I have had one for over three years. I installed it myself and it works flawlessly. The only reason the Brew Express hasn't caught on as quickly as the counter top units is that it requires in-the-wall installation, which most people aren't willing to do themselves. Professional installation may add $100 to $200 to the cost; but, in my opinion, it would be worth it when you consider having the convenience of hassle-free coffee brewing in a unit that takes up almost no counter space.

It really depends on how much you want to spend. You can get good semi-automatic units for around $500 or fully automatic units for ~2K. I believe Gaggia is a highly recommended brand but you can find reviews and recommendations on the sites that I mentioned - I haven't bought an espresso machine in many years - I'm sticking with drip coffee these days - recently got a Technivorm and I'm thrilled with it.

I'm not familiar with the newest models of Brew Express, but I,ve been using one of the original models that I installed in my kitchen about six years ago and am very satisfied with the performance. It's one of those items that everyone makes a favorable comment about when seeing it for the first time. I highly recommend it.

I used the Capresso team lux coffee maker with burr grinder for many years-- LOVED IT. Not one bad word to say about it. When it broke down, I replaced it with the new model from Capresso-- but this model was the post-jura merger model and it was terrible... as was their customer service (i had the complete opposite experience with capresso in years past). I gave up the hassle of struggling with Jura and bought the You Brew by Breville. Loved the look.. loved my experience with other Breville appliances. I was so ready to love this coffee maker. I did not. For the first time ever, I returned an item I'd used to Williams-Sonoma. My biggest complaint was that the coffee never got past luke warm.. I also wasnt able to get the strength I wanted but that may have been a matter of fiddling with the controls a bit more. Unfortunately, I never put in the time to work with the brew strength because the temperature was a deal breaker for me. I gave up. I bought a refurbished cuisinart to get me through until someone came out with a better coffee maker with a burr grinder. Hope someone here has a recommendation! Good luck-- I know there are many who are happy with the You Brew but i recommend reading the reviews closely. Others share my opinion with the coffee temps.