In February of 2009 I received from Illy my X7. I could not be a happier customer.

When shopping for coffee makers I had already set my mind on two different machines, the X6 and the X7. If you're not familiar with the two, the X6 uses the original Illy pods and the X7 uses the new capsules. Since I always like to try new things, I got the capsules. And this is the same machine that Francis Ford Coppola uses for his morning brew - all you have to do is go to google and research his name and the coffee maker and you will find the article. I had already read a bunch about this coffee maker through newspaper articles and magazines as well, and I had set my mind from the beginning. I only want the best!

With respect to the unit, the company has done an excellent job with quality in all respects. It's very well built - unusually heavy and very sturdy - but it's not very big at all! It's like a piece of true industrial art. The buttons glow when the machine's ready to make coffee, and seem to be made of some interesting material that lights up as it happens. Nothing on this machine rattles, and this is a much higher quality machine than you will find anywhere in a department store or specialty store locally. Illy is in class all by itself.

As for the coffee, it's as good as you're going to ever find in an Italian coffee shop. You can make a dark, medium, or light roast, and you can make anything from cup of coffee to a shot of espresso. Whatever your tastes are there is a way to adjust the machine so that you have a cup of coffee that will match your taste for strong, soft, heavy, or light.

And finally for cleaning, it's super easy. Since everything is in these capsules, there is no reason to mess around with coffee grinds, filters, or soggy pods. All you have to do is remove the coffee arm from the machine, dump it in the trash, and the capsule is no longer there. No cleanup whatsoever! Amazing.

My final recommendation is to make sure you sign up for home coffee delivery from Illy because you get those famous designer plates. Definitely worth the contract agreement. In short I couldn't ask for a better coffee experience.