CASABREWS CM5418 Espresso Machine 20 Bar, Compact Espresso Maker with Steam Milk Frother, Stainless Steel Coffee Machine with 34oz Removable Water Tank for Cappuccino, Small Latte Machine, Silver

This is an excellent espresso maker for the home. I had a KRUPS for over 20 years which still works, but I thought I would upgrade. This machine, when compared to others, appeared to me to be the best for the price. I was not disappointed. It works perfectly and makes a delicious espresso. Construction is solid and it doesn't take up a lot of space on the counter. You need to read the directions carefully and follow them. The directions are clear and straight forward. Be advised that this machine when operating, like most espresso machines, is a little noisy, but nothing unbearable.

I LOVE this machine! I don’t leave reviews but I have to for this purchase. I bought mine during the July Amazon prime days so I’ve had it for abt 6 mos now. I’ve never had an issue with it. I use it multiple times a day and don’t know how I lived without it for so many yrs. It makes beautiful espresso shots and warms the milk to a frothy delicious drink. The only bad thing I can say abt this machine is it does get really loud when steaming the milk. So may not be the best choice for an office setting or somewhere where noise levels matter. It only takes a few mins to warm the milk tho so it’s not the biggest nuisance but should be noted. I highly recommend this product. It’s low maintenance, well made, relatively compact, esthetically pleasing and works beautifully. I also find it to be very affordable and worth every penny. It has saved us thousands of dollars from expensive daily lattes. 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

Compact, manual, functional, simple, it is easy to operate, easy to clean, and pulls good shots! It's not automatic in any way and it takes a few minutes to set up and a few more to clean the machine. It depends on your situation but I'll take a manual machine requiring more labor and a low price versus a more automatic machine that cost 3-6 times more money and has more things which can and often do break down. I gave it 5 Stars without hesitation as it meets my expectations and turn out a quality beverage!

I bought this machine around 3 months ago. I wanted to get into making espresso but didn't want to invest in a machine that cost me over $1,000. This machine came at a reasonable price and many coffee experts seemed to love it, so I made the purchase. The machine has a good build and it doesn't take up too much space on the kitchen counter. It's fairly straight-forward to use and makes really good espresso. The steam wand is a bit loud and takes a while to heat up, but for the price, it does its job remarkably well. I noticed the machine doesn't let you pull another shot right after you've steamed milk, so be aware of that when making more than one cup. The maker also has helpful videos on YouTube if you need to troubleshoot any problems. Overall, it's a fantastic machine for beginners as it's easy to use and makes great espresso.

I’m very impressed with the performance of the Casabrews CM5418. I’ve been using it almost everyday for nearly 2 months and I’m ready to share my thoughts: - I love espresso. The Casabrews CM5418 makes it very affordable to have delicious espresso drinks daily. It’s a great value for the sale price of under $120 that I paid on Amazon. - The machine is very stylish looking and its slim design doesn’t take up a lot of counter space. I have the silver one. - It’s a basic machine, lightweight stainless steel, but it’s not flimsy. I do need to hold it steady when inserting the portafilter, but that’s not a big deal. - As a beginner, I was intimidated about learning to operate the machine properly, but the clear instructions with photos make it truly easy and straightforward to get great results. - The Casabrews CM5418 makes hot delicious crema topped espresso! Each and every time! Not bad for my novice tastebuds. - The steam wand is also easy to froth hot milk for lattes. - There’s no built in grinder - but I already have a separate grinder and Amazon sells my favorite Italian espresso grind coffee. - I’m also experimenting with using the machine’s hot water and steam wand to make Matcha lattes and chocolate drinks. I highly recommend the Casabrews CM5418 for people who love quality espresso and have a limited budget.

