Saturday, June 21, 2014

CX-25P Bellman Stovetop Espresso Maker w Pressure Gauge

CX-25P Bellman Stovetop Espresso Maker w Pressure GaugeAs a serious coffee junkie I really need a good latte every morning. This is easy enough at home with a cheap electric machine (not ideal, but they work) but camping or on oil patch jobs, well I needed something portable that did not require electricity. Of course there are the common old style faceted espresso makers, but the milk ain't right unless you steam it. Anyway, I broke down and bought this, and I love it! You pay quite a bit extra for the pressure gauge, but once you figure it out, the results are great. There was a problem with the "reducer", an insert used in the coffee basket when making smaller amounts, it is poorly constructed but unnecessary just measure 1/4 cup fine ground french roast for each large latte, up to three double shot lattes per run. I use about 6oz espresso to 12oz steamed milk. You will want a small stainless steel pitcher for steaming the milk, and it seems best suited for use on a "pocket rocket" type camp stove, although you can of course use a regular stove, setting it off toward the edge of the burner so as not to scorch the handle or spigot. The whole setup, with camp stove, coffee and pitcher fits in a small "makeup" type case. Don't know how I used to live without it.

Bought my Bellman cpx 25 on Ebay. It was $40.00 cheaper. I like my coffee hot. Bought a Breville espresso machine, tough it extracted the double shot well, it was not hot enough for me. No choice ,had to return it. Saw the cpx25 on Amazon, did a little research on youtube. Took a chance and bought it. Best purchase I made. Hot and rich espresso every morning. It's not for everyone as it takes 25 min to make.

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I have been using this machine for about two years now, and I am pleased to report that it holds up greatly. I don't follow it's instructions to start making coffee around 2 bar of pressure, but instead do 4-4.5 bar. The coffee is good and foamy while the "true" espresso has to be made at 10+ bar pressure, it seems that the 4.5 bar this machine delivers do the trick. Some pros and cons follow.

Pros:

good coffee, good foaming

very solid, quality build

made of stainless steel so if you care about aluminum, this is great

gauge allows you to try a variety of strength/taste for your coffee

very hands-on and takes a bit to clean; this is good for me for if it was easy (like with a pod machine), I would drink coffee continuously

Cons:

hands-on, so not easy to clean. While this is a plus for me it may be a minus for others.

must take a bit of care when you operate. For example, if you open the valves but left it on the stove, the water will evaporate completely and the silicon gaskets will burn. Or, if you do not close the lid tight, the pressure may push the gasket on top and the water will "explode" out. This happened to me the good thing about it is that by the time it hit my face the water was cool already.

the shape is not beautiful (but the construction is solid), so this machine does not look like a great Italian art piece that some other espresso machines do)

Read Best Reviews of CX-25P Bellman Stovetop Espresso Maker w Pressure Gauge Here

This is a BEAUTIFUL espresso/cappuccino-maker! It's design is so unusual!

The drawback is: It is not the most practical to use. Filling it with coffee tends to make a mess. The riser in the center, used to screw down the top, makes it quite difficult to tamp down the coffee without spilling.

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