La Pavoni PPG-16 Professional 16-Cup Espresso Machine, Brass

I have owned this machine (8-cup, chrome) 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 owned one of these for three years, and agree with the only other reviewer that this item is only for those who take joy in fiddling with the many variables of grind, pull speed, preheating, and coffee bean choice. If you don't want to put in all the extra effort to coax performance from a beautiful piece of Italian engineering, save your money and buy something automated.

That said, I thought a potential buyer might want to read about some of these idiosyncracies. First, no matter what you do, the first shot you pull will taste bad. Preheat, pull hot water for the first shot--nothing will change the fact that the first shot doesn't taste good. I resigned myself to wasting that first shot.

Second, if you want to pull shots soon after each other, you'll find out that this unit does not have a pressure release mechanism. So when you unseat the filter holder soon after pulling the shot, there's still pressure against the grounds, which will now *poof* blow back outward onto your fingers and the machine. You'll get used to knowing when it's been "long enough", and in a pinch you can *carefully* ease the holder out, slowly letting the pressure to escape.

With a pump espresso maker, you can pull "lungo" or "ristretto" shots, which have (respectively) larger or smaller shot sizes. Since the amount of grounds stays the same, this means more watery or stronger. But with this unit you have to live with the pull size implicit in the amount of water moved by that piston for a pull. They give you two holders, which gives you two sizes. The smaller one is the only one I ever used, which was a ristretto--a good choice, if you have to take a single choice!

Unlike most espresso machines for the home market, you have steam available all the time on that side steam wand--you don't need to switch it into "steam mode". The steam wand is a little dated in design, but I got very good results out of it. They supply you with some gimmicky steam/frothing attachments which you should ignore.

For a party, you'll run out of water sooner than you expect. The reservoir is heated up to steam and is thus under pressure. You do NOT open it until it has cooled down enough to release all the steam. So unlike those pump units, this one is really not for making a lot of shots in a row.

Let me finish by saying that although most of what I've said about this machine are its misfeatures, it is a really, really likable unit! The previous reviewer was SO right in comparing it to making a martini. I'd add that it's even more like fiddling with your stereo and speakers until you finally get it sounding *right*. With the manual pull lever you'll get a feel for what the correct grind feels like. You'll know what the right pull speed is--your muscles will start to remember it. And out will come that lovely espresso with its golden crema--what a way to start the morning!

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The only problem I had was the wood on the boiler cap was cracking. This is not a common problem that they had. I sent the damaged cap back and they replaced it with a new one. The coffee grind is the trick to making this espresso machine work properly.

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Pros: after getting used to the classic finicky nature of this, the quality if superb.

Cons: first shot tends to go to the sink, poor placement for the steam wand.

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There is nothing I can add that these other 2 reviewers haven't already covered w/ eloquence, but here I go anyway. I bought mine roughly 2 2.5 years ago. I'm happy to report, the romance is still alive and strong. I might not tremble in awe anymore, but every morning there we are, starting our day together. It's never the same. lately my shots are not doing it for me. I have found the bean makes a considerable difference. namely, how fresh it is. I've been buying stump town lately, but it might not be cutting the mustard. ahhhh, I digress. the general gist is that its quirky. and figuring out those quirks(which may vary machine to machine) has got to appeal to you. If you want a consistent, nice shot everyday as you fly out the door on your way to work, maybe this is not the one. some people prefer automatic transmission, others want to feel the engine below the pedals, they enjoy driving for its own sake. so, that's what I'd reinforce. clearly it's a gorgeous machine. It's very well-made. it's got old-world appeal. some of my friends didn't realize it actually functioned. they thought I had some cool antique relic on my counter, and didn't even question why I had it on display based purely on aesthetics. pouring a shot of liquid gold was, for them, nothing short of a religious experience. the last thing I'll say, and the resin I'm even here, is because I was curios how well they hold there value. I am happy to report they seem to be increasing in value.

