Love my new Ascaso Dream machine, works great and I enjoy great tasting coffee every morning.
Thank you!

**Update**

This is a follow-up to my previous review “it’s great until it’s not” below. A representative from Ascaso reached out to me and took the time to be very helpful. Alina not only helped troubleshoot a few of my issues and sent the exact parts for me to order and fix, she stepped up where I had previously fallen through the cracks on something that neither the store I bought from or Ascaso rep was willing to help with. It was something that should have fallen in the year warranty but I missed emailing by days due to work.

Perhaps I just caught reps on a bad day previously. Alina taking the bull by the horns is very appreciated and shows they do stand behind their products. Thank you again. My little blue champion is running like a champ.

Original Review
I bought my Dream PID coming up on three years ago in December. I loved it- retro, makes good coffee,
Reliable. I have used as directed and cleaned according to directions. I have a filter on my water tap to prevent metal build up. But then the digital display went out, which seems a known issue, just days outside of warranty and I was told tough luck. Almost three years in and it is malfunctioning and the thermoblock seems inconsistent. The espresso is now cold with the same settings I started with. It starts blinking lights periodically after one extraction and I have to turn it on and off multiple times to pull a second and then steam milk. When I first purchased, I checked the warranty out of concern and was confident in the 5year warranty on the thermoblock. Now it seems they updated it to manufacture only. It’s expensive for a cute machine that will now just sit here. I would be money ahead had I saved up and bought a Lelit from Clive Coffee who stands behind the products they sell. This is very disappointing, and expensive.

I like good loose leaf tea, the wife likes coffee, I wanted her to enjoy coffee the way I enjoy tea, thus; The Ascaso Dream PID (in dark black).

Now, as much as I want to review this bad boy, I can't. The one that showed up decided to keel-over and die while I was priming the pump. Because all the things I could tell you about my experience could be limited to a single machine that decided it didn’t like my house, I shall instead tell you about my experience after we have gone through the returns process. THUS! This review will be for the awesome machine AND awesome customer service! (Ascaso Team, Read: hint hint)

Gonna start with 3 stars because these things happen, let’s see how those stars change. Check back later.

Oh, oh my, this is very good customer service. New machine dispatched (after being put through another round of QC), and return label issued. We at 4 stars now.

New machine is in, and works! Wife loves it and apparently is DONE with drip. Go team! Now back to my loose leaf tea. 5 stars

I like good loose leaf tea, the wife likes coffee, I wanted her to enjoy coffee the way I enjoy tea, thus; The Ascaso Dream PID (in black).

Now, as much as I want to review this bad boy, I can't. The one that showed up decided to keel-over and die while I was priming the pump. Because all the things I could tell you about my experience could be limited to a single machine that decided it didn’t like my house, I shall instead tell you about my experience after we have gone through the returns process. THUS! This review will be for the awesome machine AND awesome customer service! (Ascaso Team, Read: hint hint)

Gonna start with 3 stars because these things happen, let's see how those stars change. Check back later.

Update #1: Oof, these guys are good. Very happy with response time and communication. I'll let you guys know when I have the new machine. Now we at four stars.

Update #2: Yeah, this has been nothing but an amazing customer service experience, the replacement machine is on the way, the other is on the way back. Even if this next one is broken, gonna be hard for me to take away star. We at five now. I'll update once more once the machine is up and running. Might be a minute.

The machine has been consistent, easy to use, easy to clean. Obviously, it's pretty to look at. I've had the machine a year and haven't had any issues. One consideration: the machine is pretty loud when it's running. This is in part due to the plastic water reservoir vibrating as the machine is working, which I mitigated by using a felt sticker to keep the reservoir in place and absorb a little sound. Usually, I'll press my hand against it. I guess one other consideration is that the top of the machine, where the cup warmer is, is sloped. Despite the rails, I'm wary of storing cups on top of it especially because the machine vibrates and I don't want my cups to slip off. I can still use the warmer for the cup I'm using; I just wouldn't store a bunch of cups there.