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I first saw this machine in a shop window it Italy and I fell in love. It is truly handsome but there is a steep learning curve, and at the end of the day it really only makes a pretty good cup at best.and that's on a good day. When I found I could buy it here I was thrilled. But honestly, the performance has been a bit underwhelming. Forget a nice thick crema. If practice makes it any more perfect, I'll update this review later on.
I could not be much happier with this purchase. The minuses here are few and immaterial. the built in tamper is handy.
I don't use the frother - just remove it an use it old-school. Just experiment and enjoy as you get closer and closer to your favorite cup. The espresso is great.
Having an adjustable burr grinder will get you pulling commercial style cups in short order. The built-in burr grinder suffers one shortcoming.the switch is set a tad too far in. You'll figure it out.
Every espresso maker is going to have plusses and minuses. Buy it.
It makes great espresso if you do not let the water run to long, i.e less water stronger espresso. I live most of the time in Italy and when I am in the States I find that the best espresso I can get is when I make it myself. I currently own four La Pavoni's. The person who returned his PA-1600 because he could not get the water to come out needed to know that you must let the pump run a very long time to prime it and it helps to open and close the steamer a couple of times. I returned the PA-1200 because I want to use pods and there was no way to convert that machine. I then bought a PAB-16 SI Black for less money. In addition, coffee is very important. I buy LavAzza pods from Espresso Zone for less than $0.40 per serving.
I eagerly unpacked the new machine, plugged it in, followed the directions to prime it, got steam.but no pump. Even though I am a novice barrista, I like the fact that this machine allows me to learn and get better.The quality of the machine seems excellent. I promptly returned the Serena and ordered the Napolitana instead.I went out to meet the UPS truck, and as I signed for my new machine, the UPS lady let the box tumble down the stairs of her truck and onto the ground.urgh. I knew I had to have an espresso machine after using a friends Starbucks Barrista but that machine proved hard to find. The grinder is noisy, but I've never used one that wasn't. I like the fact that I can make adjustments with the grinder, and adjust how much pressure I use with the tamper, and thereby have control over the quality of my crema, and the strength of the coffee.
I pushed it back on, marveled at the simplicity of the parts inside, and had it put back together and brewing great espresso in 5 minutes (I don't know that I would recommend doing this, as I probably voided the warranty, but who's going to know :) ).I brewed a great espresso the first time I used the machine, and am getting a little better with each one.
I was so disappointed.
The portafilter is heavy and stays hot for a long time.
guess it's discontinued, so I opted for a Starbucks Serena which was a huge disappointment.
The stainless steel looks great and is easy to clean.
I started to fill out the Amazon return form, but decided to sleep on it.
The next morning I pulled out a screw driver, thinking that something had jiggled loose from the poor UPS handling, and after removing 2 screws and carefully prying the top off, I found that the wiring harness had slid off the pump.
The steam frother works great.
I look forward to using this machine for years and years.
Well, I have this Espresso Machine for 3 weeks now, this machine is very well build, coffee grinder is a little off center, you have to keep it eye on it so you do not spill any coffee while grounding, it does take a little used to it, but once you get your grounds making espresso was a breeze, steaming milk was quick and efficient, what else can I say. cappuccino never taste so good, oh yes one more thing, good buy Starbuck, in 3 months this thing will be paid in full. Thanks
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