Swan SK22110GN Retro Espresso Coffee Machine with Milk Frother, Steam Pressure Control, 1.2L Detachable Water Tank, 1100W, Retro Green

I bought this to see whether I would use a coffee machine daily or even if enough to justify buying a more expensive model. On opening the box though I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, style and size, and how it eventually looked on the countertop. To be fair, I wasn’t expecting this machine to be as good as it is. Easy to use, good pressure to give you a perfect crema layer on your espresso and the milk steamer is also quite powerful - ideal for latte’s, short continental style and cappuccino’s. I’ve found the best coffee is a level scoop (scoop provided with machine) of a dark roast but I prefer strong coffee so it’s down to how you personally like yours. The coffee press is easy to use and clean after use, I do find that sometimes if I use a coarser grind that they form hard cakes which are quite difficult to remove but that’s just a minor issue. I’m so happy with this machine that I’ve decided that I don’t need to upgrade any time soon. Looks good, does the job exceptionally well and is great value for money.

I bought this as a cheap back up, as I have a Francis Francis that I've had for 10years, and couldn't bear not to have coffee, when I sent that to be serviced. I had read a lot of the reviews on here, so was expecting something pretty basic and plasticky, that might make an awful coffee. I was pleasantly surprised. It's very easy to use and makes a decent coffee. I think to get the best out of it you need to be able to make a decent cup of coffee in the first place, it took me a while to be able to do this with my other machine, but now I know what I'm doing it's much easier. I have a bean grinder so ground my beans to the same size I normally do, I have had a really good crema on every shot I've pulled on this machine. The milk has stretched nicely. One thing I would recommend, that I've done on any machine that I've used like this, is to take off the cover at the end of the steam wand, these do my head in, lots of these machines have these crappy plastic covers on the steam wand, and they just get dirty and annoying as they are super hard to clean. I found this to be the same on this machine, so took the silver end off the steam wand, and you could see straight away there was dried on milk under it, so I've left it off, and it's much better, because you can properly clean it after each use. It's made a decent flat white everytime. Minor points, the steam wand isn't very long, so if you're only doing a little milk, it's a bit of an arse to get it in there (don't get a big milk jug!) but for a £90 machine it's very good value, maybe go watch some YouTube videos on how to make a decent coffee if you want to get the best out of it.

The machine took a bit of time to adjust to. It will take time for you to find the way you like to do your coffee, and the quality of the coffee does depend on what grounds you decide to use. The machine is so quick to set up and use. It only takes a quick read of the instructions and you can be making a coffee in minutes. It warms up really fast so you don’t have to be waiting around for it to be ready to pull your shot. It doesn’t take up too much space and looks really dainty on my coffee cart. There is a single and a double shot, and once you’ve gotten used to using the machine, the double shot is always the right amount for a nice coffee. I find it wonderful for iced coffees. I’ve only used the steam wand a handful of times but I’ve not loved the results so far. It seems simple to use but froths quite a lot and the product sometimes tastes a little plasticky. The espresso aspect is amazing for the price. It’s easy to clean and reassemble.

After doing a lot of research of different machines I didn't want to spend a lot of money on my first at home coffee machine. I ordered this one and was a little skeptical based on some other negative reviews. I'm really please, I've had this machine for a few months now. I followed the instructions precisely at first, and it's simple and second nature to do the various steps/buttons now. I use the coffee maker every day and I love it. It does everything I need/want it to do and I definitely don't see the point in spending more for anything other than aesthetics or very large families etc. I've encountered a few 'problems' that are also mentioned in other reviews and here is how I resolved them; Light colour coffee coming out : In the first few seconds the coffee is very dark then goes light quickly as it pours, I believe some of this is due to aeration as in the cup it still looks pretty dark. I also needed to adjust my expectation. This machine produces an espresso - not a full cup of coffee. I usually have a latte/flat white but if I have an americano style coffee I pour the espresso and top up using the kettle. Milk not hot enough - keep it going for longer :D it does take longer than I initially expected to get piping hot 'Exploding' - this has happened twice. Not an explosion, the filter porter has come loose and popped off with the pressure. It didn't break my cup but could easily break a glass cup. The first time I was rushing and didn't securely lock the portafilter well enough. The second time there must have been some old coffee grids etc where the portafilter locks in because it seemed to glide into place without effort and so when it got going inevitably slid back off. So, I'd say push it into place firmly and remove before switching to the steam function. Larger 2-cup filter not working. Only a drip came out of the larger 2-cup/extra shot filter at first. After some time I realised it's because it needs more pressure to push through the extra grounds. The 'ready' green light may come on but if it's not coming out effectively I just wait an extra 30 secs and it's fine when I try again. Wand not long enough. I usually make one cup at a time. My standard size jug needs to be 2/3 filled to work with this length of wand so means making too much hot milk and being wasteful. So, using a cup or smaller jug is needed.

The plus points are that this coffee machine looks nice, is easy to use and fits nicely on your counter top due to it's small size. That reason for the 1 star and my return of the coffee machine are quite simply due to the cleaning product they've used at the factory in the coffee machines pipework. You cannot get rid of the chemical/antiseptic taste. It ruins every coffee you make! I set it up as instructions stated and run it through. Coffee tasted like TCP. Did it a few more times and made a coffee. Same nasty taste. Tried with a different coffee brand I had. Same again. Cleaned it through with de-scaler hoping that'll help clear the chemical taste out. It did not. I ended up running water through it constantly for 15 minutes and FINALLY got a nice coffee made from it. Brilliant! Actually not. Made a coffee then next morning, chemical taste was back. So it got returned. Really disappointed. Would have been perfect if it was for the taste issue. Swan need to change whatever they're using in production. Reading comments and found a lot have had the same issue with the recent batches that Swan have made, so clearly they've changed something in their production and it's ruined the experience of the machine.

