I bought my X3 in 2001. Some days I pull 1 shot, some days I pull 10 (for company), the X3 has stood up well.

Over the 7 years of ownership, it has become a bit noisier (pump bearings probably wearing), the portafilter needs a bit more of a twist to seal it properly, and the dual spout first expanded and fell off the filter, and then eventually broke as I squoze it with pliers to get it to screw back onto the portafilter. Regardless, it still brews great coffee, although it requires practice.

I began using ESE pods exclusively until my coffee bean merchant convinced me to use his blend. I found that while you can get good consistent shots with pods, you can achieve excellence with fresh ground coffee. I keep pods for dinner parties (faster, cleaner), but use grounds for myself. My Coffee Bean shop grinds beans for the X3 "one-click" coarser than for other espresso machines. It worked great. If the coffee is too fine, it clogs up in the basket.

There are two tricks using this machine that help you get great results.
1 - If you use the steam wand, be sure that you run the pump until water sprays through the group, this will refill the reservoir for the next shot. Important for good crema.

2 - If you use steamed milk: steam your milk FIRST, switch off the steam heater button, pump water into the reservoir, load your coffee and pull your coffee shot(s). The room temp water hits the steam-heated "boiler" and come to near-perfect temperature for your coffee shot, a few seconds of heating brings it to brew temperature. This is backwards from how most machines work, but is the intended method for the X3.

I chose this machine for it's small footprint. It take up about as much room as my waring blender and fits nicely under my cabinets. I DO pull it out when I brew to give me some extra counter space to work and for cups, milk, coffee, etc.

Accessories: a very slightly smaller scoop, and a good-sized tamper have helped me get good dosage in the basket.

The Francis Francis X1 was sent to us in error; we had ordered an X3, but we decided to keep it rather than go through the problems of sending it back. This is a fantastic machine. Once you've mastered the instructions it's easy to use, makes great expresso, doesn't splatter the whole counter, and is fairly easy to clean.

I heard very good reviews of the Francis X3 espresso machine. I was anxious to enjoy a good cup of coffee from this machine. But the seller: ACE Digital Club sent me a damaged machine and they refused to send me a replacement unless I paid another overpriced shipping ($100) and a penalty of 10%($50)of the price for the return of the damaged machine. Of course I choose to receive a refund (less a 10%) and look for another seller.

Here I have a refurbished Palinato X3; textured, very hardy stainless; and a good bargain with no cosmetic flaws, -170 to start (6 mo warranty).

But let me correct one point made in these reviews, the drip grill below is made of chromed plastic, a rather new trend that works quite well, the steam nob as well seems to be this material.

All around this is quite an improvement on the X1: more boiler pressure plus a more heat efficient design makes the whole machine heat in less than half the time as the X1. Cups warm quicker also.

It also seems to handle ground coffee a little better. Still it's important to use a grind as fine as can be without becoming powder, and the milk should properly be low or no fat for steaming, fat content just makes more fat, not true foamed milk.

I've had a Gaggia Classic in my office for quite some time. It pulls excellent espresso shots, but the steam wand is cheap-looking, ineffective, and cumbersome to clean. The machine itself is not quite an award-winning beauty item, either.

On the market for a machine for home, I eyed this FrancisFrancis! X3. Reviews were equally outstanding and the machine looked much more attractive, so I decided to take the plunge.

The machine arrived in excellent packaging and with a complimentary pack of Illy espresso pods (FrancisFrancis! is owned by Illy, I believe). The machine is, indeed, really beautiful (I bought the silver one).

I thought I'd write a review comparing against the Gaggia Classic, since it's the clear contender in the same price range.

- In terms of aesthetics, the X3 wins hands down. This is not the overriding factor for me, but truth be told, it is important.

- In terms of material and construction, they both feel solid, but the X3 feels more so. The grill in the X3 is made of plastic, whereas the Gaggia's is metallic. On the other hand, the steam knob in the X3 is metallic, but made of plastic in the Gaggia. The X3 is slightly easier to clean.

- In terms of usability, the X3 is clearly targeted toward ESE (Easy Serving Espresso) pods. It has a holding element exclusively for pods, and the protective perforated plate that is typically attached to the boiler element to protect it from coffee grounds comes included as an add-on in the X3 package, whereas the Gaggia has it attached permanently (which is more typical). While the X3 can, apparently, use coffee grounds just fine (judging by the instructions and other users' reported experience), in my case I only accomplished to make a mess of my kitchen counter. Nevertheless, I fully intended to use ESE pods exclusively (SO much easier to keep things clean and tidy), as I do with the Gaggia in my office, so this wasn't a concern for me and thus I never tried too hard to get it to work with coffee grounds.

- Espresso quality is outstanding in both cases, but each machine has a trick to it. In the case of the X3, it is important to get the hang of how long a shot you can pull before the water coming out of the boiler decreases in temperature, which would give a bitter taste to the coffee. As a rule of thumb, if the low temperature light comes on, you've ruined your espresso. It took me a couple of days of scratching my head and Googling to find this out, but once I realized where the problem was, it was fixed forever. In fact, the X3 comes with three different ESE holders, each with more or fewer perforations. The instructions clearly indicate that you should pick one based on how long a shot you want--i.e., NOT by pumping out water for a longer time. I guess I learned my lesson the hard (bitter?) way. The Gaggia is not without tricks, as it tends to drip some water into the cup before it starts to pump out espresso, so I always need to hold on for a couple of seconds after the pump is on to put the cup beneath the spout (messy!), or the coffee will be watery. On the other hand, the Gaggia can pull longer shots and not come out bitter (perhaps temperature is higher to begin with).

- The steam wand in the X3 is extremely easy to use and clean. You can create abundant and (importantly) dense froth as long as you use 2% or fattier milk. The best way to learn how to use and clean it is to watch the DVD that comes with the machine, which is by the way short (good), to the point, and excellent. The wand in the Gaggia was something I gave up on long ago.

People complain about the water reservoir being too small. I personally think it's perfectly adequate, although the Gaggia's is indeed larger.

In conclusion, both machines are excellent, with the X3 looking nicer, sturdier, and sporting a better steam wand. I would venture that the Gaggia pulls slightly better espresso shots, but they are really close. The one thing I don't feel comfortable discussing is the X3's handling of ground coffee (as opposed to ESE pods). If that's important to you, I sugggest to look for answers in other reviews.