Meraki - Espresso Machine

I got one. I like it.

It’s my first espresso machine, so I don’t have a great frame of reference. It’s pretty user friendly, pulls great shots. I don’t have any dislikes other than the kind of grindy twist on the portafilter that is a known issue. It’s tactilely displeasing.

I really wanted to like this machine and tbh I still do, but here are a couple of reasons that returned mine for a refund. First off the portafilter does not fit well. feels like metal grinding each time you put it in. Second a couple of times the operating screen blanked out. was able to fix with a restart…not terrible but for this to happen in the first few weeks?? The thing that made me return mine was the grinder continuously (at least once or twice a week over a 3 week period) kept jamming, and then eventually stopped working altogether. no error message just would not work. This is the same beans that I used in my breville barista plus for years, and typically only make one or two espresso drinks per day. Lastly customer service was terrible. After emailing them about the issues I didn’t get a response for a few days. then they wanted me to send a video of the grinder not working. i was informed it would take 3 weeks to fix and had to send it to them. Had to wait for more than a week to get a shipping label so at this point I gave up.

I purchased my Meraki through IndieGogo in 2024. Communication from Meraki during that process was excellent. My machine arrived in December 2024, and everything was high quality as expected and easy to setup. The espresso was immediately a huge improvement in quality over my previous Breville machine, and the quality improved further as I leaned how to tweak my machine for better puck preparation and extraction. I make a lot of cappuccinos and lattes, and the Meraki does an outstanding job steaming milk, half and half, or coconut/almond milk. A few weeks in, my portafilter handle cracked, so I filled out a service request on the Meraki website. They responded in under 24 hours (I think it was actually like under 2 hours), and I had a new handle within a week. The new handle is solid. Excellent customer service! There is very little I don't love about this espresso machine, especially for under $2,000. I evaluated a lot of different options when I decided to move up from my Breville, such as going with a separate grinder and espresso machine, but I did not find anything that I felt would make meaningfully better espresso without spending a significantly larger amount of money. I am approaching my one year anniversary of daily use, and I give the Meraki a grade of A+!

I picked up one during the BF 20% off and then Paypal 20% cash back also for Black Friday, so it was a decent deal. I'm an espresso newb and just wanted an easy workflow and decent espresso. So far, for my simple use (I make one latte every morning), it's been exactly what I wanted. Was pretty quick for me to dial in a predictable shot and the steam wand is really good.

I am familiar with kaffeemacher's review and testing of the Meraki. Their only real gripe with the machine is the integrated grinder which is almost always the Achilles heel of an all-in-one. They actually give it quite high marks on nearly every other metric including temperature stability, steaming, the software etc. They report not being thrilled about all the screws and plastic but most appliance type machines suffer from the same. If this one singular review is the source of your opinions on the meraki I would argue that your viewpoint is overly critical and at best under informed.

Not paid. Loving mine so far. Despite a few complaints...

1. No phone number to call. Top notch support. However, because it's all via email, it's slow. However, the company empowers you to succeed. Either via a service or replacement option, or self repair. At least for my issue. Can't speak broadly or to others experiences. It's tight in the machine. Servicing it is intimidating. But these days, most companies will prosecute you for opening it. Much less repairing it. I get that in this market, there are a fair number of companies that do allow you to self repair. I'm taking it as a good sign that Meraki is among them, despite the fact that there are a number of people who are still complaining, because it's not "easy". 2. As You may have surmised from number one, my machine arrived broken. I feel like quality control is one of the areas where they've made some cuts. Because the machine is quality. The customer service is quality. The shipping is quality. Usually, something in that chain has to give, for a product to be high quality and still low cost. What I have observed through this process, is that they're very responsive. They're very engaging. They seem to be acting remarkably rapidly on these issues when they do come up. And resolving them... (For the most part.) I am beginning to notice that the machines are very fiddly. They require daily maintenance. Nothing tragic if you stay on top of it. Clean the burrs once a week, or more if your beans are oily. Be careful when you are taking the bean hopper on and off, because I believe one of the pins is fragile and will break easier than expected. From what I can gather in forums. There are some eccentricities with the steamer. Again, nothing tragic. I feel like there's always I do things you have to learn about hobbies like this. Especially when you start using a very new piece of machinery that has very little history on the market. If you are steaming by temp, the steam wand will only run for a certain amount of time. I don't know if it's the same when you run it manually. I haven't tried yet. If you are steaming to a certain temperature, keep in mind that once the wand recognizes that temperature it's going to shut the steam off. So if you're trying to clean the steam wand, and you're steaming into a towel, that towel is going to get warm rapidly, and the steam one may not want to run. Let the temperature sensor cool down. Pull the towel away just a bit. Try again. I haven't had this experience, but some people have had a miscalibration in the grinder readout. There is a way to reset that and recalibrate it from the settings menu. There's videos online that will help. All of these things are so incredibly petty. So far, while I've only had the machine for about 10 days, it has been fantastic. If that changes, I'll update my posts and comments.

Adding to this post! 3 days ago, my machine stopped auto-steaming milk to temp. "Please clean and purge your steamwand" Nothing I did at first worked. I purged it. It still gave me steam. But the temp sensor kept reading really high temps on the wand. I cleaned it up... I ran it in some water, instead of milk. Nothing. Then I saw a video from Meraki, suggesting I add some descaling solution to the water, and then let it sit. So, I did that once... let it sit for about 5 minutes, nothing. Then I did it again, and let it sit in the descale solution for 20+ minutes as suggested, and like magic, it actually worked. Moral of my story? Know what directions to follow... because sometimes they don't tell you. And then actually follow them. Not sort of. Not "I'll just do this, it's close enough." - Because following the directions matters... sometimes. I was about ready to open a support case... over my own stupidity. Don't be like me! Or, don't be like that me... be like this one... the one that reads, writes and follows directions!

You can't even put the time or effort into getting the name right. Your opinion is about as valuable as concrete shoes while you're trying to swim, when you offer it with that kind of bias. As anti-China as I am, for products, not people, there's still a lot of potential in this product. This product will never grow to become a Breville, if people don't give it an opportunity. Maybe that's not for you. But you clearly pointed out that you're still only making assumptions that the internals are no good. You're making assumptions on warranty service. For clarity, you are correct about the fact that there's no phone number to call and that is concerning. But they've also been very good at responding to customer emails, as well as other customer inputs. I think you make good points. But you're framing them in absolutes, before giving them the opportunity to be a decent company. There are plenty of good companies and products that come out of China. I wouldn't say the majority. But there are some. You make a reasonable point about recourse. But we're at the point in society now, where you get little recourse regardless. Whether it was a product that was entirely manufactured, marketed and sold out of a neighborhood shop. Or something that was manufactured marketed and sold out of China. The courts don't actually uphold consumers anymore. When's the last time you had a dispute that you won? Customer service has gone to the toilet globally. Being a machine owner, who has dealt with the company. There's good and bad. But I would make the purchase again. The future is unwritten. It is uncertain. And perhaps this whole thing will be a flop. But for now it is one of the most amazing machines I've ever laid hands on.

