So…. Coffee machine experts of STW… I am thinking of treating myself to decent coffee machine … And was looking tthe Dualit Espressivo ….. It also uses pods or proper coffee … So seems handy idea to just make a quick cup…. Or a ‘proper’ cup and savour the experience.

I’ve not had a proper machine before so have no comparison….. And although reviews I have found are generally favourable … A few negatives have prompted a doubt ….

Anyone have one of these machines……. Or other recommendation or input?

I’ve had one for about 4 months now and love it, makes nice coffee and I use it daily without any problems so far. The only thing to be aware of is that it doesn’t take Nespresso pods, although the Dualit pods are compatible with Nespresso! The cheapo supermarket pods are nasty, so I only use ground coffee. Seems to heat up very quickly, but it does seem to dump a lot of water to the reservoir.

Compared to espresso made in a decent machine pods are still very poor even if the water is 9bar and 93° from a decent machine. The coffee is poor quality, pre ground (therefore stale) and roasted on an industrial scale.

Decent coffee is easily achievable without spending a fortune. A gaggia classic and a burr grinder plus beans roasted from a roaster where you get the roast date (not use by date) will make espresso of far better quality than any pod/capsule/overoasted supermarket coffee/lavazza/illy pre-ground.

The Phillips refurb store were knocking out classics for £125 a while ago, my folks picked up a new one with a damaged box for that a couple of weeks ago, you do have to buy a proper double basket though and throw away the ‘crema device’ basket that comes with it.

I’ve had one for a year or more and it’s been great for me. I don’t use pods, just freshly ground beans, like ya do, and while I’m no expert, it seems to make pretty good coffee and other people who’ve drunk it agree. Makes coffee shop stuff taste distinctly average.

So far it’s been 100% reliable, the plastic drip tray has a little little paint bubbling up under the metal grille thing, but that’s hardly a significant problem and milk steaming seems to take a little longer than you might expect, but I don’t really have a direct comparison for that.

Overall I’m happy and I’d buy it again. It’s easy to use and clean, hasn’t broken so far – touch wood – and, oh, one really nice touch is that there’s plenty of clearance for proper mugs rather than tiny little dwarf espresso cups – no offence to dwarves…

Oh, and as above, the drip-tray does seem to fill up quite rapidly, though it depends on how fine the grind is and how firmly it’s tamped.

I got one of these (only in black and silver) and its been faultless.

Makes a really nice espresso with a great crema and the steamer actually makes the milk frothy.

For the money really can’t fault it.

Admittedly doesn’t do pods but then Bragazzi’s coffee doesn’t come in pods so not a deal breaker for me.

Cheers

Danny B

Check out an aeropress espresso maker. Hands down the best gadget cost to coffee quality going. ( I use Has Bean, bloody great coffee everytime)

I’ve had a Dualit 3in1 machine for a few months now. I think its similar to the expressivo.

I got a box of the dualit pods from Costco and they’re average. I use them when I’m in a rush. Otherwise I use freshly ground coffee, which produces better results.

As said above, the reservoir doesnt hold much water so you have to refill a fair bit. Plus my portafilter seems to leak, so may need to return it.

Had our Espressivo for 4 years, used around 4 times daily, its worked very well. It went back to Dualit just before Xmas for some work, they returned it in time for Xmas and it cost £30 inc P&P. Don’t use pods, just Lavazza Oro or Crema e Gusto pre ground which we store in a glass jar in the dark. We don’t use the milk steamer or hot water functions as not that great and a bit of a naff faff & cleaning every time. I’d buy again.

Francis francis X1 is nice or the Bugatti Diva (for more $$$)

I’m with Mattbibbings. Our espresso machine has been gathering dust since we bought an aeropress. Best £20 I’ve ever spent.

Making a quick cup is genuinely no more difficult than using a pod machine and it’s stupidly easy to clean. With the advantage that you can also take it anywhere.

Looks a bit…er medical though…If you absolutely must have a spanky bit of worktop bling to make a cup of coffee it may not be your thing… 😉

http://www.aeropresscoffee.co.uk/

I had a dualit and it was crap. The basket is a double skin that you can’t clean between and eventually blocks, damaging the machine. I went through a stack of baskets from dualit in the time I had it even though I used the recommended paper filters as well. It seems to be a pretty recognised fault with it, but probably not a problem if you use pods. Gaggia classic is better all round and much better at frothing milk, used with iberital burr grinder and freshly roasted beans.

