Customer Reviews

La Pavoni PC-16 Professional Espresso Machine, Chrome

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned this machine (8-cup) for over ten years and everyday when I make my morning cappuccino I love it more. You can spend more for a machine that measures the coffee, tamps it, pulls the water through and steams the milk for you, but you can tip the kids behind the counter at Starbucks and they'll do the same thing. Making espresso should be a little art and a little science and this machine an impeccable balance of the two. If you aren't the kind of person who takes joy in mixing the perfect martini, making a risotto that whispers with flavor, or whipping a meringue to impossibly tall peaks, this probably isn't the machine for you.

The La Pavoni is for the person who will find tremendous joy in going to the lengths required to make a perfect cappuccino by hand everyday. (And don't bother using anything less than Illy Cafe coffee in it.)

I have had this machine for a number of years, the upside is great coffee, downside are:

1. Finish poor, rust soon appears in the crome, the only saving grace is that it is mostly occurs under the drip tray out of sight.

2. It is too easy even after bleeding the pressure, to pop one of the seals when changing the coffee.

3. Descaling can be a real pain.

In short, when it works, great, but this isn't a low maintance product, a bit like old Italian sports cars

I bought my La Pavoni in the summer of 1983 after high school. It was heavily used during college (especially finals week) and has made me superb espresso continually. This morning I made a spiced chai using it. I've been amazed with the quality of the unit. I unfortunately bought a model that had a brass and copper film that looked spectacular for about 8 months then began to peel off. It's now not terribly attractive but still pumps out amazing Java.

I estimate I've saved over $25,000 on espresso drinks while maintaining a level of quality beyond what one can get at Starbucks and similar cafes. Being from Seattle, there are now (finally) cafes and baristas locally that are passionate (neurotic) about making excellent espresso and I can't really match them, but to say the least, I'm very happy with my Pavoni.

I bought my Pavoni in Florence, Italy (for [...] US dollars) about ten years ago, so I thought I could finally give this machine a fair review. I have been making coffee for my wife and myself every single morning and many evenings with it since, and while it does need new gaskets and a few small parts every now and again (which I do myself / it's really not that hard), I don't think that any other espresso machine would have lasted this long (I figure I have pulled over 10,000 shots)...and it still looks like new and is making better coffee than ever. It took me about 2 months to figure the best way to pull a shot and get the foam just right, but once I had that all figured out I knew that I would love the experience of pulling a great espresso each and every morning. This is not for the low maintenance type of person, but if you enjoy the process of making something as much as you do the final product, then this machine is for you. And you will be able to pass it on to your kids and their kids too. A really great buy!!

We've had one of these machines for almost 3 and a half years.

The good news: when it works, it makes great espresso.

Now for the bad news:

1. Takes about 12 minutes to come up to pressure from a cold start.

2. The water tank cannot be filled except by turning off the machine and letting it cool down. Obviously, not a good machine for making a lot of espresso at one time.

3. Steaming the milk can be very tricky. I don't know why, but I've never been able to get as consistent foam with this machine as I did with my old Starbucks "Barista". There seems to be plenty of steam pressure. Perhaps it's the 3-hole nozzle.

4. The other problem with the steam system is that the manual recommends opening the steam valve all the way. It takes 4 turns of the small knob, inconveniently hidden behind the pressure gauge, to do that. OK, no real problem turning it on. The problem is that when the foam starts to overflow the milk pitcher, it can seem like 40 turns to close it. You have to be on your toes first thing in the morning when you're making cappuccino with this machine. "Foam-overs" while frantically cranking the valve shut are all too easy.

5. After 2 and a half years, the water would not flow when the lever was lifted, and we had to send the machine back to the dealer for repair. (There are only 2 certified repair shops in the country.) The repair took two months and cost about $125, including shipping--and that was without having all the gaskets replaced, as was recommended by the repair shop. Now, 9 months later, the same problem has returned. We are debating sending it to the repair shop again--or just going back to the old Starbucks "Barista", which, fortunately, we hung onto.