If your looking for a coffee machine with 1 button to press and minimal effort don't buy this and then complain on the review it's 'faffy' or whatever word you'd use! It's an at home coffee machine with frother, not a Tassimo! Anywho, we love this little machine. It's perfect for a novice like myself and my husband. We've had it since January, I didn't want to leave a review until we'd given it a good run. I think 4 months is fair amount of time. We had a pod machine before this and although we liked it the coffee was always very 'blah'. So, once you've had a good few runs with it and you have a routine down it takes no more than 5 mins to make a proper coffee and clean the machine before sitting down to drink your creation. Which in my opinion is well worth it when you're getting a drink similar to one you'd pay a small fortune for. It's not all about the machine, the coffee itself is everything. You put a cheap nasty coffee in your going to get a crappy coffee.. You don't have to spend the earth to get good coffee, just do some research and read reviews. Discover what type of blends you like as well, it's not 1 fits all, we all have different taste buds. The frother is so good, it gets the milk so hot and what technique is used determines the type of froth you get. Coffee is an art of its own, your either into it or your not! My husband is way more into it than me, I'm happy with a flat white, he loves to experiment with it all. It is honestly easy to use, it's 3 buttons! You DO have to put some work into, I say work, it's still very simple. It isn't a pod machine with 1 button though so if you aren't prepared to learn and work a little for your coffee just buy a pod machine! Only slight downfall of the whole machine, the frother wand is just a tad short. If it was another cm or so longer it would be perfect. We still manage to use a larger jug when making more than 1 coffee at a time but it can take some time and doesnt reach the bottom so can sometimes not create that perfect froth. Use a small jug and the froth is perfect everytime! All in all would 100% recommend this coffee machine for at home use, it's well worth it's money. In comparison to others it's cheap, looks good and works brilliantly. We've raved about this to anyone who loves their coffee like we do ☺

Great espresso machine! Paired it with a decent electric grinder and some over priced beans and in frankly blown away by what comes out. Easy to use but I'd recommend doing some YouTube searches on how fine your coffee should be ground. It makes all the difference with how the machine operates and the result of the coffee coming out, but it only took a few tries to dial it in. Update: I've been using this unit daily since the Lockdown and I honestly think the coffees this makes are better than anything you can get from Costa/Starbucks (when they open anyway). I'm no expert and I'm probably still doing things wrong, but I've definitely learned from a few mistakes others can avoid. Here's what I do which will hopefully help: Grind your own beans, it's worth it!! I tried soooo many preground coffees and none of them had more than a 1/3rd the flavor of freshly ground and espresso just doesn't work right. I get my coffee beans from Rave Coffee because they roast to order (no paid promotion), but get whatever you like. Don't use a blade grinder!!! I bought one of these first and it was ultimately a wasted purchase. Blade-ground coffee is better than preground, but it's not the best. I'm not sure what it is but some flavor seems to get lost/not transferred to the drink. DO BUY A BURR GRINDER!! These things are insane and double the flavor I was getting from my blade grinder. My new grinder is a Andronicas Burr Grinder which inset to the finest setting and then scoop directly into the porto filter (handle-thing that holds grounds in the machine). Do NOT burn the milk!! Man, it stinks. I bought a little milk steaming jug and thermostat for about £8 and they do the job, nothing fancy required. I read online that if you heat milk to between 145-150°F it goes through some process and begins to taste a lot sweeter. I tried it and it works perfectly!!! Soo... Welcome to Mthybusters.

First of all, as Larry David said, you gotta get those beans. Then you have to grind them right, which is an art in itself. I had no issues with any kind of plastic aftertaste. When I got it, I ran the machine once without any coffee in it, as detailed in the instruction manual, and thereafter the taste was perfect. This is a cheap machine. It feels cheap, but it looks quite cool. Notwithstanding its seemingly flimsy construction, it has been producing ok results for me. The steam wand takes some finessing, and the construction quality is not great. You need to purge it for a few seconds before starting to froth the milk, to get it all flowing, and even then it has a tendency to sputter. It's not very powerful either. It can take upwards of a minute to bring 8 oz of milk to around 70 degrees. You can rotate the steamer nozzle out to the side so you can fit a bigger milk jug under it. Some reviewers seem to have missed that. The space above the drip tray is too small to fit a normal mug or a standard 12oz coffee cup, so I use a short teacup then transfer it. A minor inconvenience. If you have espresso cups obviously that would be better. The pressure is not great. I don't believe it is 15 bar. Sometimes when making an espresso it comes out in a weak drip, which quickly turns blond in colour before the extraction is finished. It is simply not powerful enough to extract everything out of the coffee. Nothing like the full bodied flow you get from a top machine. Depending on what you're making and how strong you like your coffee, this might be an issue for you. For me it started out fine, but after a few weeks of owning it I became dissatisfied with the decidedly insipid espresso it produces. In summary, this is a cheap machine that does the job ok, but obviously can't hold a candle to top end equipment. It is good enough to make a serviceable coffee in your kitchen, as long as you are interested in learning how to use it and can adapt to some of its quirks. It is not particularly well made. I would suggest getting it if you are on the fence about whether you want to learn how to make coffee at home, and want a cheap machine to learn a few basics. After using it daily for a while, I have learned more about what makes a good machine, become frustrated with its flaws and want something more powerful and heavy duty. I will be upgrading to a Rancilio Silvia.