In further comparison to the DeLonghi, I must point out that my Retro could not handle any of the fine grind so it would just not work

The Espresso taste great when you have the right grind size.

I'm sure this unit can handle the very finest grinds espresso.

I've been making espressos at home for over ten years & know how to get the right grind for the esspresso beans & how to tamp it properly

Using the finest possible grind and tamping at about 10-15 pounds MORE pressure than I SHOULD, my shots are still shooting out WAY TOO fast at about 10-15 seconds!

Make sure you use good coffee and well grind

One needs to learn the best grind and pack so as to not block the pump on the one hand or get watery coffee on the other, but after a few experiments, we dialed it in, and now very happy.

Really fine coffee grind really helps this machine, and a metal tamper helps get best results

When I dump the used grinds, there is still water in them

Even with using a conical burr grinder on the lowest setting for a fine grind size and tamping with a metal tamper this shot is done in 10 seconds

We use great beans and have a special bean grinder to make a fine grind.

Heating unit does not heat the espresso which makes cold espresso (does it even have a heating unit?)The machine continuously gets clogged even when using various types of grounds of coffee (i.e. fine, extreme fine and medium grind)Pro

You can also take a dark or bold ground coffee that is finely ground and use that

This is an easy to use espresso maker, my one complaint is that it isn't as strong as i like