value for money.

I bought this as a cheap back up, as I have a Francis Francis that I've had for 10years, and couldn't bear not to have coffee, when I sent that to be serviced. I had read a lot of the reviews on here, so was expecting something pretty basic and plasticky, that might make an awful coffee. I was pleasantly surprised. It's very easy to use and makes a decent coffee. I think to get the best out of it you need to be able to make a decent cup of coffee in the first place, it took me a while to be able to do this with my other machine, but now I know what I'm doing it's much easier. I have a bean grinder so ground my beans to the same size I normally do, I have had a really good crema on every shot I've pulled on this machine. The milk has stretched nicely. One thing I would recommend, that I've done on any machine that I've used like this, is to take off the cover at the end of the steam wand, these do my head in, lots of these machines have these crappy plastic covers on the steam wand, and they just get dirty and annoying as they are super hard to clean. I found this to be the same on this machine, so took the silver end off the steam wand, and you could see straight away there was dried on milk under it, so I've left it off, and it's much better, because you can properly clean it after each use. It's made a decent flat white everytime. Minor points, the steam wand isn't very long, so if you're only doing a little milk, it's a bit of an arse to get it in there (don't get a big milk jug!) but for a £90 machine it's very good value, maybe go watch some YouTube videos on how to make a decent coffee if you want to get the best out of it.

The machine took a bit of time to adjust to. It will take time for you to find the way you like to do your coffee, and the quality of the coffee does depend on what grounds you decide to use.The machine is so quick to set up and use. It only takes a quick read of the instructions and you can be making a coffee in minutes.It warms up really fast so you don’t have to be waiting around for it to be ready to pull your shot.It doesn’t take up too much space and looks really dainty on my coffee cart.There is a single and a double shot, and once you’ve gotten used to using the machine, the double shot is always the right amount for a nice coffee. I find it wonderful for iced coffees.I’ve only used the steam wand a handful of times but I’ve not loved the results so far. It seems simple to use but froths quite a lot and the product sometimes tastes a little plasticky.The espresso aspect is amazing for the price. It’s easy to clean and reassemble.

The media could not be loaded. Great learning machine that you can get decent espresso from when you upgrade to single walled baskets. If you are using pre ground coffee rather than grinding your own use pressurised baskets and it's very forgiving if not dull in flavour. Ok if making milk drinks though. I don't like panerello steam wand though. If you like foamy cappuccino foam it's OK but remove it and use the naked wand with single hole that does the job of decent microfoam once you have mastered the technique. I read reviews about plastic taste..which I overcame with flushes ++++ using fresh water each day etc

The plus points are that this coffee machine looks nice, is easy to use and fits nicely on your counter top due to it's small size.That reason for the 1 star and my return of the coffee machine are quite simply due to the cleaning product they've used at the factory in the coffee machines pipework. You cannot get rid of the chemical/antiseptic taste. It ruins every coffee you make!I set it up as instructions stated and run it through. Coffee tasted like TCP. Did it a few more times and made a coffee. Same nasty taste. Tried with a different coffee brand I had. Same again. Cleaned it through with de-scaler hoping that'll help clear the chemical taste out. It did not.I ended up running water through it constantly for 15 minutes and FINALLY got a nice coffee made from it. Brilliant! Actually not. Made a coffee then next morning, chemical taste was back. So it got returned. Really disappointed. Would have been perfect if it was for the taste issue. Swan need to change whatever they're using in production. Reading comments and found a lot have had the same issue with the recent batches that Swan have made, so clearly they've changed something in their production and it's ruined the experience of the machine.