Saeco Incanto Sirius - good machine?

[I_dunno]

I'm close to buying a Saeco Incanto Sirius and wanted to ask for comments either for or against this model. I like the LCD screen so even though it's one more thing to break it counts as a plus for me. But what is the espresso like? Good crema? What issues have folk had?

What other models in the $1200-$1400 range would folk recommend?

My apologies if this is a question already asked; feel free to direct me to another thread

Thanks for any feedback you provide!

 

[I_dunno]

Hi,
Ok, so now I've read every Incanto Sirius post of this forum...some very helpful info. But now I'd like to hear the opinion of someone who has had one of these machines for 1+ years. A few questions (based on some of the complaints I've seen here):

- Are all the sensors still working?

- Does it leak excessively?

- Crema good?

- Any other failures that I shoud l know about?

I'm new to this forum so haven't posted replies anywhere else...but please, if you have one of these machines please reply. $1.5K is a lot of money for a coffee machine and would really like to feel like I am making a good choice.

Thanks

 

[I_dunno]

Couldn't resist any longer...went and bought the Incanto Sirius. For other people like me (coffee lover but migrating from a regular coffee machine that can also make espresso), I'd like to share my first impressions.

I have these settings:

12 gram dose
high temp
SBS set to about 1:30pm
default volume on the small cup setting
second to finest grind
Illy Espresso beans

Taste
Now, having been using a $140 Krups I have to say that the espresso from the Incanto Sirius tastes absolutely lovely. The crema on a single shot was excellent (I think...looked good to me anyway), and ok when doing 2 shots at the same time (not quite as thick as with the single shot but still ok).

Steamer
There has been a lot of talk in threads about the steamer wand not being very good and not moving very far. Well, I think they must have redesigned it since those comments because it seems to angle out quite nicely. The foam is, well, foamy. Not tight foam but almost as good as one might hope for...its as good as you get in your local Starbucks in my opinion. I tried covering up the tiny hole that I'm assuming lets the air in and that seem to help a bit.

LCD/Menu
The menu system is excellent...really good. Like me, you may be thinking that the LCD "touch sensitive" panel is just a gimick and just something else to break. Well, maybe, but I gotta tell you that it is so easy to use and gives good feedback to the user during menu selections and brewing (not to mention all the sensors telling you the door is open and so on).

Temperature of drinks
Set the temperature setting to hot, and pre-warm the cup you're going to use (although you won't be doing that with the warming plate..see below) and you're going to get a cup of coffee that to most average people is hot enough...again, in my opinion.

Leak filling trip tray Issue
As far as I can see so far, it's not an issue. If you put something under the steamer when you vent it to get the steam going I think it'll be fine.

Small issues
Yeah, I suppose the resevoir could be a bit bigger. By the time one has rinsed, vented enough water to allow the steam to come through and rinsed again at the end you get through a fair amount of water each time you use the machine.

It is really weird that the LCD panel backlight doesn't go off in standby.

Talking of standby, I wonder what the power draw is when in this state...anyone know? I think I'm going ask Saeco that question.

The cup warmer takes a while to warm up and you have to turn it on through the menu. I won't use it for warming one cup to use for my own cup of joe, but if you were having a dinner party or something like that where you know in advance you're going to use the cups then yeah, it's kinda nice to have. Not very big but no one should complain about that right???? Why?...because, my freinds, you are buying what has been designed as a compact machine. Having said that, it comfortably will hold at least espresso cups or 4 small coffee cups. If you want a big cup warmer though go buy a hot plate.

Summary
Ok, I've only had this thing for an afternoon, but having spent only 20mins getting things setup I'm now enjoying a really nice cup of coffee (although I have had way too much of it today :shock: . Notwithstanding the price-tag, an average owner is probably going to like this machine. And really that's why I wrote this review. I have read the comments on this forum and while some of them are really helpful (for example the settings to get a strong brew...saved me time) some others are a little on the advanced side for an average person, albeit well meant. I mean, I don't think many people are going to care that the secondary heating block is aluminum (primary block is Steel). And the time in seconds that it takes for a shot to pour is somewhat interesting but irrelevant if the product looks and tastes good. As I said though, all well meant and I'm sure there are some advanced coffee gurus out there that would find that info important.

That's it for the moment. I think I will post more impressions after I've been using the machine for a month or 2. Dropping this kind of money on a coffee machine is a big deal for most folk so I'm sure that others who use this site would appreciate the unsolicited feedback on this or any other super auto machine.

 

[charles17]

Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for your detail review - please do keep us posted on developments.

I think the machine looks awesome and would love to buy one - sadly it is out of my league cost wise.

Enjoy :grin:

 

[I_dunno]

Re: Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for your detail review - please do keep us posted on developments.

I think the machine looks awesome and would love to buy one - sadly it is out of my league cost wise.

Enjoy :grin:

Hi,
Well, 2 months after buying the unit it is still making great coffee and I love it. I've made several adjustments to the hidden menu: I increased the high temperature to 130 and increased the used puck counter to 16. The used puck counter is too low at the default 12 as the albeit small container can hold more than that quite comfortably.

