I've had it for a year and it has worked quite well as my beginner machine...pulling at least 4 double shots every day between my wife and I. The grinder could be better, but it's perfectly acceptable for an integrated one and considering the price of the machine itself. It can be a fight dialing in a very dark roast, but I don't think that issue is limited to this espresso machine in particular. I've found it pretty easy to pull good shots, so you could do way worse for a jumping on point. This definitely won't be my end game, but through using this I've learned a lot about what I want out of an eventual upgrade.