Quick Mill Pop Up (Yellow) & DF64 (Green) Espresso Machine + Grinder Bundle

There are so many faults with this machine's design that I'm waiting on approval to return it. There is no automated preinfusion, despite claims to the contrary. The steaming wand is absolutely horrible with 2 oppossed steam holes. Back to back milk based drinks is a real problem. TINY lcd display requiring a very non-intuitive programming procedure.

This is my first boiler machine and I am primarily an espresso drinker. I've had the machine for awhile so I thought I would give my review on this.

Things I like:
Fast heat up - I was concerned that the heatup time would turn me off but overall it is pretty reasonable and I have adjusted to it needing a bit of time to get up to temp. For the most part the boiler will get up to the set temp in under 90 seconds, however for everything to really warm up it takes about 5 minutes.

Aesthetic - It is boxy and maybe not as sexy as some other machines out there but overall it comes in a variety of colours and it looks great on the counter. I have black which hides a lot of the coffee mess.

Good size drip tray - Depending on how much you flush, how many coffees you make and whether you are making milk based drinks I think the tray can hold enough water so that you only really have to empty it daily.

Side load water tank - this kind of limits your options of putting it in a corner but having easy access to the tank is a big bonus. Often times I don't even remove the tank and just fill it with a pitcher.

Steam power - Very powerful steam, it will make quick work of your milk steaming.

Adjustment - the temp is adjustable which is great for those who like to experiment. The pressure lever is a nice option to use occasionally when you want to dial in the flavour profile.

Pressure gauge - with the adjustable pressure profiling lever this is something that needs to be on the machine. It is nice to have this information regardless.

Things I don't like:
Steaming milk - This seems to be the weak point with this machine, there is quite the learning curve to really get that cafe style milk. I have been able to do it after probably 20 or so tries. A few things that make this complicated, the two hole steam tip works a bit different than a single hole and you really have to experiment to get the proper wand orientation. Simple solution is to switch it out for a single hole and it will probably be more consistent. The wand is also a bit tricky to use depending on if you have the short or long version. It really needs a bit more articulation for it to be more user friendly.

On the same note I wish there was a better steam knob, my preference would be something a bit more tactile or even a lever. I find the wooden knob a bit out of place on this machine since the portafilter I received is a black handle one.

Cup clearance - if you use the spouted porta filter you will be very limited in the cup sizes you can use. I use a bottomless and it works for me but I would not mind maybe 10-20mm more space under there for more cup options.

Manufacturer service - I tried reaching out to Quickmill to ask some questions about the machine, never received an email response. I wish I knew this before since I usually like companies that engage with their customer, I guess I will just have to rely on the retailer for this.

User interface - the small little lcd screen is not very intuitive to navigate without the manual when you are in the settings menu. The buttons could have been done a bit better. I don't like the buttons having to go all the way in before it actually registers the press.

Water dispenser - I guess it would be too much to ask to have a separate spout for this. Water coming out of the steam tip is not the most efficient way to deliver hot water. Combine that with the two hole tip and the awkward nature of the wand, it is kind of a bad combo. I rarely use this function but would probably use it more if it had a better way to dispense.

Overall I am happy with the machine and hope to have many years of good coffee with it. I appreciate all the features jammed into this unit even with the shortcomings I have identified, I would probably still buy this again if I was shopping for a single boiler. I think the only thing that sold me on this was the pressure profiling lever which I actually don't use often but it was something I wanted to have.

This machine covers all the bases at a great price point. PID control, pressure control, tasteful design and great build quality. Everything you need out of a machine to tailor an espresso or milk drink to your liking.

My only gripe would be that I wish it came with a bottomless portafilter. I purchased the Quick Mill bottomless later, and it's a perfect match.

Great Machine and The Kitchen Barista was great to work with!

I’ve had this machine for over a year now and here are some of the issues I’ve seen:
1. After the machine has gone into standby, it seems to delay the pre-infusion phase. Meaning I could start pulling a shot but it takes longer as there’s a delay in the water. The fix is that after being in standby, I simply initiate an extraction without the portafilter and get the water flowing. Then I place the portafilter and pull a shot.

2. Occasionally the portafilter basket dislodges from the portafilter as I’m removing the portafilter from the machine. I believe I may have just received a looser spring…? I keep the machine very clean/flush after every shot and use the acidic cleaner regularly so I believed the issue is with the spring itself.

3. The steam wand on my machine is the newer shorter “not cool touch” variety. My boyfriend has an earlier model Popup where they were installing much longer but cool touch variety wand. I much prefer my shorter wand as otherwise it is really cumbersome to get your pitcher in/out from under the wand! Both machines however have the same finicky steaming action (see next)

4. Frothing took me forever to master!! What is shown on YouTube for frothing does NOT work with this frother. After a million cappuccinos, what I finally realized is, yes you must get a a good consistent vortex going and yes you should angle the wand in the pitcher, but being that the wand is rather short, you need to use the smaller sized pitcher for frothing, a maximum of 120ml or so. However the most important frothing suggestion I can give is to keep the frothing tip at the surface of the milk for the entire time of frothing, until the end when submerging the tip will help blend the foam/milk mixture. If you submerge the tip too far below the surface of the milk, you will end up with hot milk—no foam!! It’s as if the steam is too powerful for this wand…? I don’t know; all i know is once I corrected this tiny but important issue, I had consistently excellent foam/steamed milk.

5. For back to back cappuccinos, the problem isn’t waiting for the machine to reach steaming/frothing milk temp. The problem is if you make one cappuccino (extract then froth milk) there is quite a delay in getting the machine temp back DOWN to extraction temp. You can flush/release the excess steam but it is quite a flush of steam and it still needs some time to get the temp back down. It takes maybe 5 min to cool down… ? The best way I found to make two cappuccinos is to extract both drinks back to back, and then froth the milk, even froth in two batches so there’s enough milk. If you’re efficient (also preheat your cups with hot water) then the cappuccinos won’t be terribly cold. But it’s doable to make two cappuccinos at a time. If I’m making 3-4 cappuccinos then it’s quite cumbersome and for those folks if they are routinely going to make multiple cappuccinos, this might not be the right machine for you. For me, where I’m making myself a cappuccino or an espresso or maybe an additional one it’s the perfect machine for me.
All in all, I would buy this machine again. It has a more than sufficient water tank, which is easily accessible for filling which is great!. The machine is compact enough for a kitchen that already has plenty of appliances and limited counter space. It’s light enough to move around if needed (one of my criteria at the time of purchase)
It’s been a great machine!