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One must also wait to remove the group head so that pressure is relieved, or you can risk removing it very SLOWLY to allow built up pressure to bleed out. Another thing that irritated me was that the photo showed nice euro-style icon labels for the functions of the three control buttons, but for some unknown reason La Pavoni decided to dumb it down to just words (power, steam, coffee) -- which looks completely foolish to me.This machine is not worth $600.I returned it after only one day of use, and now I am going to buy the Rancilio Silvia, which I hope is far superior. While the unit is attractive, and some parts have excellent build quality, there are few areas that need improvement. The pump system definitely has prostate problems, and is very weak, failing to deliver a 20 second shot of espresso or ANY crema. The trays are constructed from poor quality plastic, the injection molding process seems to have caused slight warping (except for the metal drain screens, which are okay).
Beyond the looks, the performance of the espresso machine is poor where it really counts, and that is the delivery of espresso. This occurs no matter the fineness of the grind. On numerous occasions, the pump was unable to force water through a normally tamped portion of coffee, perhaps only a tiny dribble came out. The burr grinder performed well, but adjusting the fine-coarse setting is a bit of a guessing game. I would have awarded only one star, but since the machine looks so nice, I give it two.
There is no solenoid switch either, so one is left with a pool of water over a slurry of spent coffee grinds. The buttons are chrome plated plastic.
It is truly handsome but there is a steep learning curve, and at the end of the day it really only makes a pretty good cup at best.and that's on a good day. But honestly, the performance has been a bit underwhelming. If practice makes it any more perfect, I'll update this review later on. I first saw this machine in a shop window it Italy and I fell in love. When I found I could buy it here I was thrilled. Forget a nice thick crema.
Buy it. Having an adjustable burr grinder will get you pulling commercial style cups in short order. You'll figure it out. Every espresso maker is going to have plusses and minuses. The espresso is great.
The minuses here are few and immaterial. the built in tamper is handy. I don't use the frother - just remove it an use it old-school. I could not be much happier with this purchase. The built-in burr grinder suffers one shortcoming.the switch is set a tad too far in.
Just experiment and enjoy as you get closer and closer to your favorite cup.
In addition, coffee is very important. I buy LavAzza pods from Espresso Zone for less than $0.40 per serving. It makes great espresso if you do not let the water run to long, i.e less water stronger espresso. I then bought a PAB-16 SI Black for less money. I live most of the time in Italy and when I am in the States I find that the best espresso I can get is when I make it myself. I currently own four La Pavoni's. I returned the PA-1200 because I want to use pods and there was no way to convert that machine. The person who returned his PA-1600 because he could not get the water to come out needed to know that you must let the pump run a very long time to prime it and it helps to open and close the steamer a couple of times.
I eagerly unpacked the new machine, plugged it in, followed the directions to prime it, got steam.but no pump. I pushed it back on, marveled at the simplicity of the parts inside, and had it put back together and brewing great espresso in 5 minutes (I don't know that I would recommend doing this, as I probably voided the warranty, but who's going to know :) ).I brewed a great espresso the first time I used the machine, and am getting a little better with each one. Even though I am a novice barrista, I like the fact that this machine allows me to learn and get better.The quality of the machine seems excellent. The next morning I pulled out a screw driver, thinking that something had jiggled loose from the poor UPS handling, and after removing 2 screws and carefully prying the top off, I found that the wiring harness had slid off the pump.
I look forward to using this machine for years and years. The steam frother works great. The portafilter is heavy and stays hot for a long time. guess it's discontinued, so I opted for a Starbucks Serena which was a huge disappointment. I promptly returned the Serena and ordered the Napolitana instead.I went out to meet the UPS truck, and as I signed for my new machine, the UPS lady let the box tumble down the stairs of her truck and onto the ground.urgh. I started to fill out the Amazon return form, but decided to sleep on it. I like the fact that I can make adjustments with the grinder, and adjust how much pressure I use with the tamper, and thereby have control over the quality of my crema, and the strength of the coffee.
The grinder is noisy, but I've never used one that wasn't. I knew I had to have an espresso machine after using a friends Starbucks Barrista but that machine proved hard to find. I was so disappointed. The stainless steel looks great and is easy to clean.
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