La Pavoni Stradivari Lusso STL

Advantages: Absolutely fantastic coffee is possible (better than any chain store).
Disadvantages: Quite difficult to master, and not especially forgiving.

...When a company sells a product that hasn't changed for nearly a century, and still commands one of the highest prices on the market, there is a reason. In the case of the Professional, a very good reason. La Pavoni have built their reputation on the performance of their lever driven espresso machines, which haven't changed significantly since their introduction in 1961. The Professional is the big brother to the Europiccola, and your extra £200 doubles the capacity of the boiler and adds an arguably unnecessary pressure guide to the sight level on the side of the boiler. The name Professional is somewhat misleading, as the machine is designed and intended for the domestic market. The Professional's baby brother, the Europiccola is more widely available and as it is often seen second-hand is almost certainly a better buy than... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

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

...Have you ever wondered why coffee in the coffee shop is better than coffee at home? Coffee shops use freshly ground and roasted coffee, and machines that can extract the full flavour from that coffee. If you want to replicate this quality of coffee at home, you need a machine 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 trim. Go to www.lapavoni.com (domestic line, lever machines) to convince yourself that this is no ordinary machine... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Looks Good, Cheap....
Disadvantages: It is cheap!

...I do love a good cuppa coffee. In fact, I am willing to pay quite silly money for a machine that will do my discerning taste justice. For those of you who are unconvinced, please see my review on the Gaggia Classic. This was the second coffee machine that I have owned, but sadly not one of the better ones. I had mine for a period of about 3 months before I returned it, exasperated with its flaws. Appearance. It does look good, ill give it that. As an interesting aside, the design is actually a copy of a very expensive prosumer coffee machine by (I think) La Pavoni. The chic retro styling is pretty unique, and is the machine's biggest asset. Its matt metal body adds to the effect. No cheap plastic here. The small touches in the design really do set this machine off, such as the slide out drip tray with a handle, or the temperature gauge... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful