La Pavoni EPBB-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine, Black Base

by La Pavoni

Product Features

• Delivers espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte, and other coffee drinks
• Lever permits crafting espresso to personal taste
• Makes 8 cups continuously without heating more water
• Includes automatic milk foamer, measuring spoon, 1- and 2-cup filters
• Measures 11 by 7 by 12 inches; 1-year warranty

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11 x 7 x 12 inches ; 14 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 14 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00004S9GG
• Item model number: EPBB-8
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #96,283 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

True baristas "pull" an espresso with a lever instead of punching a button and relying on an automatic pump's whims. With this Italian-made machine, you force water through the coffee yourself, using the lever to precisely control speed, which means you get the full flavor and thick cap of crema that mark an ideal drink. Pulling an espresso the old-fashioned way is enormously gratifying, and a video accompanying the machine will teach anyone the skills needed to become a barista.

A steam wand heats milk for hot chocolate and creates foam for cappuccinos, lattes, and other coffee drinks, while an alternate wand with frothing attachment produces heaps of foam automatically. The water tank holds 20 ounces, enough to make 8 cups before the tank (accessible under the machine's removable dome) needs refilling and before water needs to be heated again (the heating element's rating is 1,000 watts maximum, 800 watts minimum). A glass tube permits water-level monitoring, and a thermostat triggers a green light when water reaches the correct crema-producing temperature. An internal fuse, which can be reset in the base, prevents overheating.

This version of La Pavoni's Europiccola model comes in gleaming chrome and features black plastic accents and a durable black acrylic base that contains fine, light-reflecting flecks, producing a polished-granite effect. --Fred Brack

Editor's note: This item may arrive with water inside from the manufacturer's pressure test. This is a normal occurrence and doesn't point to a problem with the machine.

Product Description

The traditional la Pavoni! Superbly polished chrome finish with black base accents the highly efficient design which dates back to 1961. La Pavoni has set a standard for quality and style only found in old world cafes. Each machine is designed to last years and give constant perfect espresso with each pull of the lever. Design features incorporate the best of modern technology such as a nickel plated non-corrosive brass boiler, long life stainless element and reset safety fuse. Triple plated to maintain years of beauty and tested to meet the standard that has kept La Pavoni the premier name in the industry. Features include: 20 oz. boiler capacity Capable of making 8, 2 oz. cups of espresso Steam pressure, piston operated Internal Thermostat to monitor pressure Separate cappuccino spout and controls Makes one or two cups at a time Safety reset fuse. ETL safety listed 1000 Watts. Wt 14 lbs. height 12" 1 Year warranty Video included BONUS OFFER: With Purchase of This Item FREE 1 Pound of our freshly roasted gourmet coffee FREE cookies or biscotti

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This might be the shiny Fiat of espresso machines, October 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: La Pavoni EPBB-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine, Black Base (Kitchen)

La Pavoni was the first espresso machine I owned - I had it for a number of years, had it repaired a number of times (expensive), and know it inside and out, its eccentricities, abilities, and inabilities. It's a beautiful piece of sculpture. As an espresso machine, it's okay - certainly harder to use than any pump machine. Anyone considering buying one should know these things:

* The unit is basically a boiler, one pressurized system. Once the water boils, it can escape two ways: through the steamer, using a valve, or (by raising and lowering the handle) through a manifold and into the coffee basket. All the water is heated every time you turn it on. If you run out of water and have more coffee to make, you must depressurize the system entirely to fill it, then fully reheat the entire boiler to begin again. Pump machines generally do not have pressurized water systems, can be refilled at any point, and heat only the water needed for immediate use, usually to an electronically-controlled (and correct) temperature.

* When heating and in use, much of the unit becomes very hot to the touch - it can burn you if you touch some metal parts, a definite non-prego moment.

* It does not operate like the commercial machines of old, despite what some poetic review might claim. The Pavoni fills its manifold when you lift the lever; you must force the lever down to make espresso, and unless your grind is just right you will not get acceptable espresso, never mind the cremina. The old lever-actuated commercial machines operate in the opposite way: pulling down the lever cocks a strong spring, and as the lever travels up under spring power, the water is forced through the grounds. Pavoni is muscle-powered, like it or not, and responds best to beans you grind yourself using (only) a burr grinder (or some hand-cranked models), decidedly >not< a blender-type grinder.

Using the machine takes a good deal of patience and forgiveness, and not a little mechanical aptitude. Consistently getting good espresso from it is like getting consistent high performance from a Fiat, and they don't sell those here any more. OK, I had one of those, too.

So, be aware that the Pavoni is likely to become only a sculpture for you unless you like working under the hood. If that is not you, get one of the better pump machines and be happier.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mother's little helper..., September 6, 2000

By 

O. Buxton "Olly Buxton" (Highgate, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Pavoni EPBB-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine, Black Base (Kitchen)

PHOOEY to those who say this is only for the purists! Stuff and nonsense! The possibility for a more delightful relationship with a machine than a man can have with his La Pavoni espresso machine surely doesn't exist outside an Arthur C. Clarke novel. I really can think of no other mod con which is truly indispensible in the way that Ralph, our little Europiccola, is.

Difficult to use? Pshaw! Is a bicycle difficult to use? At first maybe, but all of a sudden you wonder what the fuss was about. With a little practice - and practice is half the fun of it - you will have the most beautiful espresso - thick crema and all - merrily widdling out the little spout everytime.

Ralph is delightfully simple to use, as a matter of fact: water in, turn on, coffee in, lever up, lever down, and you're done. How hard can that be?

Getting your espresso right comes down to a lot of other variables, which are the same for any espresso machine - the sort of coffee you use, the correct grind, the correct grinder (if you grind yourself, the grinder is really critical) the correct pressure, even the type of water you put in the machine. If you're having trouble grinding your own then head down to the grocers, pick up a tin of Illy coffee, and BINGO - you may as well be in a Palazzo San Giovanni with a pair of smart sunnies and a scooter shouting, "prego" at passers by, that's how Italian you'll feel. And the coffee is divine.

Honestly, the very sight of that cute little chappie sitting, glinting on our bench every morning, ready to gladden the very experience of waking up and getting ready for work is enough to make my heart sing. I love my little La Pavoni. You'll love yours, too. Depend on it. I know I do.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars you gotta know what you are doing, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: La Pavoni EPBB-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine, Black Base (Kitchen)

the pavoni espresso maker is certainly the most beautiful on the market. it looks like it's right out of a 1920's milan bar. but it's not easy to use. this isn't for push-button automatic types. everything, from what coffee you use (illy or lavazza work best) to how you measure and pack it, to how much pressure you exert, to how long you let the water run, will affect the final outcome. it takes weeks of practice till you get the hang of it and more practice till you learn how to make coffee to match your tastes. i don't want to warn anyone away from buying it. once you get the hang of it you've got a gorgeous piece of italian design that makes a near-perfect espresso (face it, at home you'll never match a milanese barrista). but it takes work.