This is my family’s first time owning and using an espresso machine, yet my husband was able to make an incredibly delicious espresso with this machine on his first try, which was really promising. I don’t really know what kinds of features are standard on an espresso machine, so I’ll just say what I like and don’t like regardless.I ordered this in the color “Fine Silver,” which I think looks gorgeous! It matches the stainless steel and black appliances in my kitchen and looks very classy in general. A good portion of it does seem to be actual stainless steel, which means it picks up fingerprints and smudges easily. I’m already in the habit of wiping such surfaces down thoroughly at the end of each night, so I’m not terribly worried that collected fingerprints will begin to look gross. The surface where the drinking glasses sit to fill up does start picking up scratches immediately, so I assume it will become quite scratched-looking right there with some time. I’ll just have to accept that.While I love the stainless steel portions, there are way too many plastic parts that I basically detest, several of which contact the ingestible liquid directly and are heated when doing so, raising serious contamination concerns I have with all plastic. I consider plastic to be an irredeemable contaminant, and so I’m extremely unhappy when it contacts anything I ingest. In fact, I’ve spent the last decade replacing as much plastic in my kitchen as possible with materials that do not contaminate. So, the inclusion of so much plastic on this unit feels like a step backward for me in that regard. Firstly, the water tank on the back is hard, clear plastic. That could’ve been stainless steel or even glass. Also, the knob that you see on the top on the right side above the frother arm is the cheapest feeling element of this entire machine. It feels like that cheap plastic that becomes brittle quickly, often flaking or rubbing off its faux stainless-steel paint after some use. I’m not looking forward to that. The handle mechanism for the portafilter, while also plastic, feels much sturdier and of much better quality, thankfully. Either of the two included portafilters sits inside a stainless steel basket attached to that handle, but the bottom of that basket is plastic on the inside. Even though the water storage area was bad enough, since this area is plastic that gets heated, it is the most egregious offender. The drip tray on the bottom is also plastic, and the rim wrapping around the top is more of that plastic that looks like stainless steel. Again, I worry about that finish flaking or rubbing off. Since, as I mentioned, I wipe this thing down thoroughly at the end of every night like I do with everything in my kitchen, I’m extra concerned about that finish gradually rubbing away. There are also more small grooves than I care for which can collect small debris that is difficult to continuously clean out. I don’t know if that’s typical of espresso machines, but I generally tend to prefer smoother surfaces with fewer small grooves that trap debris, since they clean more easily and look nicer, in my opinion. At least it’s easy to lift out the drip tray and clean it in the sink. The sturdy portafilter knob is also easy to clean in the sink and feels comfortable to grip, which is important for locking in the espresso/coffee grounds securely.Thankfully, the buttons feel sturdy and produce satisfying feedback clicks. The thermometer on the front looks gorgeous, in my opinion, so that’s a physical highlight for me. This machine included a combination spoon and tamper, which seems to be really cheap plastic, and I think it looks ugly and unsophisticated on top of that. I’ve already replaced the tamper with a much heavier one made of a better material so that I don’t have to use this thing. Indeed, I’ve been purchasing certain accessories, such as that better tamper, a better measuring spoon, a distributor tool, a knock box, an accessory organizer, and espresso glasses, all of which having been coming in handy.Since the water tank is on the back and has to be lifted upward to remove and refill or clean, this machine is best positioned on a counter with plenty of vertical clearance and not underneath low cabinets, since you won’t be able to easily lift the tank in that case. If you’ve got this on one of those rolling counter stands that slide forward, then you’ll probably be fine to access the tank before sliding it back underneath cabinets during operation. It’s kind of wonky to fill the water container directly from our filtered faucet, and the water tank isn’t the super-easiest to take out anyway, so we’ve implemented a practice of just opening the top flap and then pouring water in from our (unheated) kettle’s gooseneck spout.This machine arrived with pretty basic assembly required. Parts that could become separated and damaged during shipping were taped together with a type of tape (see my photo) that peeled off easily and left no residue of any kind behind on this appliance, which I appreciate greatly. My husband followed the clear and detailed instructions included to get this thing all set up before first use, which he said was a breeze. Soon after, he brewed us our first espresso. Since then, we’ve had many, many more espressos and espresso spin-off drinks, whatever you’d call those. Making some of those, we’ve discovered that frother arm works perfectly well. It does take a minute to get used to using it, and it pretty much always makes at least some kind of mess, shooting spittle onto nearby items and surfaces, which I initially moved away from this machine. We eventually learned that it helps to hold a clean dishrag around the frother arm to effectively prevent the spittle from splashing things, so I recommend incorporating that practice yourself. I do love that this shoots hot water out of the frother arm into a glass to heat prep it before producing a finished espresso.This espresso machine has lots of functions and detailed instructions for each of them. I don’t know how standard that is, but I have to say that I’m impressed. I do love that it makes 2 espressos at a time, which is perfect for my husband and me. Our two espresso glasses sit perfectly under the double spouts so that both get filled simultaneously. Alternatively, a single one of my espresso glasses can be centered so that both nozzles shoot into that single glass without spilling over, so it’s a versatile machine in that way.