I'm a trained barista who owns a cafe. We have a La Marzocco Linea and Mahlkonig grinders. This Casabrew unit is pretty amazing for the price. It makes great espresso, and the steamer, while not powerful like the one at the cafe, works fine (it just takes way longer to steam). I've used other 'at-home' units like Breville (also nice but 3x more $), and this machine performs right there with them. I even like it better in many ways. The look is simple and classic unlike a lot of the weird-shaped bodies and gizmos many home units tend to have (think - your parents robo-wine opener vs a simple, classic wine key). The pressure gauge isn't just for looks; it works great when pulling shots (nice to make sure you don't over-under tamp your grind, or over-fill the portafilter). Basically, all these little home machines are quirky and kinda wimpy tbh. They can't compete with the $10k+ machines. At least not on efficiency and power. You have to learn these quirks, and how each one works to get the most out of it. Otherwise your espresso will taste cold, bitter or watery, and your steamed milk won't have microfoam. Look, this thing is a pony, not a stallion, but it can still deliver. I use it daily, and takes me a few minutes end to end. If you get one, also invest in a small AND medium stainless steam pitcher. They come in handy for cortados vs cappuccinos vs lattes. Also get a scale. I use a Hario V60. When you weigh your coffee, it comes out better. I also use my electric pour over kettle to heat my cups so the espresso stays hotter. If you take too long, your espresso drink will be warm at best. Know what? Just nuke it until you get better/faster. No one will know but your pet rolling it's eyes at you. ;D Making espresso: - hit power on the machine to preheat it. - Grind your coffee for espresso ONLY. A good grinder isn't cheap, but they last and really deliver. I use a Mahkonig. - Put dry/clean portafilter on scale and zero it out. Add 10-12oz espresso to basket. Pick it up, tap side gently til grind are flat-ish, then use the chintzy plastic 'tamper' to GENTLY tamp the espresso (don't push too hard or your coffee will be bitter when it takes longer to pull through filter!) - Heat your cup with hot water (ideally), empty water once it's hot to touch, then hit double pull button on the machine (not single) Note: Most espresso bar drinks are double shots. Using the double pull button on this machine allows you the option to cut a pull short, or do a full pull. I cut it a bit short when pulling into classic short espresso glass. The shorter the pull, the better the quality of espresso and crema. Otherwise, I let it finish out for drinks with dairy. Cap/Latte: This is a bit different. Get your coffee and cup ready. - Follow the steps above. You should have a loaded portafilter in the unit, ready to pull coffee. Just don't pull it yet. - also pre-heat your cup with hot water (if you want a nice hot drink) Now get all your dairy stuff squared away. - Put everything out on the counter so you're not frantically hunting it down while brewing. - Fill stainless pitcher 'almost' 1/2 way up with dairy (whole milk steams best because of the fat) - Hit the far right button to turn on the steamer. The pump starts building pressure. - Take a random mug and put under steamer. Then turn the knob all the way up and 'clear' the wand. - Once you see steam and not water, you're in business to steam your dairy — not until. Steam your dairy. - And don't move it all over the place when you do. It's just a few subtle movements, that's it. - In the pitcher, rest the wand head slightly below the surface to add some air to the dairy. - After some seconds, drop it down 2/3 depth along side of pitcher so it swirls and evenly mixes into silky microfoam. This unit is slow, so give it ample time to do it's thing. - Temp-wise, you know when it's done if it's too hot to keep your hand on the side of the pitcher. - Once steamed, QUICKLY set milk aside, putting something on top of pitcher to keep the dairy hot (dish?). - Then use hot water to wet part of a rag (aka a barista cloth) and wipe down the wand before the proteins can harden on it. Also blast steam out of the wand to clear it using the knob. All this should only take you 5-10 seconds tops to clean/reset wand. Pull your coffee. - Dump the hot water out of your cup and place it under the portafilter. - pull a double shot. Let it finish. - Grab the hot dairy with your other hand and pour it over the espresso (making the best damn latte art of your life of course!) Enjoy! Then clean up your mess. Or... TIP: I pull into a double-walled stainless tumbler. A smallish one. It heats way better, and has a lid so I can pop it on, clean up my mess, reset the machine, THEN go enjoy my still-hot drink. Beware: If the gauge is in the black, you probably over-stuffed or over-tamped your basket. It will taste bitter and undrinkable. If you don't tamp at all, it will be watery and weak with no crema. If you use old-ass coffee that's ground for drip, you will not be enjoying good espresso my friend. Just use your head. In the end, it takes time to get your routine down. Making good espresso drinks isn't hard. But it does take practice to get right. Most people can't be bothered. They will blame the machines, the beans, their spouses, anything but themselves. Coffee drinks want to be made right or they'll suck. Put in the effort, and you'll be a happy camper once you have it down. You might even impress someone! At minimum, your drinks will taste as good or better than many coffee bars out there. Not ours of course! It's nice to grab a great coffee drink from a local cafe we trust. But it has to be great for the price. When it is, we're getting so much more than just coffee; the whole ritual gives us a sense of reward, place, and being. It's what communities are all about. But it's also nice to make our own at home and save some money in the process. With coffee, I think people who love it can do both — have their cake and eat it too. Hope this helps anyone adventurous enough to actually read this long review!

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.

We’ve been really impressed with the Casabrews CM5418. My wife knows what good espresso tastes like, and she loves it. For the price, it’s a well‑built, capable little machine that consistently pulls good shots and has plenty of steam power once it’s up to temperature. The build quality feels better than most machines in this range, and it’s been easy to use day‑to‑day. The one thing new users should know is that there’s no indicator light to show when the machine is actually ready to brew or steam. The buttons light up to show the mode you’ve selected, but they don’t tell you when the boiler has reached the right temperature. You have to wait a minute or listen for a tiny internal click. Once you understand that, the machine performs very well. Overall, it’s a strong value that makes excellent espresso. I’d buy it again.