Jura Impressa F9 – Coffee Machine Review
Overall, we really like the Jura Impressa F9. One way to how you can rationalise the payment for such an expensive indulgence: if you figure a Vida Coffee (double) costs approx. R24, and you buy one everyday (which normally you would), it would take about 600 cups to break even. Well, with the automatic counter on your machine, you can check when that will happen, and it should be around 1600 cups. So, the machine paid for itself in the first year, easily. Ok, so now that you’re past the issue of paying so much for a coffee machine, here’s more.
Crazy Smart
This machine is crazy smart. It knows exactly when to clean itself, it tells you when to start the cleaning cycle and to clean it, all you do is insert a tablet in the coffee powder drawer and it whirrs away. It knows when it needs water, when the filter needs to be changed, etc. In fact, if you have a water filter built into your refrigerator or use one of those water filter jugs, you can just fill it directly from that into the coffee machine. Bottom line, if you just pay attention and clean the machine on a regular basis when it tells you to, this is a no-brainer machine.
Great Espresso
The coffee and espresso are simply great. You can learn to make a latté just like at Vida and you won’t be back. Some people complain that the frother doesn’t work well, but here’s the trick: First, you should use non-fat or low-fat milk (not full cream). For some reason, lower fat milk froths better every time. Second, be sure to clean the frothing nozzle after each use, so remember that. Third, there are two settings on the frother, and you can change the setting by sliding the sleeve on the frothing tip up or down. Experiment with this and you will get the perfect froth, every time, just the way you like it.
Use the right Beans
As for the beans, try not to use use overly oily beans as that can cause a build up and make the machine tough to clean, etc. Uhm, that means staying away from the “Illy” brand that comes in the metal tin – too oily. Everyone may have a different experience, but you could just try the whole espresso beans from you local grocery store.
Super Fast
Believe it or not, this machine heats up in about 90 seconds, if not sooner. As a result, you can also use this for tea or hot cereal all the time. This is an added bonus for purchasing this machine. It’s a hot water boiler too.
Issues?
As for issues, we haven’t found many. Some things that might bug people are the fact that you have to remove the drawer from time to time and dump the water which is ejected after each use. You can keep a black coffee cup under the spout so that it collects the rinse water and then you can just throw that away as needed.
The only other issue people seems to have with the machine is that the touch screen sometimes works and sometimes ‘sticks.’ Even proper cleaning, washing your hands, but sometimes this just doesn’t work right. Fortunately, when it does ‘stick,’ it gets stuck on the setting I use, so it’s not a huge problem.
Conclusion
Overall, we highly recommend the Jura F9. Take your time, do the research and take a couple of weeks to build up enough nerve to spend this much on a coffee machine. Then, you will realise that this machine will become your new best friend in the kitchen. Enjoy!