I used to own a semi-automatic, the Breville Barista Express.

If you have any questions about Super Automatic machines - ask away and I can try and answer them. The ease of use is almost the same as a Nespresso machine, but you dont have to deal with pods (or Nespresso themselve - which was a pain, at least for me). I would def recommend making the switch if you want to be able to use your own beans. Yep.Īll in all, I am very happy with my purchase. I do find that the taste is better on a Super Auto, with the right beans. That being said, I do find that a Super Auto bridges that gap between a Semi Auto a bit more. Finding a bean that taste like what it says that isnt a super dark roasted and oily bean, can be a bit trickier. Nespresso strikes a pretty nice balance of taste in their pods. If you do mostly milk drinks, you could even use Lavazza beans which would be incredibly cheap - although I would recommend supporting local roasters. Once you find that happy area though, and have a bean that is enjoyable, its far cheaper than pods. Once thats done, when you are searching for a bean that you want to use, you need to calibrate the grind size that works best with it, which can take some time. The reason? When you first get your machine, you need to run beans through the machine to get it calibrated. No, you will likely not see any huge savings in the first year. Cleaning a Super Auto is easy and doesnt take much time at all. Lattissima machines are about the same in my experience, if not worse, especially the one drink model. Normal non milk or Aeroccino Nespresso machines are easier to clean. I wanted to start with this question because it seems like in the Semi Auto world, their first argument against Super Auto’s is the cleaning and maintenance. Is a Super Automatic really hard to clean? Is it time consuming? I chose the Lirika+ because it was cheaper in Canadian Rupples than the Gaggia machines, and has both the frothing wand and auto frothing attachment.

The Super Auto that I purchased is the Saeco Lirika+, which is very similar to the Gaggia Brera/Anima and Philips machines. I tried a Creatista, but was not in love with the way the steam nozzle was designed, so I ended up returning that right away. I then ended up finding an excellent shape D150, which I still have. I then got a Lattissima (cant remember the model, but a bit older) which I did enjoy, and the size was really nice because it was short. Quick background: I started my Nespresso journey with a Citiz & Milk and really enjoyed it - until it broke down after a few months. Of course my opinions are my own - others may have different opinions then me. I thought that I would do a quick write up about my experience changing from Nespresso to a Super Automatic Espresso machine, as I found there to be quite a bit of questions when I was contemplating the switch.

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