Espresso Machines > La Pavoni Espresso Machines > by Portioned Coffee System

Advantages: Robust engineering, excellent performance, beautiful styling
Disadvantages: Heavy, hard to keep clean, very expensive

...that's up to the task. La Pavoni produced the Europiccola in 1961 and, some tweaking aside, they haven't changed the design significantly since then. The machine consists of a boiling chamber sitting on a base, with a glass level on one side and some curvaceous pipe-work on the other side. It truly is a thing of beauty, available (in ascending order of price) in chrome and black, straight chrome, chrome with wooden trim, gold, or gold with wooden ...
...yourself that this is no ordinary machine. The machine produces eight shots of espresso, or ten minutes of steam, and its workings are detailed below. How the machine works: If you have seen a Europiccola in a picture, you'll understand that it isn't immediately obvious how this machine turns water into coffee. The large boiling chamber is filled with water and a 1000W heating element heats it to boiling point to produce steam and pressure. When ... Read review

Advantages: Very stylish and easy to use
Disadvantages: Slightly expensive

The Delonghi EN 680 Latissima Nespresso can create a more or less perfect cup if espresso. It is completely unique with it's patented extraction to aid the flow of water through the ground coffee. Nespresso's specially designed coffee-filled capsules are used to give the unique taste you only get with Nespresso. A bit pricey at £300 but certainly a long term investment. Style The Latissima Nespresso is very stylish (see picture) and is ...
...saucer and a sample pack of Nespresso capsules. Conclusion Overall, the Delonghi EN 680 Latissima Nespresso is a very stylish, great espresso machine. The espresso's created are top of the range and are really unique (and taste great) - a great addition to any kitchen. ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to set up/pour normal drinks eg. tea/coffee / stylish and modern look.
Disadvantages: Can be messy and inconvenient when changing pods. Pod prices.

My Dolce Gusto machine was given to me by a good friend when i began working from my home office. He thought it may be more convenient than having a kettle anyway! I was suprised at how easy it as to set up and the modern, stylish look! Once the machine was set to go I reached for the Nescaffe pods and instruction cards and had my heart set on a Chocochino! I followed the instructions and inserted the pods etc but was a little miffed to find that ...
...and then swap again to get the right "layering effect" and taste. Apart from the fiddling about with leaking pods I was impressed by the taste! The water compartment or orb on the top acts as a kettle with the water heating up by simply pressing the on switch to the side. You then move the lever to either red or blue for hot or cold water, or when using the pods, the pod needs to be inserted into the machine and then the water runs through the pod. ... Read review

Advantages: well priced, very easy to use
Disadvantages: steam arm is temperamental

I bought the Delonghi EC330S after realising I was slowly emptying my bank account paying for numerous Starbucks' every week (even more after they opened one a two minute walk from my flat). Definite plus point in its appearance, it looks stylish and fits in well in modern kitchens especially. It does make good coffee, and although you need to warm the machine up, once you're used to doing this it really isn't a hassle. Although the previous reviewer ...
...either buy coffee beans and a grinder or buy fresh coffee ground for espresso machines, as pods don't really make the most of having a machine such as this. A disadvantage of having this product are the steam arm is very temperamental and sometimes just doesn't emit much steam (despite being thoroughly cleaned). Also, if you want to make more than 3/4 cups at a time don't bother. It isn't so much the hassle, it's the steam arm - it can't cope with ... Read review

Advantages: Makes excellent espresso, cappuccino and latte coffee
Disadvantages: Needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly

...usually get them from a Gaggia stockist (their own stores are few and far between), or alternatively from the Gaggia website. We like our machine, it's been very reliable, and it makes an excellent cup of coffee every time, with the only difference in taste being if we change our brand of coffee at any time. It produces an impressive crema layer on the top of each espresso, not unlike a miniature glass of Guinness in appearance, and while I had ...
...of a long-winded performance, in fact it's very simple indeed. Given the right circumstances, I'd happily buy one for my own home, and having become used to drinking well-made espresso coffee and cappuccino, it really is quite sacrilegious to go back to the blandness of the instant variety. Recommended without hesitation. Footnote: A quick look around the internet tells me that the Baby Dose is currently on sale at around £225 - more information ... Read review