Krups XP2000 Review

Overall Rating

Pretty stylish, makes coffee.

Some awkward handling points

Looks can be deceptive. A smart exterior hides a couple of niggles with the XP2000. First has to be the poor explanatory leaflets, which fail to mention you will be in for a nasty surprise if you switch the machine on without first filling the water tank. It can wreck the machine, and the noise it makes is horrible. Next make sure that the water reservoir (espresso part) is very firmly planted indeed (or the noise it makes is truly horrible). The espresso it made was nice enough, though it only makes a maximum of two cups at a time. I had teething problems with the fiddly fitting of the espresso arm, in its socket. There were a couple of leaks occasionally if the strict procedure is not followed rigorously and carefully. The coffee which emerges looks alarmingly watery sometimes and the espresso unit has to be routinely cleaned to maintain its effectiveness. The milk frother thingummyjig on the side gets very hot and mine actually shot off its moorings with the power of steam. A potential danger point. Also it has to be thoroughly cleaned after each frothing. Get the hang of all this though and it will make a delicious, if noisy, cuppa. The filter coffee unit is a straightforward affair, though not as simple and efficient as my old Krups standalone unit. The filter holder is awkward to fit and my unit smells of burning plastic after use. Also will spurt clouds of steam at you if you open it to refill immediately. The old one had a more independent reservoir which didn't suffer from kickback in that way. It has to be allowed to cool down somewhat between cycles.
The unit is quite hefty and takes up a fair bit of counter space. Filling the reservoirs involves reaching the rear of the unit and so it has to be manhandled around. You can't easily leave it as a fixture.
Lastly the two lovely blue lights are stunning to observe and a handy reminder that the machine is in business. Sadly one of mine decided to end its own life after just three weeks. So it's a nice looking machine but the fit could be better and the handling needs to be improved. For £125 (John Lewis) I would have expected something a bit slicker but that may be na ve. As its slightly more convenient than driving to Starbucks and far better for the environment, I would give this 4.5 out of 10 but the looks push it up to 5