La PavoniEPC-8 Europiccola Lever Style Espresso Machine – Chrome & Silver – Manual Espresso Maker - 0.8 L Water Capacity, Authentic Italian Craftsmanship for Home Use

It's been 15 months since we got our La Pavoni from Amazon and we've made an average of 2-3 shots a day since then. Affogatos, coffee over ice, lattes, americanos... this machine gets serious use and is one of the best purchases we've ever made. That said, I've never purchased anything that is seemingly so simple and yet has taken so long to really feel like I've "mastered". Many of the tips and tricks that I've ended up relying on are mentioned in other reviews, but some weren't - so here's my summary of everything I've learned in the last year. I'm now consistently pulling gorgeous shots. This machine will reward you, I promise!When we first got it, it was a refurbished model and I honestly thought it was broken. Everything I did with it turned out kind of crappy. I got no crema, often times the water would start seeping through the coffee before I pumped no matter how hard I tamped. This may well be the experience of many first timers. It was the result of 3 key factors that were wrong: Bad grind, old coffee, group head not hot enough. Let's look at those 3 key factors:1) The grind: We started out with a Bodum grinder on the finest setting and eventually bought a Rancillio Rocky. Many others have said, "don't bother with anything less than the Rocky" and I'd concur wholeheartedly with that. It may seem a kick in the pants when you've already spanked over $800 on the La Pavoni to throw another $400 at a grinder, but if you're not willing to do that, don't even bother with the espresso maker.Grind is such a critical factor in getting a good shot, not just the consistency of the grind but the big differences that tiny variations can make. Lighter roasts need coarser grinds than darker roasts; older coffee will need a finer grind than newer coffee; the machine at temperature needs a coarser grind than if it's not fully warmed up.So what is the "perfect" grind? It's the one where you don't have to tamp too hard and where you have to exert fairly firm pressure on the lever to get a 20-30 second shot. If the grind is too course, you'll get less crema, less extraction and it will pump too fast. The fine adjustment available on a grinder like the Rocky allows you to find the sweet spot for the beans that you have - one click out of 60 makes a noticeable difference.2) Old coffee. I'd read people asserting that espresso beans are basically junk 3 weeks after roasting and I dismissed this as perfectionism/snobbery. In truth, for french press and probably just about any other use, coffee beans that are a month old are probably fine.However your La Pavoni will punish you for using old coffee. Don't buy from the bulk section in the supermarket and pay particular attention to the roast date on the bag. The turning point for me was when I saw a video on YouTube of a guy proudly pulling an stupendous crema from the same model of La Pavoni. What is he doing differently?? Why can't I get that??I noticed he was using beans from a Montana roastery called "Red Bird". I ordered a bag of Blue Jaguar and tried it out. It was a revelation! Red Bird not only sells exceptional coffee, but they roast right before they ship out, so it's guaranteed fresh. If you're struggling with crema, trust me - just order a bag from them and see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't, your coffee beans are not the problem.For what it's worth we now order 5lb bags from Red Bird and use a vacuum sealer to seal them into 12oz bags the moment it arrives. We then put these bags in the freezer. This way it works out at about $10/lb with free shipping which is a STEAL considering the quality of the coffee and the ridiculous prices charged by the Bay Area wax-moustache brigade.3) Group head temperature: Many people in other reviews talk about the first shot always being disappointing. We found that too. There's no logical reason for this to be the case and it's all down to the fact that the machine needs to be fully up to temperature before you pull.The best investment we made - and I waited far too long to purchase this - was a stick-on thermometer that goes on the front of the group-head. It ranges from 194F to 248F and it tells you for sure whether your group-head is at temperature. Without this, you're guessing and you're probably guessing wrong. I was amazed at how many "fake shots" (pulling the lever to let hot water through without the portafilter in place) the machine needs when you first turn it on before you have a decent temperature at the group head. I usually wait until it gets up to 212F and then I'm guaranteed to get a decent first shot. Before getting the thermometer, I was just going by touch which just isn't accurate enough.I don't think Amazon sells these thermometers - we found ours online at a specialty espresso parts store.Finally, here are some tips that I've found to be very useful and I hope you do too:- Temperature: There are many out there who talk about the machine overheating and burning shots if left on. This has not been my experience and from what I've read, the "millennium" edition (being sold here) solved that problem. There may be some who disagree with me and we don't leave it on for hours, but over-heating has never been an issue.- Pumping: The machine produces quite small shots, but gives you fabulous control over not only how much water goes through, but the speed too. When I first got the machine I wondered a lot about how much time you should wait with the lever in the fully up position before pumping? How long is too long? When the lever is fully up, water is being pushed under a small amount of pressure into the coffee. If the grind is too course/inconsistent or the machine isn't hot enough, it may push right through even before you start pumping. If this is happening, your shot will suck.The pump is where a lot of the "feel" of the machine comes in. Both in when to pump and how hard to pump.When to pump: If the grind, tamp and temperature are all correct, it won't really matter how long you have the handle up for because the water won't find its way far into the coffee under its own pressure.How hard to pump: What you're looking for is that the pump should feel firm when pressed down a small amount. If it feels "spongy", I do some short pumps until it firms up. If you've ever driven a car where the brake pedal needs to be pumped to get good pressure, it's a very similar feeling. If you pump with the spongy feeling, you'll find that the shot you pull is going to be smaller than ideal and may not have great extraction. One trick I've learned recently that's really helped with this is to leave the portafilter in for a good minute before even lifting the pump handle. This heats up the top of the coffee, causes it to expand a little and seems to really help with building that firm feeling. Even then, I may pump a little water into the coffee (before it comes out) and then go straight back up to get some more in before doing the full pump.At the end of the day, the most important thing is that the water goes through in 20-30s and that you are exerting some decent force on the pump. You'll feel it out, but don't get stuck in the notion that the pump has to go straight up and straight down. You are in complete control.- Tamping: If your grind is good, you shouldn't need to tamp particularly hard. The one thing to avoid is getting a situation where the shot appears to be coming out of only one side of the portafilter. This means that it's found a hole somewhere that has allowed it to progress unevenly through the coffee. I tried a few techniques to avoid this, including "gardening" the coffee with a fork or similar. Turns out the simplest way to avoid streaming is to just give the portafilter a few good bangs on a rubber mat as you fill it. It just helps the lumps to spread out.In terms of getting the correct amount of coffee in, I actually tamp twice. I fill it up so that it's not spilling out, bang it on the rubber mat a few times, give it a light tamp, fill it again and then tamp fully. This minimizes the spillage/wastage of coffee.- Steaming milk: Getting good steamed milk from this machine has been the biggest challenge for me. There are some days when it comes out great and other days when it doesn't. I have yet to figure out a definitive formula for this. However, I will share what has helped. Having the machine full of water tends to work better than if the water is low - probably due to the fact that it can produce more steam. Getting the milk to swirl seems to help - that all comes down to the angle of the wand. Keeping the wand just under the surface so that it's not making big bubbles also seems to be helpful, but this does require a steady hand. Too much milk or too little milk also seems to be problematic. I did try buying a single nozzle attachment for the steam wand to see if it would help, but that was worse.I hope that this is helpful. I will take you a while before you feel really confident with this, but once you do, boy is it worth it.

