Found a great deal on this at Costco ($299) so I thought I'd upgrade from my $99 Mr. Coffee espresso machine. What a joke! I buy whole espresso beans and grind them fresh each time. I used the cup indicated for grinding your own. I made multiple attempts, experimenting with the grind, the tamp, and even the beans - every time I got an 8-10 second pull (about 3/4-1oz) for what was supposed to be a double shot. I even tried customizing the setting as instructed and still got only drips after the first 8-10 seconds. Then I purchased beans from a Caribou shop and had them grind them for espresso with their professional grinder. Same result. As a last ditch attempt, I tried using the cup for pre-ground and got better results, but still not worth the effort. And as another reviewer mentioned, it tasted sour. The automatic frother is a joke, you barely get any foam turned way up, it just sputters a lot, and then you have the whole cleaning process for it. Returning this and will stick to my cheap but reliable and consistent Mr. Coffee and Revelux frother that produces fine, creamy, decadent frother every time.