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Zojirushi CD-LCC30 Micom 3.0-Liter Electric Dispensing Pot

I just received this for Christmas, it's something I've wanted for a while. Ever since my tea kettle died of old age, I've been boiling water for tea with a regular sauce pan and what usually happens is I forget all about it and only remember after it has been boiling for a while. Also, I didn't like the long wait for hot water. I want instant gratification! And now I have it with this Zojirushi dispensing pot. It's perfect since I'm an avid tea drinker, consuming several pots of tea each day.

A long long time ago, I used to have the "air pot" style dispensing pot where you just press on the top and it pumps out water. This one is a much newer design and dispensing is handled electronically. What I like is the "safety" feature which was lacking in the old "air pot" styles. You have to press the "unlock" button before the "dispensing" button which prevents accidentally dispensing hot water. You can set this to keep water at 205°F, 195°F, or 175°F. You can also set it to give you hot water in 7 hours, but this is a feature I really don't need to use. I'm using the 195°F which seems to be a good middle ground for making black (requires hotter water) and green (requires lower temp water) teas. This is also handy for making instant noodles, oatmeal, hot chocolate. Also handy when needing hot water for a dish I'm cooking, or making chicken/beef broth for a dish I'm cooking. This is very convenient ... no more waiting for hot water! (This beats getting a replacement tea kettle because with a tea kettle I still have to wait for it to boil/whistle, and it usually whistles shortly after I've sat down and gotten comfortable.) This pot will automatically reboil when it feels the temp has dropped too much. The water level gauge is easy to read, the lid lifts up easily for refilling (also removes easily to make pouring water out and cleaning a cinch). Another nice little detail is a removable power cord. It makes me feel a bit "safer" being able to remove this before cleaning out the pot in the sink.

I am confident that this will last me a long time. My in-laws also have a Zojirushi water dispensing pot and it has never failed on them. And I know people who have other Zojirushi products and have had no problems with them. So I feel comfortable with this brand, and I may look into getting one of their rice cookers.

Oh, I have to mention one more nicety of this dispensing pot. The base will swivel around (think lazy suzan style), making it easy to rotate it without scratching your kitchen counter top.

The only thing I need to be careful about is where to put the dispensing pot since there is a steam vent on the top. I don't put it directly beneath any kitchen cabinets, just in case the steam might damage the cabinet over time.

ADDED 11/19/05:

I just wanted to mention that I have had this for 2 years and it is still working as well as it did when I first got it. I have used this pot everyday for the past 2 years. I refill it at least once a day in the summer, 2-4 times a day in the winter. I use it mainly for making tea (big tea drinkers in this house) and cooking. It's easy to clean. No staining on the inside; of course this would depend on your local water quality. Not bad at all considering the use I get out of this. I still highly recommend this pot.

I have a baby now. I have found this dispensing pot handy for quickly warming up bottles from the fridge... instant hot water to immerse bottle in. My screaming baby doesn't have to wait long for her milk. Perfect! The pot has also been useful when mixing cereal... mix cereal with some cold water, then a splash of the hot water to bring it up to a nice warm temp for her.

I drink a fair amount of tea, and so this 3 liter size water pot is perfect for myself. I typically only refill it once a day, at night before I go to bed. It has a 7 hour delay timer that I use so that I have hot water as soon as I get up.

I use the hottest water setting that maintains the temperature at 208 degrees F. It heats up relatively quickly if it's left at 195 degrees or at 175 degrees to save electricity, but I'm impatient and don't like to wait.

I also use it for hot chocolate, apple cider, ramen, you name it.

It is very easy to refill thanks to the removable cover and removable power cord. The cord attaches magnetically, which makes plugging and unplugging incredibly easy.

I do have to turn the pot around so the back is facing me when I open the cover and remove it to refill the water. If I don't, the steam hits me on the wrist when I open it, and since I keep it on the hottest setting, the steam is scalding.

