Estro Barista Athena

Pros: Helpful instructional video; ease of use; Quality, Durability and Performance.
Cons: Cost can be prohibitive, especially since accessories must be purchased seperately.

I come from a family that seems to have a slight obsession with coffee. With a total of nine people (7 kids!), and most of us kids being adults now, we have a lot of combined experience when it comes to expresso machines, coffee makers, and coffee in ...

Pros: Thick, rich, delicious espresso.
Cons: Time consuming priming required.

I began my quest for a perfect shot of home brewed espresso after a visit to Europe. In every cafe throughout Paris and London,coffee was served "crema style," which is a pressure brewed cup of very dark roast (a shot of espresso made larger and...

Pros: Excellent crema, fine froth,
Cons: Time consuming due to required priming. not good for a large (more than 4) crowd.

I have only been using the Athena machine for a few weeks, but I am very happy with my purchase. ...

Pros: Best espresso ever, easy to use, automatically programmed for amount of water to pull.
Cons: High enough price that you'll want to try to wait until a sale.

The good is that if you want a great cup of espresso, you should read no further: out of the box (after washing the machine and watching the video which comes with it), the Starbucks Barista Athena easily pulled the best double shot of espresso I have ...

Pros: Makes tasty espresso; easy to use.
Cons: Poor workmanship; machine did not last nearly as long as expected.

I purchased the now discontinued Starbucks Barista Athena espresso machine just over two years ago. I paid what I consider to be a decent amount of money for this machine; I realize it wasn't the most expensive espresso machine out there, but I trusted ...

Pros: none
Cons: Poor Quality

I bought an Athena from a local Starbucks today I couldn't wait to get home and set it up, I watched the video that came with it and went along with it verbatim. I found that the steam was less then adequate to froth the milk the way it was supposed to....

Pros: Great espresso, excellent frothing, fast brewing
Cons: Expensive, hard to learn

The Barista Athena is a an excellent machine for home use. Making a latte or mocha is fairly simple and tastes just like a store bought Starbucks. It also has support for Starbucks pods, which are a self contained espresso grounds in a packet for easy...

Pros: Quality, ease of use, instructional video.
Cons: Haven't found any yet.

I tried 5 different machines before I realized the best place to get consistently good espresso was the best place to get a consistent espresso machine. As soon as you take it out of the box, the quality behind this machine is obvious. From the weight...

Pros: Very high quality
Cons: none so far

From the minute I took it out of the box, I knew this was a high-quality machine. Everything about it - the fit, the finish and the performance, are just outstanding.

The instruction book is very thorough. This machine also comes with an...

Pros: Great espresso, the capacity to produce great steamed milk, easy to care for.
Cons: A little boring to look at (says the girlfriend).

My girlfriend and I have now owned and operated a Starbucks Athena for over one year. As the primary barista, I'm writing its annual performance review ;-)

Over the past year, the machine has given flawless service; it's used to make a minimum of four espresso shots per day; the streaming attachment has likewise been used every day.

Espresso quality: Better than 80% of what I get "on the outside." Consistently great crema, body, heart. After initially fiddling a bit with the automatic shot length, I've had it on the current setting for about 9 mos. The automatic feature is awesome and contributes mightily to the uniform delivery of high-quality espresso. When used with "pods," the making of great espresso is essentially idiot-proofed.

Steamed milk quality: I've learned that technique is everything...aerating the milk is as much a function of wand angle as it is of "steam power." And in terms of producing steam, the Athena is absolutely serviceable.

Ease of use: This unit is easy to clean, easy to de-calcify, solidly built, etc. Absolutely no issues after a year.

Pros: Great coffee, quick, easy
Cons: NONE

I have had this machine for 4 years. No problems and great espresso, latte, etc. I did manage to break the handle and was unable to make any for awhile. I tried going to a local Starbucks and asked the manager if he could order one for me, he stated that he could and it would take 2 weeks. I went in after 2 weeks and he said they were back ordered. I then called the 1-800 number on the back of the machine talked to a person in Seattle and she said it would be at my house in 2-3 days. Sure enough it was and with a few samples of coffee. The price was $25. They had a list they sent me in case anything else breaks. Finally a company in America that actually gives a damn.

Pros: Makes great espresso
Cons: Should anything break you can not find replacements! Would never recommend buying new or used.

I needed something to keep the mind going while studying and found that espresso coffee was the legal drug of choice.
At the time there wasn't a Starbucks open in the wee hours so I decided to invest in a espresso machine sold at Starbucks, thinking if I had any troubles with the machine someone from Starbucks could help me. A couple years go by and Starbucks stops selling the machine I bought from them and wouldn't you know, something would break. The part that holds the coffee gets a crack and I haven't been able to find a replacement part for it to this very day! I have seen a few of these espresso machines being sold on eBay as a "buy as is" and I say to them...buyers beware! It's not worth 5 cents if you cannot use it!