For the price, the ECM Casa V punches above it's weight. At $1,000, you get ECM quality, a *very* past heat-up time, consistent performance, and easy maintenance. After steaming a lot of milk, and pulling a few shots - I am very pleased the the Casa V's performance. My only gripes right now, are that the steam pressure requires some micro managing - you have to purge the steam wand, wait for the heating element to ramp up, and then once it reaches the max pressure - you can steam, otherwise the pressure decreases overtime to very low pressures until the element kicks back on. The only other gripe is the low clearance under the grouphead once the portafilter is in. I can barely fit a cup and an Acaia Lunar scale under there with the double spout portafilter provided. ... MoreFor the price, the ECM Casa V punches above it's weight. At $1,000, you get ECM quality, a *very* past heat-up time, consistent performance, and easy maintenance. After steaming a lot of milk, and pulling a few shots - I am very pleased the the Casa V's performance. My only gripes right now, are that the steam pressure requires some micro managing - you have to purge the steam wand, wait for the heating element to ramp up, and then once it reaches the max pressure - you can steam, otherwise the pressure decreases overtime to very low pressures until the element kicks back on. The only other gripe is the low clearance under the grouphead once the portafilter is in. I can barely fit a cup and an Acaia Lunar scale under there with the double spout portafilter provided. Maybe a bottomless would help? But with those minor grievances made - this machine is great and I think outperforms similar machines in its price bracket, and above it.

We've been using the ECM Casa V for about a month or so, and we're really happy with it. No issues so far and it's a really nice looking machine. This was our first espresso machine setup, so the first week was spent figuring out our process and finding good/forgiving beans. While not a negative in anyway, if I had to point out one thing I'd mention it doesn't have PID temperature control, so you control water temperature through your process (like flushing overheated grouphead water before pulling shot) and just learning the machine in general. It's something to keep in mind if your main use case is for perfecting plain espresso shots. The steam power has been perfectly fine if you follow the process they recommend, but we're also not steaming 12+oz of milk. I'd ... MoreWe've been using the ECM Casa V for about a month or so, and we're really happy with it. No issues so far and it's a really nice looking machine. This was our first espresso machine setup, so the first week was spent figuring out our process and finding good/forgiving beans. While not a negative in anyway, if I had to point out one thing I'd mention it doesn't have PID temperature control, so you control water temperature through your process (like flushing overheated grouphead water before pulling shot) and just learning the machine in general. It's something to keep in mind if your main use case is for perfecting plain espresso shots. The steam power has been perfectly fine if you follow the process they recommend, but we're also not steaming 12+oz of milk. I'd say we steam 6oz or less most times and have never had an issue. My three favorite drinks to make with the Casa V that I think it excels at are an Americano for breakfast, Macchiato after dinner, and of course a plain espresso when you have your beans and process figured out.

The ECM Casa V looks great in my kitchen and it produces good espresso, but that's where the fun stops. I've had the machine for a few weeks and have not been able to produce steam without tripping the high limit switch. The switch trips before reaching full temperature, so it is not able to produce enough steam to make milk drinks. Every time the switch trips, I have to take off the top panel and reset it. I get it, espresso machines can be finicky, but I'm not interested in removing this panel every time I use it. Customer service was responsive and offered tips that did not correct the problem. I'm sending it back due to the malfunction and was told there will be a restocking fee if I don't buy something of equal or greater value. Not sure why I'm essentially ... MoreThe ECM Casa V looks great in my kitchen and it produces good espresso, but that's where the fun stops. I've had the machine for a few weeks and have not been able to produce steam without tripping the high limit switch. The switch trips before reaching full temperature, so it is not able to produce enough steam to make milk drinks. Every time the switch trips, I have to take off the top panel and reset it. I get it, espresso machines can be finicky, but I'm not interested in removing this panel every time I use it. Customer service was responsive and offered tips that did not correct the problem. I'm sending it back due to the malfunction and was told there will be a restocking fee if I don't buy something of equal or greater value. Not sure why I'm essentially being punished for returning a malfunctioning machine? Trying to decide if I should try the same unit or something else or just take the restocking loss and order something through a different company.