With the demands of consumers in mind, illy caffè, the innovative Italian maker of espresso machines (and the top European exporter of coffee to North America), recently made an audacious claim.

They announced that the new Francis Francis X7 would consistently create a "perfect shot of espresso, simply, cleanly and with no fuss, complete with a thick layer of crema atop the espresso like the head of a draft Guiness." The X7 certainly lives up to the claims and brews shots directly from capsules.

The Francis Francis X7 has a unique, two-stage process: hot water is injected into a chamber where it infuses the coffee grounds until the ideal pressure is reached, then a valve opens, and a jet of pure espresso flows out. It tastes as good as it looks.