There is a safety feature where you press the "unlock" button before the "dispense" button so it doesn't accidentally dispense hot water, but it hasn't been that important to me.

It's super easy to clean. I bought a 1-lb package of citric acid. I weigh out 30g, dissolve it in water, and throw it into a full pot. Then I press the button to put the pot on clean mode. It takes about an hour and a half Afterward, I dump the water and boil another pot of water to rinse it. I dump that, and the next pot of water doesn't taste like citric acid at all. There are cleaning instructions in the manual.

I clean it every few weeks, or whenever I feel like it. Our water is very hard, and even though I use filtered water, a layer of calcium will accumulate on the inside of the pot, but the cleaning takes that away without any problems.

The interior is Teflon coating, I believe, but as long as I don't scratch it, it's perfectly safe. It hasn't shown any wear or tear yet.

The outside is plastic and easy to clean even when it gets splatter from the nearby stove top.

I have had my pot for 16 months and it hasn't given me any problems. For tea lovers, I can't recommend this enough.

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Okay, this is going to seem like a silly purchase to a lot of people. And before I seriously considered it, it did to me too. The only reservation for me was the price. Now that I have it, I think it is worth it.

I bought it a month or so ago (and got the $25 off if you spend $125 on housewares discount amazon usually runs). It's a great machine. There are two people here and we drink a lot of tea, all day long. I refill it at least once a day, and that's without using it for cooking much. People who don't make a lot of tea will probably still go through a pot a day if they use it several times for hot water for drinks or soups, and then maybe for a pot of water for pasta. It's great for things like pre-heating a thermos or tea pot, which can really help them stay hot longer. (Doing that the old way, with kettle-boiled water was a lot more time-consuming, and I might not bother.)

It's nice waking up to hot water using the 7 hour timer. It's also nice for people who drink green tea or oolong, as opposed to black tea, because it has different temperature settings.

By the way, I used a lot less hot water before I purchased this thing--but I used to wait a lot for the water I did use. This is my second Zojirushi product, and I think they're really well made (I also have a fuzzy logic rice cooker). I've learned that a well-designed, well-made product lasts much better, and gets used much more often, than a poorly designed one. I fully expect this will be the case with this machine.

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After two years' of continuous use, interior coating is coming off. A few rusty spots have developed in the past 6 months. The company's website does not provide a replace container. I liked the Zojirushi brand but this one seems a disappointment.

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I purchased the Zojirushi 3 liter dispensing pot, and it runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in my house. We drink tea constantly, and it is wonderful not to have to wait to boil water. The Zojirushi allows you to set the desired water temperature based on your needs (i.e. 175 for green/white teas, 195 for other teas, 205 for cooking). The unit is tall enough to fit even our tallest to-go cup under the dispensing spout.

It also has a "7 hour" delayed start so that it can be off during the night, but you wake up to hot water.

The only downside is that it doesn't appear to be insulated as well as it could be. For example, the outside of the unit is warmer than an insulated thermos-style container containing equally hot water. This suggests to me that it is not as well insulated, and therefore not as energy efficient as it could be.

I recommend it, and would buy another one in an instant if anything happened to this one.

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Espresso Crema and Gusto (Lavazza) Ground Coffee, 8.8oz (250g)

Shipped UPS which was unexpected so I had to end up paying extra to have them reroute it to my job so I could actually be there to sign for it instead of getting notices that nobody was home and they would be back at another hour. Outside of that, tasty tasty! I will always prefer Lavaza to Illy 10x over. Just smoother and richer on the senses without that dark acidity that I just can't stand. And I know people complain about too little foam but I don't care about foam (I think foam tastes disgusting) so this was perfect!

Plastic Coffee Maker Filter Cone #1 Small Black

This is a great little filter cone for small or large cups of coffee. It's easy to use, and the coffee is great after the hot water is passed through a Melitta natural filter.

