When we launched eMercedesBenz over 4 years ago, one of the first luxuries we decided to treat ourselves to was an in-office coffee maker. If you’ve ever shopped for a coffee maker, you know the choices are a bit overwhelming, but after much deliberation, we finally settled on the Jura Capresso Impressa Z5. At $2,999, it’s not cheap, and we questioned whether or not the $3k price tag was worth the cost. In the end, we said what the hell, threw it on the AMEX, and the rest, as they say, is history.
I gotta tell you, after 4 years, I can say wholeheartedly the Impressa Z5 is worth every cent. To date, we’ve brewed 4,269 cups of coffee in one iteration or another (no I didn’t count each cup – the Impressa Z5’s computer logs each cup of coffee you brew). I’m no mathematician, but if you multiply out those 4,000+ cups of coffee by the going rate at your local coffee house, the product isn’t going to be anywhere near $3,000. In fact, the Impressa Z5 starts looking like a bargain when you do the math.
So what exactly do you get for your $3,000? Putting it as simply as possible, the Jura Capresso Impressa Z5 is a fully automatic coffee cappuccino, latte, espresso, coffee, tea and hot chocolate maker. By fully automatic I don’t mean Rosie from “The Jetsons” – there’s work involved. You do have to take beans and insert them into the hopper; you do have to get milk from the refrigerator and place it near the machine; and you do have to get your own coffee cup and place it under the coffee spouts. Once you’ve done these things, you press a button, and like magic, the Impressa Z5 does its thing. Want a cappucino? Hit a button, wait about 30 seconds, and it’s done. Same for espresso. Same for lattes. Same for coffee. For tea and hot chocolate, you have to get your own tea and/or hot chocolate mix, but the Impressa Z5 dispenses hot water and hot milk as well.
Making everything possible, the Impressa Z5 is run by what can only be described as a computer. You can set any of the coffee products to one of five strength settings before making a cup, you can specify the amount of coffee you want brewed, you can specify the amount of milk dispensed, etc. Everything is completely customizable. Once you’ve worked out your specific tastes for each product, your selected settings can then be saved and used as the system default. From an operational standpoint, it couldn’t get any easier to use once you know what you’re doing.
And then there’s the taste. The Impressa Z5 makes fantastic espresso and any variation of espresso with milk – as good or better than any major coffee houses (i.e., Starbucks). The espresso’s are bold with very good crema, while the cappuccinos (with the right coffee) turn out perfectly and boast a deliciously rich flavor. We’re not huge fans of the regular coffee the Impressa Z5 produces (we usually stick to a French Press when we want more traditional coffee), but it seems like nine times out of ten, we want espresso and hence, opt for the Jura Capresso.
But there are a few caveats worth noting. If the Jura Capresso Impressa Z5 can be compared to anything, it has to be compared to a beautiful wife. You need to take care of her. If you treat her right, she will reward you exponentially, but if you begin to waver from your obligations… problems will arise. When the Impressa Z5 tells you she needs to be cleaned, she does. When she tells you it’s time to decalcify, it is. Don’t wait. And you need to learn her intricacies. There’s a lot of working parts on the Impressa Z5, and brewing coffee isn’t exactly a walk in the park. But in 4+ years of operation, we haven’t had to purchase anything other than cleaning and decalcifying tablets to keep her operational. But we have learned many of her quirks. Don’t set the grinder’s setting too fine – she can clog. Don’t use pre-ground coffee, because a) whole beans taste better, and b) whole beans taste better. Did I mention whole beans taste better? Occasionally, if you’re using oily beans, she can also clog. To remedy the situation, all you have to do is remove the tray, reach inside and feel for a little plastic flap, and use your finger to remove any coffee grounds you feel (it takes about 30 seconds with cleanup time). And lastly, the milk frothing spout on our Z5, after 4 years, is wearing out. It’s a small part made largely out of rubber that could easily and cheaply be replaced, but we’ve found that if we squeeze the small top tube that extends upward while it’s frothing, it froths as usual. This, in four years of operation, are the only negatives we’ve experienced.
So there you have it – if you’re looking for a fully automatic coffee center, the Jura Capresso Impressa Z5 is a fantastic choice; in fact, it’s the best any of us have tried. At $3,000 it is pricey, but do yourself a favor: spend the money, use it every day like we do, and four years from now and 4,269 coffees later, you too can revel in the fact that you cut your Starbucks budget down to a third of what it once was. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make it 4,270 cups (and counting). For more info about the Jura Capresso Impressa Z5, visit the Jura Capresso website.
