KitchenAid Fully Automatic Espresso Machine KF6, KES8556SX, Stainless Steel

Specialty coffee makers run the gambit of expense from hundred to a few thousands of dollars. I have owned the product for about 6 months and use it everyday. I makes good coffee and is very easy to use and clean. I like that I can keep my whole coffee beans in the hopper, but can add to the preground scoop for my wife's decalf (without having to remove my beans). It is super easy to clean and add water. My only negative is that the coffee is not as hot as some people may want (but I can microwave as needed). Still for the cost, taste , ease of use, and comparatively low price point, I think this is a winner. It also looks good on the counter.

For background, I have multiple automatic Jura machines in the office. I used one for almost a year during Covid. So I have experience with machines in the $1,500 - 5,000 price range. We had a Breveille at home. Loved the coffee quality, but finally decided we wanted to step up the easy factor. Didn't want to spend the money on a Jura. So, we went and tried a Bosch 300 Series. They've been making coffee/espresso machines forever, so thought the quality/reliability would be good. Unfortunately the coffee was not. It was strong, but not hot enough, and no crema. Our friends bought a KitchenAid and we tried it at their house, with our beans, and found it was almost as good as our Breveille or the Juras in my offices. For the price, we went for it and bought one. About 1 month in, we're happy with it. The adjustable temp is great (hot is actually hot). The removable bean hopper is a nice feature. It actually makes crema (not quite as much as the Breveille or Jura, but enough). It's quieter than the Bosch and Juras. It's easy to clean. The water tank on the side is easier to fill for us than a tank in the back (we have it under kitchen cabinets, on the kitchen counter). Being able to save settings for multiple users makes it just a little quicker to get your drink started. Really no complaints at this point. Just need to see how it holds up in a few years.

Would give 1 star if I could. Machine worked well for about 4 weeks, and now leaks water, won’t make espresso shots, makes loud cracking and popping sounds whenever attempting to make coffee and outputs nothing. We are now outside of the return window for Amazon and kitchenaid could not have been less helpful. Their troubleshooting yielded no results, and now we are being asked to ship it back to them with no guarantee of either a replacement OR a refund and told it could be months before having an answer? Absolutely unacceptable for a machine that cost over $1000!!!! AVOID AT ALL COST!

Makes great coffee (I'm not really an espresso drinker, and no milk, just cream added later) and is a 1-touch type like my old Miele. Quieter by far when grinding. No fiddling with handles and moving containers from one part of the maker to another, just one touch. No frou-frou drinks, just good aromatic coffee. Stunningly better than a drip carafe. As usual with this type of machine you'll need to rinse and clean it. My old Miele after many years just became too dirty inside to fully clean and developed a smell like old dry soil. But 10 years is a good run, so I'm hoping the same for this one. Looks like good quality, but my Miele was twice the price so I can only hope it lasts 5. Nice bonus is it comes with its own water filter which my Miele did not, leading to a "descaling program" that took forever to run every once and a while. Overall very nice. Temperature and strength, many different new options again that my old Miele did not have, while retaining the same basic layout and function. Only minor complaint I have is that my old Miele would let me make a coffee for my wife and I with a double tap to "2 coffees" while this one you need to change the settings each time -- if you forget and leave your 1 portion at 2, watch out! Not a big deal, but double clicking on it and walking away would be easier. Also the way it makes Americano the water comes from the middle so there isn't a way to make 2 cups at once.

Brought as gift for wife as her Gaggia Accademia broke down after 7 years. Was a challenge to get it fixed, so after research, I selected this coffee maker. Unfortunately I had to return it for the following reasons, and not on performance. She loved the machine (she a coffee guru), but I didn't know the difference between steaming the milk vs. frothing the milk. This model didn't have frothing, I decided to return it to get the next model up, but then she noticed it was to long in depth as it wouldn't fit in our kitchen remodel cabinetry, as we only had 16 inches of depth for a coffee maker and the unit was 17.5 inches. So it was unfortunate we returned. But overall the machine working great, she loved the coffee bids to quickly replace beans, the water unit that slides out from the side vs the top. The interface for making coffee and the simple cleaning of the milk hose. Had the size been a bit shorter, we would have gotten the K7 or 8. Good machine and was at a great price.

So far, we love it. Very smooth and super tasty all different products it makes. I have not had any issue with it at all so far 2 months using without any glitch. It cleans milk system after a few times using which is perfectly find. it is very quiet, like super quiet, it is pretty nice looking and not at all bulky. Overall, we have fallen in love with this. Price very reasonable compared to more pricey products, I have hard time believing it is any less quality wise at all I have seen/tried many different expensive products in 2000-3000 price range and this is as good in my opinion actually better).

This thing is so great. Easy to work. Easy to clean. Makes great espresso and allows for customization of your drink strength, body, and temp. Cool drink options with dairy. Loving this purchase & id buy again when it bites the dust one day

I bought this in October and set it up at the end of October. I used it about 4x a week since December. I went to turn it on a few days ago, and it would absolutely not turn on. Really frustrating. Hoping to talk with someone through kitchenaid customer service. but lierally cannot believe that this thing broke so quickly. What a shame! I suggest getting an additional warranty if you are buying this unit.

We wanted an "easy" high quality machine that's less expensive in the long run than a Nespresso. This does not disappoint! Simple enough that my elderly mother can use it and produces a decent variety of good coffees

I had a Jura A1 before purchasing the KitchenAid and I'm very impressed by it's build quality. It's easy to maintain and the coffee taste is awesome. I highly recommend it!

After 6 months of making coffee with this machine I can tell that I definitely like it. Very consistent in the taste. Easy to maintain. Many settings to make strength, boldness, temperature as you like and safe it under your profile.

Not sure why some complain. It's a good looking unit, works great. The "not hot" yah, they will complain about everything. I do think it's over priced at full retail so consider it when on sale.

Well, I loved this machine until it stopped working at 4 months in. It started to leak, and then started punting the espresso into the waste grounds tub. I got a refund from Kitchenaid, as I didn’t want to risk the same thing happening again.