Sage Descaler 6 units

I hate buying a coffee maker and then spending around €120 a year on same-vendor maintenance for fear of other cleaning products damaging the machine. Sage, of course, capitalizes on this. The worst part is, we don't have hard water where I live, so descaling isn't even necessary.

My first semi-automatic coffee machine. A fantastic machine that makes delicious coffee. It's a bit challenging to use, but if you read the manual carefully, you can't go wrong.

However, it's anything but a stainless steel design. Only the sides and a part of the front are stainless steel; the rest is plastic. Cleaning requires Sage products, which you'll have to keep reordering for as long as you own the machine, at a high price.

Rinsing and cleaning the machine takes a lot of work and water. With two liters, you can make about three double espressos and a cup of tea between rinsing and cleaning.