| FrancisFrancis! X5 |  | Brand: Illy Caffe North America, Inc.
Category: Kitchen
Buy New: $649.99
Rating:  10 reviews
UPC: 791238005058
EAN: 0791238005058
ASIN: B0000C7GE1
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Tips for getting the most out of this machine April 2, 2008
S. Jacobsen (ny)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was initially reluctant to get this model (through Illy's offer), and thought I had just been seduced by it's cool looks. I've had it for 4 years now, and I'm only now finally happy with it because I've finally learned that the mixed quality shots was my own fault, not the machine's.
It's a steep learning curve to make a good espresso, and I'm probably the worst espresso snob you can imagine. I wouldn't dream of drinking the stuff from the big well known chain. But once you've learned the tricks, this machine does a good job. I strongly recommend that you read up on wholelattelove's website and elsewhere for tips.
Here are some of mine:
-use bottled water!
-get your own burr grinder! It makes a world of a difference. I got the Baratza Maestro Plus. My shots were hit or miss for the longest time, but since I got my own grinder they are consitantly great. And grind just before each shot. I put it at the finest setting.
-experiment with the beans. I've finally settled on Barrington Gold Reserve from barringtoncoffee, which makes a really thick crema and tastes almost like chocolate. I found the espresso grind from illy not fine enough for this machine, and coffee goes stale so quickly, that I wouldn't recommend the automatic delivery from them, except for the pods that are OK if you are in a hurry or making for many people at a time. My favorite coffee shop is Joe's Art of Coffee in NYC, and I bought the beans from them the first time, now I order directly from Barrington.
A couple of tips related to this particular machine:
-take the filter basket out of the portafilter and rinse it every day.
-run an empty shot of just hot water through the machine to warm up both the filter and the cup.
-learn how to tamper correctly, with 30 pounds pressure, and give the tamper a little twist to smoothen the surface. Remove the tamper handle from the disk (I like this disk, how it helps prevent sneeze and also makes it easier to see if you have the right amount of grinds in the filter)
-Turn the handle as tight as possible. The tricky thing is to get just the right amount of grinds in. If too little, the water flows through too quickly and the espresso gets watery. If too much, you have a hard time attaching the handle without extreme force. Also, if you put too much in and your grind is fine, it might leak out of the top of the filter.
-When the lights show the temperature is ready, I give it another 10-15 sec boost by pressing the steam button. Not more, or it will burn the coffee and possibly damage the machine.
-I'm saving the best for last:
Once you press the start button, wait exactly 3 seconds and then turn the handle even further to the right. I assure you, if you follow these tips and use the above combination of equipment and supplies, you'll never want to drink espresso again from anywhere else than your home, or perhaps in Sicily, and Joe's Art of Coffee shop in NYC.
(oh, one little gripe I have about this model is that the water reservoir warps if put in the dishwasher, but I still wash it every time or every other time it's empty, because slime builds up if standing too long. Now the reservoir has found it's final warped shape and is still useable)
Good Buy November 4, 2007
Coffee Fan (Berkeley, CA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The other positive reviews pretty much capture my feelings about this machine.
It is easy to use (in spite of the confusing set of manuals). It produces very good coffee (I buy peets and skip the pods). And it looks spiffy in the kitchen.
I only have three minor things to add:
I have the red machine (which is very nice); from the photographs that accompany the product, the orange also looks very handsome, much nicer than the color as it appears on the Amazon page.
The pods were stale by the time they arrived (one tin comes with the machine). So clearly the machine was pining away in Amazon's warehouse waiting for a good home.
The Illy offer for a reduced price machine with a commitment for a year's purchase of coffee didn't appeal to me. When I calculated how much I would spend for peet's for a year plus the price of the machine on Amazon, I realized I'd pay less for better, fresher coffee. And at the time I made the calculation, I didn't realize how little coffee a pod actually produces: you need two of them to make a decent sized latte.