With the Aeropress, what is the benefit of that over a conventional cafetiere?

Is the Aeropress more for Espressos?

Yes – it makes espresso. Top off with hot water for an americano, frothed milk for a latte or cappucino. Results are a lot smoother than a cafetiere and more concentrated – it uses air pressure to force the coffee through a fine paper filter.

Much easier to clean than a cafetiere too. The plug of coffee grounds just pops out straight into the bin. Quick rinse and you’re done.

Yes – it makes espresso

No it doesn’t make espresso.
It makes coffee that has a stronger cleaner taste than filter or French press but its lacks the strength and flavour profile that 9bar of pressure at 93° gives you.

The Dualit is about £100 from Costco if you know anyone who is a member. They don’t seem to do the all stainless version now though.

Reading more reviews of the Dualit has put me off a bit fellas….. Mainly the blocked filters / use of a paper filter……

Now being drawn towards Gaggia Classic ……. Any input from STW Coffee World about them?

I’ve been using the Daulit for three years now , no problems other than some paint chipping of the tray. Never had a blocked filter , think blocked filters must be from the wrong grind being used possibly. It’s used 2-3 times most days, perfectly happy with its performance

MrSmith – Member
Yes – it makes espresso
No it doesn’t make espresso.
It makes coffee that has a stronger cleaner taste than filter or French press but its lacks the strength and flavour profile that 9bar of pressure at 93° gives you.

Ladies & gentlemen, I give you STW. Home of the coffee pedant.

Nothing pedantic about it. If I asked for an espresso and was handed an aeropress brew then I haven’t been given what I asked for. Like getting a pint of lager when you ask for bitter, it’s a beer but not the one you ordered.

Now being drawn towards Gaggia Classic ……. Any input from STW Coffee World about them?

I’m no expert, but I tried a few, and read a load of reviews – and settled on a classic (Amazon, around £160). It’s brilliant – I thought I would only be using it for weekend coffees when i had time, but it’s so straight forward I haven’t used the kettle since.

Use a Krups grinder, fresh beans…double shot of something strong in the morning, then Americanos throughout the day.

Ladies & gentlemen, I give you STW. Home of the coffee pedant.

Oooh, can I play too?

Pod machines. Meh in my experience. I’ve tried demos of quite a few, and the results usually vary from poor to utterly rank.

Aeropress is cheap, easy and makes nice coffee, but it doesn’t make espresso. (yes technically the coffee is “espressed” ie forced through under pressure, but the end result is very different)

I’ve had a Gaggia Classic now for 7 or 8 years (bought second hand). Use it every day. Pretty good bit of kit and all parts are replaceable. You *NEED* a good grinder to go with it (mine is an ex-commercial ebay score), and it takes care and attention to get good results, but when it all comes together I can get a smashing shot out of it.

Reading more reviews of the Dualit has put me off a bit fellas….. Mainly the blocked filters / use of a paper filter……

Like I said above, mine’s been faultless. I occasionally stick a bit of gear cable strand through the hole in the centre of the basket and have never used the paper filters. I can only imagine the grind people are using is too fine. But anyway… I’m sure there are loads of perfectly good expresso machines out there capable of making decent coffee without you turning into some sort of tragic coffee obsessive. A bit like groupsets really…

So…… A Gaggia Classic arrived today!

Well pleased…….. But milk heating / frothing / pouring is an art to learn!!

If it has the crappy double skinned basket, bin it and get a replacement from happy donkey. Loads of people also recommend binning the steam wand and replacing with one without the plastic bit on the end. Requires a better steaming technique but it makes it possible to get much smaller bubbles in the milk.

oh well, just about to post that I have the Dualit Espressivo – had it for about 3 years and it’s used regularly.
it’s getting a bit temperamental and sometimes you have to turn the pressure off and turn it back on again on a long draw – maybe it has a leak somewhere. probably needs servicing.
the water reservoir is annoying to fill.

Welcome to the classic club, had mine 7 years so far with a service about a year ago as a solenoid blew, flipping awesome.

I’ve got the expressivo, the steam is a little lack lustre, but recently I needed a replacement collar after the bit on mine snapped (after 3.5 yrs of use, not complaining), great customer service, replacement part 12 pounds posted, 2 days, coffee flowed once more, was very impressed.

So the UK service centre quality of care I would say is a real plus.