I purchased this machine (black version) as my entry into home espresso and honestly it was the aesthetics that won me over. I've paired this with a eureka mignon grinder and have been pulling some consistently good shots. The warm up time takes a little longer than the specs say if you want to make sure the grouphead is nice and heated. But overall the features are great and easy to play with. Temp, pre-infusion, shot timer are all great features and the dual thermoblock makes everything so so easy! Very pleased with this purchase and the customer service I received from brew origins.