We used to have an expobar + grinder which my husband loved and which I liked for steaming milk and getting hot water (I'm not much of a coffee drinker). But in the course of planning our kitchen renovation, we decided we didn't want coffee-grinds all over the kitchen. We considered a built-in, and decided on a countertop superautomatic instead. We bought a high-end capressa jura, after reading positive reviews. But we just weren't happy with it - it's true that we didn't have coffee grounds all over the kitchen, but it took forever to steam a cup of milk or draw out hot water. So we sent it back and got a refund, and bought a pod-specific pasquini livia, which we're now both extremely happy with. Espresso-snobs look down on pods, because the coffee isn't freshly ground, but my husband loves how much less cleanup he has to do, and I love that there isn't mess all over the place (despite his attempts at cleanup), and the thing has enough steam to power a locomotive - I can steam a cup of milk super-fast (or get hot water fast). We're finally both happy with what we have. We chose the countertop super-auto over a builtin because it was smaller, but we ended up really glad that it had the other advantage of being replaceable when we hated it. If we had enough space for a separate coffee bar with its own sink, we might have stuck with the expobar + grinder setup, but we decided we'd rather use the space for a desk, and overall this seems like a really good space-and-mess-saving compromise for us both. The coffee tastes good to us, too. Here is a link that might be useful: pod-specific livia

Now you have all made me lean on this computer and bawl my eyes out. Well...not quite, but I am sick with envy and remorse. :D Beautiful kitchens are shown by all and you must be terribly thrilled. Let me say that I have a 36" GE Profile that is practically sitting in the pathway, beckoning every purse and bookbag that enters this house. Each day that I sit and sip my coffee, I notice a new ding on this stainless monstrosity. My cute, perky and dimwitted kd skipped out as soon as the plans were drawn and the appliances were already ordered. (I think she went to Hollywood to apply for "The Bachelor") DH and I were left to muddle through on our own with the very patient GC. I found you guys too late....I already had about SIX INCHES of the fridge sitting out in everyone's way. When I FINALLY got the drift of counter depth fridges after coming here, it was way too late. SIGH...I love this forum and I know what to do the next time. I only hope I'm not too old, feeble and suffering with dementia to find you guys when I'm able to afford an update.

Trying to find a solution as well... sadly, insetting the coffeemaker would interfere with joists, any suggestions would be appreciated... I have little counter space available on the working side of the kitchen... only 24 inches on either side of the cooktop and don't really want to put it in the island... I thought maybe I could move the microwave/convection unit to one end of the island and possibly place it on top of the wall oven... not sure if that would be too high? I would like to have the wall oven at the same height as the island so I can easily offload pans

We have an old Miele cva 615 from around 2007. Machine has done well over 10,000 coffees (99% espresso) over that time period (it has a little counter in one of the submenus). Around 10 years in the pressure pump went out, but this is actually a very easy replacement you can do yourself with a $30 part you can get on Amazon. There are videos online to show you how. Have had no other problems. My machine has always made excellent coffee, and I prefer it to all but a few coffee shops I have run into overseas over the years. It's coffee snob level coffee to be sure. The only other machines I have experience with are a Wolf built in unit and a Breville counter top unit. Both made good coffee but I still prefer the Miele. Matter of personal taste of course, but I can say more objectively that the crema on the Miele is a tighter, richer, more consistent foam compared to the others I have seen. Excellent aroma and flavor. Not sure if it's better pressure or plumbing or the way the machine packs the plug after grinding-- but the end result is just plain delicious. My wife and I are building a new house and a new Miele unit is a must for us. We're putting it in a wet bar area off the kitchen. TT