Still no sign of unexpected water leaks or undue amount of water in the driptray. I find I only have to empty the tray each time I empty the used coffee puck container, which is fine because you have to take the tray out to get the puck container out anyway.

One little niggle is that I can't figure out how to take the grind indicator knob off so I can remove some of the coffee resevoir components to cleans them. I've tried to stay away from oily beans but even those I've used has left residue that I would prefer to be able to wipe off.

All in all though, I really like this machine. It's small, works (only 2 months so far though ), and while expensive not as expensive as Jura machines.

 

[JLX]

I have had mine since april -06, very good machine.

How do i access the "hidden menus"?

/JLX

 

[I_dunno]

I have had mine since april -06, very good machine.

How do i access the "hidden menus"?

/JLX

Hold down the top left, then bottom left, then bottom right buttons at the same time...don't let go until you see the menu.

 

[sriccio]

updates?

Hi folks, any updates three months later? Still working well? Any other positives or negatives develop? Considering this vs. a new Espressione super auto vs. the forthcoming Krups model (I know, I can't believe I'm considering $1000 on a Krups, but it does look cool!). Thanks.

 

[I_dunno]

Re: updates?

Hi folks, any updates three months later? Still working well? Any other positives or negatives develop? Considering this vs. a new Espressione super auto vs. the forthcoming Krups model (I know, I can't believe I'm considering $1000 on a Krups, but it does look cool!). Thanks.

I still like mine a lot. If you read back through this thread I wrote an update quite recently....few little things I don't like but other than that for me it works great.

 

[sriccio]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I misread the date of the more recent posts, my fault. Glad to hear you still like it. Certainly a chunk of change, but it does look good and more importantly, if it makes good coffee/espresso/mochas...well, it might be worth it.

If you had to do it again, would you go with the same model?

 

[I_dunno]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, I misread the date of the more recent posts, my fault. Glad to hear you still like it. Certainly a chunk of change, but it does look good and more importantly, if it makes good coffee/espresso/mochas...well, it might be worth it.

If you had to do it again, would you go with the same model?

Yep, I think I would.

 

[johannesth]

Hold down the top left, then bottom left, then bottom right buttons at the same time...don't let go until you see the menu.

From what screen do you enter this combination?

I've tried entering it from the main screen, i.e. the one where you have the options of coffee (small,medium,large) on the top row of the lcd screen, but that only results in entering the "how-much-coffee-should-be-in-the-small-cup" process.

Do you press all the buttons at the same time, or sequentially? If you are pressing them one after the other, how long do you wait between pressing each?

Thanks!

 

[cyberdude191]

turn the machine off (standby)
then press top left button, bottom left bottom and bottom right button. you should go directly to the hidden menu

 

[Bennybee]

Incanto Deluxe

I am glad you are all happy with your Machines, my Saeco Incanto Deluxe is a dog. It has been in for repair many times and is now out of warranty.

The coffee is just barely Hot on the highest setting (You can put your finger in the hot coffee no problems. It also says "Warming Up" all the time. Very poor first coffee out of standby.

Every time I take it in for service they tell me all it needed was descaling, a load of crap if you ask me. I am interested in the Hidden Menu thing, I cant use the one you have posted as the top left button is a small coffee and the unit just goes into making a coffee.

If you know anyone who may be able to tell me how I might get into a different menu to up the temperature I would be greatful.

Thanks

 

[CafeBlue]

Benny;
If your machine says "warming up", then it is likely that the thermostat is working, but that the heating element can not heat the water to the thermostat's program temperature threshold and is not operating as normal.

This is possibly due to heavy scaling. Heavy water scale deposits can coat and insulate the heating element. I have seen this occassionally, usually when the water supply is very hard (heavy in mineral content). If you have it descaled and it works fine for a time, then degrades again, it may very well be due to scale buildup reoccurring. Switching water supply can help - either use bottled water (not distilled or mineral water) or soften the tap water (softened water keeps the minerals in suspension better). In some of the worst cases, tap water must be processed by expensive RO (reverse osmosis) systems to remove mineral and salt content - bottled water may be more cost effective at that point. Frequently well water supplies have these issues, because the well supply (private or municipal) lies beneath several layers of stone and mineral.

Possibly the heating element is not operating properly and can not generate enough heat to reach the thermostat's threshold temperature setting. A qualified service tech can test and confirm heating element function. It may be working, but not be working as hot as factory spec.

Very SMALL possibility the electrical supply to the coffee maker in your home or office is not powerfull enough - that is your wall outlet may be nominally rated (for example) 20 amps at 110v, and you may actually receive less say 12 amps at 102 volts. So you might have adequate power to run the machine without blowing fuses or tripping breaker switches, but not quite enough power to adequately power the heating element with enough wattage to heat hot enough and quickly enough.

The first cup from standby is always sub-standard (especially if the "Warming up" cycle just barely finished), because the brewing and dispensing components are not thoroughly heated. Try "flushing" the system with some hot water first to warm up the brewing components and surfaces, or brew the first cup and discard it.

It also sounds like your thermostat's threshold temperature is set too low. Coffee brews best between 200 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Brew temperatures below 185 degrees F, yield under-extracted coffee with very poor taste quality.

Let us know how your coffee brews when you have the problems fixed.