I am so pleased with the quality of the coffee. A simple, cleaver and well made device.

This very latest version (single spout) of the Mirage is the best all around portable coffee maker available on the market today for 2 major reasons. #1. It has the option of a pressurized AND non-pressurized basket. (Pressurized basket not available with the Picopresso) #2. It has the largest water capacity of any "pump type" espresso maker. (Including the Picopresso) These two advantages alone make it the most versatile portable espresso maker that money can buy. Speaking of money. In a market of overpriced coffee gadgets this thing delivers outstanding performance at a very reasonable and modest price point. The ability to use a naked portafilter allows a person to choose their own standard 54-51mm basket. For instance a person can choose different naked baskets with different shapes, hole sizes, and capacities. I am going to experiment and try to pull a quad shot of espresso from an oversized basket. Why? Because I can. I have a large enough basket and a large enough water capacity so why not? Want to add some chili flakes to the extraction for some added spice? Why not? With the standard pressurized basket I am also able to brew specialty teas and herbal concoctions as well. Honestly if you just want a very good espresso from pre ground coffee without all the fuss the pressurized basket is the way to go. I have pulled some top notch espresso with very cheap, pre ground, cuban style coffee just using the pressurized filter. And because it is a manual machine a person has complete control over most of the variables. (water temperature, dosing, grind size, extraction rates, ect.) This is a very well engineered piece of equipment. This unit will not disappoint.

I own all 3 versions of the Mirage. The last version is greatly improved. A lot of thought has gone into making the product even better.

Although I've only used it twice so far, I've been very pleased with the Starpresso Mirage. It really does make proper espresso with a nice crema. The device is very solidly build and quite satisfying to use. Kudos to the engineers who designed it and built it.

It attains high pressures by using a manual pump to pressurize the hot water chamber before the water is released to the coffee grounds in the filter basket. It can attain the high pressures promised because the pump has a small diameter piston in a small diameter cylinder. That means that the force needed to move the piston remains manageable even when the hot water chamber has risen to a quite high pressures. Because of small diameter, you have to apply many strokes to the pump to arrive at the high pressure. I need 30 to 40 for the full cycle. At 1-2 seconds a stroke, that does not take long.

The pressurized water is not released to the coffee grounds until a valve downstream of the water/coffee senses a high enough pressure. That means that the pressure is sustained not by resistance to the flow of hot water through the coffee bed but by the operation of the valve. The advantage is that the successful extraction of an espresso shot is relatively insensitive to the fineness of the grind. However an appropriately fine grind should still be used since a coarsely ground coffee may not be extracted well.

Overall, it is a great machine that does what it promises to do.

-Pro's
Easy to use；Well constructed；Taste is decent but still learning ratio；Wide range of coffee-water ratio；sturdy functional stand；Great for camping or office
-Cons
Took me a while to assemble
Not getting the creme like other brands
Too many pieces and rubber seals