Stainless Steel Cappuccino Frother

I use this with almond milk only (never tried regular milk), but it handles the almond perfectly well, although during frothing the milk comes through the tiny hole on top of the lid as well as around rim of the pitcher because the lid and the pitcher does not fit together perfectly.

I would not even care about the above issue really, my biggest pet peeve is the little round strainer part that basically froths the milk. Although Amazon states that this unit is stainless steel, the strainer part that is attached to the lid is not. I found this out the hard way; after rinsing the unit I put it into my dishwasher to wash it later, by the end of the day the strainer part started to rust and I was not happy about that. Now I have to hand wash it straight away, then dry it which is a pain in the ... for me because in the mornings I am usually in a hurry, I can however put the pitcher part in the dishwasher, I didn't have any rusting problems with that.

OMGosh I'm having fun with this thing. Hot chocolate is easy and rich too. I made one this morning using honey, Hershey's special dark cocoa and 2% milk. I know.... I know, this is supposed to be for frothing and steaming milk for espresso and latte's and stuff but the experimenting has only just begun.

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I couldn't decide whether to buy a battery powered frother or this. I am so pleased with this purchase!!! I absolutely love it. It is very convenient because you can heat the milk right in the pitcher, then froth and pour. Perfect every time, and you can adjust how frothy or foamy you want the milk once you get the hang of it.

I couldn't be happier with the results, and I don't have to worry about buying batteries!

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This was one of the best thing I bought. You can warm milk directly on your gas stove and make wonderful milk froth in this stainless steel Cappuccino Frother. I would buy this again and again.

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Total simplicity. Heat the milk and froth to perfection. About 15 to 20 plunges up and down to frothy perfection. How much easier could it be. I would recommend this. It get's 5 stars from me.

Reunion Island RI58551 Extra Bold Fair Trade and Organic French Roast Single Cup Coffee Pods, 16-co

This is excellent for Senseo if you use a two-pod holder and wet the pod before you put it in the machine. Doing this, I found it to yeild one mug of the strongest coffee I've found. It's my favorite of al the Amazon dark roasts I've tried.

Please note that these pods are not compatible with Tassimo single cup brewers even though they are presented with a Tassimo t-disk search.

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This is the lightest coffee I've ever seen, so much so that it was not drinkable. After this disappointing brew I read reviews and tried pre moistening the pods but it had no effect. Using with a Hamilton Beach single serve machine designed for senseo pods. What gives?

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Reunion Island Extra Bold Decaf is the best I've tried. One secret is to premoisen the pods before brewing. The coffee is full bodied and tastes great!

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SENSEO owners be aware these pods won't fit in your machine. They are just too big for the single pod holder but yet too small for the double pod holder. The standard SENSEO pods have about 7.5-8 g of coffee per pod, these have 10g. I used 10g pods before (e.g. Barnie's 58006 Hazelnut Flavored Single Cup Coffee Pods) which fit if you press them into the holder before you close the lid, but these are just too large.

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Bialetti Spare Parts Gasket and Filter Set, 3 Cup

I tend to put stuff on the stove and walk away -

which puts quite a stress on pots, pans, and my Bialetti Espresso Pot -

especially the rubber gasket ! (My pen name should explain!)

If you tend to do the same, ordering the replacement thru Amazon

is easy, economical (cheep!), with good service and delivery!

The gasket fits exactly and you get three for the price!

(Just in case you melt another one!)

* I highly recommend the product (and watching the stove)!!

I think I'll have another cup of coffee!!!

The Bialetti gasket kits are hard to find in the states. It was very convienent to just go online and order. It may have been more expensive, but I didn't have to travel to three different places twenty miles away to find out that they were out of stock. This was perfect.

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Great price and fit my stove top expresso maker as original. Hard to find -Amazon was the source to go to.

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Really, what can you say about a gasket? Well, be without one if your coffee maker uses it, and in the morning you'll learn to appreaciate such a simple item real fast.

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good quality gasket and filter for your mocha pot. I previously used non-Bialetti stuff but it's not worth it. get the real deal