 This machine will break and you will not be able to get it fixed! April 27, 2007
M. Malloy (Brooklyn, NY)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I bought this machine not even two years ago through the Illy a Casa program for my husband's 40th birthday. For about a year and a half, it worked well (and looked great too, except for the clock, which popped off and broke almost immediately). My husband loved it and I congratulated myself on getting him such a great gift. But one day the boiler overheated and that was it for the machine. When I tried to contact Francis Francis, I was only able to reach Illy. The machine was out of warranty, so it cost $10 for them to ship a box to me to have it FedEx'd to the service center. Before sending it in, I tried to find out how much I would be charged for the repair, but Illy could not provide an estimate; they did say it could be as much as $150. Not only that, they couldn't give me a number for Francis Francis customer service at all. So after just two years I am stuck with a very expensive and very broken machine. : (
 It Works as Well as it Looks March 15, 2007
Shane O. Laake (Columbus, OH)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I recently acquired this wonderful machine through an offer by Illy, which may or may not be the best way to acquire the machine, as I'm on the hook for a boatload of coffee, but I'm liking the espresso from this machine so much that that may not be an issue. The pods can make this a great machine for a quick cup of espresso, but I prefer to use finely ground espresso roast for a more traditional (and inexpensive) cup of espresso (typically to make cappuccino or lattes).
Pros
* pro-style 56mm (not the full 58mm of other machines) chrome plated solid brass portafilter.
* Separate pod (ESE) adapter with three different screens for different styles of espresso from pods.
* Solid construction and very heavy (relative to its small size)
* Fast heat up (1-2 minutes) and a very large capacity for making steam (which is very hot and dry).
* After brewing grounds form a solid puck, though with water on top of them, as this machine lacks a 3-way solenoid of pricier machines.
* The clock is functional as it has a second hand.
Cons
* Odd assortment of manuals with really no continuity.
* Cup warming is relatively useless (it doesn't get that hot and it takes a while to warm up). Run water (without grounds or a pod) through the machine to heat up the machine and the cups.
* Often the cups will fill at different rates (despite my best attempts at a firm even tamp, but this is a relatively minor issue.
Comments
* This machine uses an odd tamper which separates with the handle coming off and the tamper head remaining on top of the grounds (remaining in the portafilter while brewing). Beyond being unconventional, it makes it hard to get 14g of grounds in with the tamper head on top. Brewing without it seems to work fine. Research seems to indicate that they sold the machine without this for a while then "enhanced" it with this feature to limit the water build up on top of the grounds after brewing.
* It may leak around the brew head while brewing but it is minor and infrequent.
* Not too noisy (it does have a boiler and a pump, so it's also not too quiet either).
 Good espresso, not so good machine June 12, 2006
Emily M. (Ohio)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
This machine makes a good cup of espresso, particularly from the Illy ground coffee (not the pods, in my opinion). But I have had inconsistent performance from the machine itself. It is temperamental, and after about five months of average use, it began to take 40 seconds to make a cup of espresso instead of 20-25, as it did in the beginning. The non ESE handle also got a little warped (no clue why; I did not drop it). And, and this is perhaps a big one, that cheap crappy clock on the front that looks so cool fell out. Kept falling out. There is nothing that secures that clock in there, and it is horribly made. I really wish they had left that thing out.
So it was under warranty and I sent it back to Francis Francis. 3 weeks later, I got it back and it doesn't appear that they changed ANYTHING about my machine. The work order claims they fixed gaskets, but I don't see a difference. They didn't even unpack the handles that they requested I send (they were still taped as I had taped them), and even though I wrote (and phoned in) a detailed description of the things I needed fixed (the clock; the warped handle; and whatever was causing the machine to take so long), they did not replace the handle OR the clock.
I called FF and they initially claimed that they DID fix these things. I insisted they did not. Then they told me that the clock and handle were "on backorder." I have been waiting over a month for them to go off of backorder, but I do not quite understand how such a widely-produced machine could have basic parts on backorder. I have been trying to reach them by phone for the last three days, and their message consistently says "due to unusual high call volume, we cannot answer your call. Please leave a message and we will get back to you." No one gets back to me.
Horrible customer service. Some very major problems with the machine itself. Nice design, decent coffee, good frothing. I probably would choose a different brand if I were to purchase again.
Update: FF did, eventually, send me my new handle and clock. The clock they sent was ALSO broken (sigh), so I just gave up on that issue. I taped the old one in there, so there wasn't a huge hole in the front of the machine. Performance, 2 years after purchase, is about the same as it was a couple months after: inconsistent, but I can still get a great cup of espresso. I just wish it were consistent.
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