How To Repair A Saeco Starbucks Barista Machine, And Make An Amazing Espresso

I will show you how to easily repair this espresso machine.

This is a Starbucks espresso machine made by Saeco.  It’s the Starbucks Barista, which I bought in 2005.  The problem I am fixing in this video is the dripping steam wand.  Well, it’s more than a drip.  It’s a quick drip to a stream when making espresso.  This prevents all the pressure going to make espresso where it’s needed and is just a nuisance in general.

I have never repaired one of these before, so you will watch me learn as I make the video.  The culprit that is causing this problem is actually two O rings.  I spent $20 for a repair kit, but the two O rings, which, if I could have bought alone, probably cost about ten cents.  However, this machine is not sold anymore, and it has been pretty solid.  I have used it for years, so to spend $20 to get it back in functioning order is not too bad.

What I learned from making this video is that the front of the top and back cover, which seemed impossible to remove, is actually removed very easily if you know how to do it.  This is shown in the video, so you won’t have to struggle as much as I did.  Also, it was a slight mystery trying to figure out how to remove the steam knob.  Once again, it's very easy once you know how to do it.  Then, just replacing the two O rings is also pretty easy.  Now that I have done this, I think it is probably about a 20-minute job and relatively cheap, even if you end up using the two O rings from the $20 kit.