Customer Reviews

La Pavoni Professional PBB-16 Espresso Machine Black Base

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had this machine since 1998, i drink on average 4 espresso a day, that is a total of around 17,500 espressos and it still works like a charm. I have serviced it myself about 3 years ago with new gaskets you can buy them for about 40 bucks. If you are looking for a solid machine that will last, this is it, pays for itself time and time again.

We've only had this machine for a week now, but I'm already in love. It makes the best espresso I have ever tasted... We are coffee snobs (roast our own beans even!) and this machine is perfection. It's quiet (so nice not to hear the thunk thunk of a pump!), easy to use, etc. We thought there was going to be more of a learning curve, but after pulling a few shots, we've got it down. The foam extension isn't the best, but we're getting some pretty good foam now a week later. This machine is perfect too for people who have limited counterspace. It looks SO sexy on the counter, is easier to clean than our pump machine, and takes up so little space.

I'm in love. :) (Don't tell my husband! ;))

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.)

When I got divorced a few years ago, my wife took our La Pavoni and I got the Starbucks Barista we had used at our weekend place. Although the Starbucks was serviceable, the coffee it made was never as good as the La Pavoni. When the Starbucks finally died, I decided it was time to make an investment in another La Pavoni and I have not been disappointed. The flavor of the espresso it makes is exquisite, and the milk frothing is fast and perfect every time.

Beautiful machine. My wife calls it "futuristic". I call it "retro". It uses steam pressure so there is no pump. Pump failures have limited the life span of other machines that I have bought (usually failure occurs after 1-1 1/2 years of use). The boiler produces steam and when the pressure on the gauge is ~.8 bars you lift the lever and release the hot water through the coffee. Steaming milk is very easy. The espresso/coffee tastes great. We've made multiple lattes at once with plenty of horsepower to spare. You do need to ensure that you don't build up too much pressure (by inadvertently leaving it on) or leave too little water in the machine (you can see the water level in the sight glass). Engineers will likely love having a machine like this in their home. A side benefit while you are drinking your latte is that it is great tool for teaching kids simple science concepts.

This is my fourth espresso machine. I bought it after the La Pavoni "Carina" (that I bought from Zabars) started to get unreliable, and I decided I'd rather replace it than to put more money into the Carina ... and still face a week or two of drip coffee.

While it is amusing how very little different the Professional and the 'Toy' models look, there is a big difference in performance. The Carina takes a very long time to heat up; this Carina Grande (which is what La Pavoni calls this black-base Professional model) takes five minutes. The Carina generates more steam pressure than a cheap automatic espresso machine, but the Carina Grande generates more steam pressure than the Carina. The result is that I get a better cup of espresso, with less need to plan ahead.

The machine is a little quirky. When you turn it on, it vents a bit of steam from the over-pressure valve before it makes a thtip sound and the pressure starts mounting. It's not very consistent about how long it will vent. If the water level is much below half-full, it may keep venting and not start building pressure.

I think the bottom line with La Pavoni is you get a really gorgeous Chrome Peacock that makes truly great espresso, but the workmanship is a bit uneven and you certainly shouldn't expect Japanese-car levels of reliability.

Our machine has been providing us with excellent espresso (and lattes that are far better than those we have gotten at Starbucks) for six years. As others have noted, there is a bit of a learning curve. For example, too fine a grind, especially if it is tamped too tightly, will make it nearly impossible to draw a shot. Too coarse a grind will lead to watery shots that are useless. And I would guess that just about every Pavoni user has at one point pulled the coffee filter too quickly from the machine, resulting in spattered coffee grounds on walls and counters. While getting good foam with the wand takes some practice, I have had good luck with the foamer attachment, which works quite well and requires no skill. Further, the machine does require some maintenance. The wand seal started to fail after about three years; this has to be replaced or you will steadily lose steam pressure for foaming. But this machine is not nearly as mechanically complicated as automatic machines, and I would anticipate that it would last a lot longer than automatics. In the end, the obstacles to using this machine are easily overcome, and it should provide you with years of great service. The Pavoni also has an interesting quasi-steampunk look and looks pretty cool on the counter.

One footnote to a couple of reviews elsewhere that noted that after some time, the Pavoni would not draw water. Keep in mind that the piston screws into the connecting rod. Over time, it can gradually unscrew, so that when you pull the lever up, it will not retract high enough to allow water into the chamber. The fix is simple: just periodically tighten the piston. I am painfully reminded that you should do this when the machine is cold.

I bought this as a replacement for the 10 year old eruopiccea model we had and am glad I did. I was always over filling the smaller erropiccea and as a result causing the pressure relif to engage. This one has enough capacity to take care of making two quads a morning with extra left over. The results are consistant and having the pressure guage really helps as well. Overall quality is excellent, although they need to rework their tamper mold and trim off the flash on it.

Good and sturdy looking but takes a lot of time and coffee to master it. Coffee is just to expensive to throw away. Takes long time to heat up and lever makes it easy to push trough but crema never appeared. On one occasion made mess buy removing portafilter too early. Anyway $1000, and soo not worth it. Went and bought Rancilio Silvia- Loving every minute if it