This little gadget makes pretty good espresso for something that is small enough to fit in my purse. Admittedly, I was initially very frustrated by it simply because the included instructions are completely unclear (and sooooo tiny--both the diagrams and the font). I ordered this to take on trips in case where I'm staying has bad coffee. The first trip I took it on, I tried to test it out and ended up with barely coffee-flavored water because I didn't run it correctly. Luckily there was good coffee available at the rental.Today I finally pulled it back out, got out my reading glasses & deciphered the instructions. And yes, I have readers but they're the weakest possible strength & I almost never actually need them so I stand by the small font complaint (see my photo). Even after re-reading, I was still confused, because they indicate that the device can heat the water for you or you can use preheated water to save time and battery charge. But then the directions only explain the process if you're starting with cold water. It also leaves out the step of actually powering the device on. I tried out what I *thought* would work for hot water & luckily had a better result than on my trip.To save you a similar headache, here's what you need to know. Follow the tiny diagram to assemble your espresso machine according to whether you're using pods or grounds. Long press the power button to turn it on. If you're using preheated water, pour it into the water chamber at the top. Then just one short press of the power button starts the brew cycle. If you need the device to heat your water, pour the cold water in the top chamber, then two short presses of the power button will start the heating process, which take 3 to 4 minutes. Once the water is hot enough to brew, all of the indicator lights below the power button will come on. Then you need one short press to start the brew cycle.Once you're done brewing, remove the cartridge at the bottom with the ground coffee, fill the top chamber with water again and do one more short press of the power button to run the water through a brew cycle to clean the device. Then a long press to power everything down. You can clean the cartridge separately with a quick rinse.Ultimately, it's actually pretty simple to operate once you know how, easy to clean, and makes great espresso. And you can take it pretty much anywhere. I really wanted to give it 4 stars because of the instruction fiasco, but the device itself is really good, so it gets 5.