Researched the La Pavoni and watched over a dozen videos on the EPC-8 espresso machine. Just got it today and set it up to use. I know the portafilter handle is supposed to move to the left 90 degrees. It does not. The portafilter tabs fit in the slots and it will move maybe 1/16 inch to the left before total blockage. I can remove the inner basket and the portafilter will eventually move to the left with enough pressure while holding the machine tightly with both hands. With the inner basket in, doesn't happen. I called Amazon support and got a young lady I could not understand and she knew absolutely nothing about espresso machines. I gave up after a long, frustrating call with many loud call center background conversations on her end. Then I called the company listed as USA service center for La Pavoni. The support tech told me that "that's just how La pavoni is." This is a $900 Italian machine which has been made for decades. I will apply vasoline to the top control knob so they can sit on it when it comes back.

Due to either poor handling or poor quality of manufacture, the steam release spout was cracked down the middle. This would be an annoyance if not for the leaking release valve, which lets out all of the steam and drips all over the side of the main tank before it ever reaches the spout. I tried to reach out but they only offered a refund upon the return of the entire machine when I only wanted a replacement of these parts.It would otherwise be a fully functional and beautiful machine, shame that it’s such a coin toss on the quality and customer support.

I have a Crossland CC1 espresso machine that has more bells and whistles than you can imagine and is programmable to the n’th degree. When it started having difficulties with the PID, rather than replace it my wife generously suggested I replace it with a new one.I looked long and hard at various machines and to buy anything with even close to the features of the Crossland was going to run into around $1500 just for starters.A James Hoffmann video on YouTube pushed me in the opposite direction - levered machines that have a lot more “hands on” to them, so I settled on the La Pavoni Europiccola.I almost got the pro model instead but I seldom make more than a few cups a day for myself and my wife and decided the longer warm up time wan’t worth having a bigger boiler, I’m glad I went that route.First, as long as you have a decent grinder, it won’t take you long to get the hang of this and start pulling excellent shots. I can safely say I’ve gotten better quality espresso from this than I ever got from the crossland, partially because I probably didn’t have the crossland set up that great, but also because you can literally feel and control the pull on each shot.However, unlike the crossland that absolutely did everything exactly the same each time, it’s almost impossible to accurately duplicate shots, unless you’re doing them back to back. I roast my own beans so I know the quality of my coffee is top notch and fresh, but sometimes beans that produce a nice creamy well balanced shot will turn around later and give me something tart and unpleasant. I’m chalking this up to the learning curve.I’ve dinged the product significantly in terms of value for money because now that I have one I seriously believe it is overpriced for what you get.This is a hot water kettle with a hand pump attached - that’ s really the only way to sum it up. The only electrical elements in it are a simple boiler with something to detect pressure and shut it off. I know in order to make a profit La Pavoni has to charge enough for them to come out ahead, but at these prices you should also get:A decent tamper - the plastic one is really crap and you’ll have to buy a new one. If they’re going to saddle you with a plastic deal, at least give you one that fits!A way better steamer tip - the three hole tip that comes with it is useless - I cannot achieve anything but hot milk with some foam on top and I’m used to steaming milk. I’ve had to order a new single hole tip.A bottomless portafilter - if you use the standard portafilter that comes with it you’ll not get much of anything taller than an espresso cup to fit under it - plus, everybody should have a bottomless portafilter anyway.A decent chrome grate - the one that comes with it is a cheap little plastic dish affair that I fear will break easily if not carefully handled.And a pressure gauge which I knew ahead of time doesn’t come with this model. I’m not retrofitting it with one but come-on, how hard would that’ve been? They should all have the gauge.My Crossland has a pro-size 58mm portafilter, so everything I used with it, tamper, distribution tool had to be replace for the la Pavoni. Though I knew this ahead of time you need to be aware. If you have any desire to steam decent milk drinks you’ll have to replace the steamer tip too, AND, if you want to really get an idea how to pull decent shots you’ll need a bottomless portafilter. All that’s going to set you back at least another $100 if not more.So, while I am keeping this and I am enjoying it, I find myself wishing I’d held out and gotten a 2nd hand one for considerably less.Bottom line - it will make excellent espresso, but you’re going to have to buy more stuff for this to get it to work satisfactorily ‘cause out of the box it’s not ready for prime time.