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My husband and I only make on average 8 cups a day on the weekend and less on weekdays since we are not home which the machine should be able to handle with no problems. Enough said. After several calls to customer support which they were of no help, it still has that error to this day. Our Z5 is only 3 years old and for as much money as you spend you would think it would work much better and for longer. My husband and I were sold on this machine about 3 years ago from trying the espresso from it at William Sonoma.
I hope if you own this machine already that you don't encounter the errors we did and hopefully they have improved the machine mechanics since 3 years ago. Every morning we get an "Error 8" before all coffee is dispensed and we also cannot use the pre-ground feature anymore as it dumps it in the grounds area and not into the cup. In other reviews I've read elsewhere, after warranty, the machine just dies as ours did. We will never buy another Jura product again. I was very good about cleaning it from the get. The milk frother doesn't work every time and clogs very easily.
We bought it and within a month of use, water started to leak all over the counter and has ever since when there is a full tank of water. The mechanics are running very very slowly now and finding an authorized repair dealer is IMPOSSIBLE. There are many other issues with this machine that are too lengthy to discuss. Also very early on in the first few months of use, an error "system fill" kept cropping up. The cleaning products are expensive as well and if you don't buy the filter, you must decalcify the machine with their special tablets which is no fun task. The reviews that give it 5 stars, I guarantee they have not owned the machine very long.
Now that it's past it's warranty, the Z5 is on its way out. Save your money and really research these expensive super-automatic machines before purchase.
It's messy, not particulary pleasent and oddly not included in the otherwise well layed out manuel but easy to do once you know how. So add that in 280 days a year @ $2 for rounding purposes.So if the Z5 stopped working today that would be $3,650 a year at Starbucks vs $1,600 a year and that doesn't include time and driving costs to get to Starbucks which we were doing. So say $4,000 or $1,000 a year. I do strongly reccomend using the water filters and following the machines slavish cleaning directions as it is not a simple mechanism. I do still buy a tall at work usually so thats $1.80 a day where I live, but my wife rarely goes to Starbucks anymore. The coffee is at least as good as starbucks and the machine is very good at all the fancy drinks my wife likes.
The math is pretty simply $2500+ 25 bucks for coffee beans from starbucks once a month or $300 a year or $1,200 over the four years plus say $40 a year for electricity & $30 a year for water filters or $280. On the Math CASE CLOSED JURA WINSI have had to call Jura once to get instructions on how to clean out the area all the way in where the tray goes and up which has twice been gooked up with grounds. Ok, but on the math, cold hard facts vs buying at StarbucksI have had the Z5 for about four years. Go ahead and add that in. I use a cleaning agent once in a while as well as the water filters which is belt and suspenders based on the manual. It makes great coffee and even though expensive it has far more than paid for itself.
In our house 2 adults spending say $10 a day on coffee is $3,650 a year.
1.5 on the default settings. Instead, I took it back to the store and swapped it out for a new one - I'm an instant gratification type of guy, plus I wanted to test out the new one before taking it home.Once I got the new machine home I loaded it up with beans and started brewing. Let's just say I wish I had started with that unit, which outperforms the Jura in every way - look for my review once I have a couple more weeks experience on it. The Z5 works perfectly with whole beans, but I have had a little trouble using ground coffee (which I use for decaf sometimes). I am very pleased with the coffee, cappuccino and espresso. Let me start by saying that the day I took it out of the box, the grinder did not work. I didn't want a third unit, so I returned it to the retailer in exchange for a new DeLonghi Gran Dama. Several other reviewers complain about the temperature of latte steamed milk.
total vs. I have owned the Jura-Capresso Z5 for two weeks now, and overall I am impressed. This also results in a mess in the drip tray, as the ground coffee gets dumped all over the inside of the machine.All in all the Jura-Capresso Z5 is not perfect, but it is convenient, easy to clean, and most importantly, makes great coffee.--------------------------------------------------------------------Well, five months later it's time to update my review. While I can continue to recommend the Jura based on coffee quality, I can't based on reliability. The espresso is flawless - about the best I've ever tasted.One other thing to mention is the ground coffee function.
I can understand this - it's not that hot - but heating the cups beforehand helps. I called Jura once again, and after walking me through some troubleshooting they were willing to replace the unit. For now, Amazon doesn't seem to let me change the number of stars in this review, but consider it a two star review. Instead, messy grounds would spray inside the unit - not impressive. What this means is that more flavor tends to be pulled from the beans since the coffee is pressure brewed. My unit stopped brewing coffee - it would grind, tamp, and attempt to brew, but nothing would come out of the spouts. I called Jura for tech support to ensure I was not missing something, and was impressed with their phone service - they offered to replace the unit outright.
Sometimes the unit has not realized the grounds have been dumped in (yes I did it the right way), and for some reason grinds whole beans too. Frothed milk for cappuccino comes out good. The coffee is brewed "European style", which basically means it is an espresso with more water - 5 oz. In short, very enjoyable.
I am now thoroughly sold on it. They last a long time so not a huge expense. They have great customer service. The Z5 has worked flawlessly over the last year.
We use some cleaning tablets made for another brand but they work just as well as the original type that came with it. My wife purchased the Z5 used from JL Hufford. Very impressive machine and reliability has been 100% so far. The only downside is that the water container could be larger. The frother on this machine is amazing. They think it's the best.
In fact I even trained my five year old daughter how to make me a cup. The first Z5 worked for about a week before I noticed it was shutting down after pressing the power button. It cleans easily with reminders to replace the water filter or to put in a cleaning tablet. The entire front tray slides out and this brings with it the used coffee grounds. I particularly enjoy the ease to clean the machine. I love to make the kids frothy hot chocolate. Considering I thought my wife was crazy for buying such an expensive machine.
Called JL Hufford and they immediately sent out a replacement unit. Yes I know it has a huge container compared to most of these machines but I'd sacrifice another inch in width to hold more. We do use the original type water filter as that is machine specific. Shipped the old one back to them no problem. In one easy step you can clean the drip tray and remove the grounds. It's a large machine so make sure you plan for where it will be. We use it regularly and I love how flexible and easy it is to use. Ours fits on a counter top and still has room to fill the beans without pulling it out.
I just fill a small glass with my desired amount milk and place the dispenser hose in it. You also have all the flavor controls in your hands and not those of a college-student barista, so you can try many different combinations and types of beans to suit your palette, becoming a coffee connoisseur in your own home.The only complaint I have about the Z5 is with the milk dispenser. It doesn't really store well in the fridge, and is generally more of a hassle than it's worth. I bought my Z5 almost three years ago, and I've been completely satisfied with the product. I plan to keep the unit until it dies (it's out of warranty at this point) and upgrade to the next generation, if Jura ever releases one, though I can't think of much refinement that would be required as this unit makes my perfect cup of coffee. I know it's expensive; however, it's extremely high-quality and if you have the cash, and you tabulate the cost of your Daily Starbucks fix, you'll find that the machine will pay for itself after a few years. I've had no issues with the unit during that time, and I use it on a daily basis (The counter shows over 1000 Cappuccinos from this baby). The Espresso that it produces is far better than what a get at most coffee houses, in my opinion.
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