Product Preview: Saeco Via Venezia

I work at a specialty cookware store here on Oahu, and so when I've the money to spare (or, in cases like this, when I've saved up enough to blow my money on something shiny), I love to pick up new products. In this case, the Saeco Via Venezia, a semi-automatic espresso machine that I have been eyeing out online for a while. Bemoaning my misfortune that our sole semi-auto sold by the company was sold only online, when I saw the shiny new boxes stacked up by the snowcone machine the other day I couldn't resist, and I promptly made my first big purchase as an early Christmas present to myself.

An eggnog caffe macchiato I made with my new toy.

The Via Venezia is a semi-automatic, which means the hard stuff with steam and pressure is all done automatically by the machine. It's a single boiler type espresso machine and a fifteen bar pump, and it comes with a pressurized portafilter which will dole out espresso into one or two cups, depending on how many shots you're looking to pull. Since the portafilter is pressurized and comes with an adapter for pods (which I'm sure the mother will use), it's great for a beginner, and from the get-go I've been pulling some pretty decent shots. A few internet videos in and I'm already sipping an eggnogg late in bed while typing this out, so I'm pretty happy with my purchase--but plan to hear more from me in a month or so once I've really got this down!

xAlyssa