The internet is a funny place. And I think we're all still trying to figure it out. What I had tried to say, is that the way you wrote, undermined the value of your comments. It didn't read as years of experience. It read as unbridled hostility and frustration. At least, to me. But that doesn't mean I'm right. It means that's how I interpreted things, and that I could be wrong... and that's why we are discussing it. Conversations on the internet tend to be engaged in, "point for point", missing a lot of nuance. Some people are capable of engaging in conversations. And some people refuse to step back and look at the context. I appreciate the fact that you took the time to look at the context and engage me in civil conversation. I too, meant no disrespect. Which might be a hard thing for me to sell, if what you picked up from me was disrespectful. I have been inside of it (the Meraki) to do some repairs. Because, mine suffered from a shipping issue that I think impacted several people. Clearly not a great start. The company was really great about giving me the option of either replacing it or conducting the repair myself. I opted for self repair. I didn't document it on my end because they already have a fantastic video for it. That said. One of my other Christmas gifts this year, was a Plaud pro. And I am in fact using it to great effect, taking very detailed notes of all my coffee adventures. I am documenting the good and bad in as honest a capacity as I am capable. ... One of the ways in which I am personally struggling, is that I don't believe there is a comparable product on the market for a similar price. Dual boiler. Commercial grade rotary pump. Grind by weight. Brew by weight. PID Temp controller. Milk Temp. Timemore grinder (which is more than adequate for the task specific job It has). There's a long list of solid inclusions. Every single other machine I have looked at, sacrifices something in the list of things I get from the Meraki. Correct me if I'm wrong. But I spent 9 months looking. I found lots of great machines. But every time I found a combination of machine and grinder that I thought would work for me, it came in well above the $1,600 I paid for the Meraki. I still have to admit that you make good points because you do. Some points that can't be argued. And I'm not letting my ego get in the way of that fact. When you make good points, you make good points. Period. I don't like supporting China commercially. I don't like the customer service options. I don't like the intellectual property infringements that occur there. I don't like the labor issues there. And I don't like the fact that it's getting harder and harder to find products that are not at least partially sourced out of China. Usually I feel the only way to disrupt that supply chain, is to not purchase from China. We vote with our dollars. Businesses succeed or fail based on where we spend. So do politicians and entire nations. So I do my best to avoid spending in China. Which brings me to my other point. So many of the machines are still made in China anyhow. The company may not be a Chinese company. Which gives you a little bit of recourse. As you say, if the machine burns your house down... But it doesn't really offer any additional benefit if the company is still outsourcing the customer support to China or India. I don't know what the right and wrong answers are anymore, my fellow internet citizen. If you'll pardon my long-winded rambling, I guess, at the end of the day, the difference for me, is that you would just warn people off, absolutely. "Just don't buy it. Period.", where I would say "There are risks. Just know what they are and move forward with caution. If you can accept the risks, it's a really really incredible purchase." It would be irresponsible for me, to not highlight the customer service concerns though. Like you said. Recourse goes a long way. And we're losing out on that more and more everyday in our society. If you've read this far, thank you for actually reading what I had to say. Thank you for engaging in a conversation with me. Thank you for your civility.

I need to follow up on this later. TL;DR - 1. New company. Trying. Making mistakes. Trying to fix them ASAP. 2. Customer service seems customer focused. Mine showed up DOA. They offered me the option of a replacement, or to try a known fix myself. Which includes getting into the machine. Right to repair bonus. 3. Sounds like parts should be mostly readily available. They do have repair centers that they are partners with as well. 4. The grinder is actually a really good grinder. You're just stuck with it, and that cheeses some people off. CONS: 1. No phone number to call. 2. We are paying full price to be beta testers. But that allows the company to revise the product. Evidence of which is easily seen. It's a solid machine. EASILY worth what it cost. But there are minor growing pains. Eventually, this will be a rave product. I !LOVE! mine! ... So far. I'll update if that changes.

Yep lines up with what I’ve heard from other Meraki owners! The weighted grind/brew workflow is great bc when one person wants push-button lattes and the other wants to tinker. Curious how you feel about the grinder and profiles after a few more weeks?

I have the meraki and love it. Grind by weight, brew by weight, auto temperature cut off on the steam wand, dual boiler, and comes with everything you need to get started. People say the grinder isn't good for light roasts but that hasn't been my experience and I exclusively drink light and medium roasts. You can make it as hands on or hands off as you want with the settings so it's great for beginners and experts. If you look you can find discount codes that get it in the $1500 range.

Got one three weeks ago, and so far I’m blown away. It’s super easy to dial in, heats up quickly, the grinder is excellent, and the steam wand is out of this world. Overall, it’s very easy to work with, and the coffee taste is among the best I’ve tried. The group head (middle part) is stainless steel, while the rest is high-quality plastic but both in look and use, the machine clearly feels like a premium product.

I have the Meraki and I am quite happy with it. The support is very good and helps a lot with issues and the machine is nice from my point of view. Yes it has many plastic parts, but they look and feel good and I did not expect a full metal device.  You get an fully integrated machine which really do not need a lot of room and you have everything you need. The accessories are very nice and otherwise you would need to buy them separately for another 100+ USD/Euro.  Let me know your questions, will try to answer.

First the bean hopper has shaken loose during grinding and second was the silicone gasket between the brew head and the portafilter too thin. Both parts were replaced for free by Meraki. The sent me new parts and I installed them on my own, but they also offered to return the machine so they can install them.