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

An espresso machine for perfectionists!

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.)

An Italian race car for coffee

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…

Understanding your investment

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

I purchased the 16 cups La Pavoni professional (brass model) and have been extremely happy with it’s quality in pulling espresso shots, foaming milk, and overall quality in craftsmanship. It is definitely a purchase for the next 20+ years.

HOWEVER, when I first received it I went through a lot of frustration (probably 50+ cups wasted) to finally understand what it took to make perfection in a cup.

Before considering this machine, understand that you will require a grinder that has the ability to adjust the fineness/coarseness of coffee bean grinds. Purchasing coffee grinds from cafes will not work. I figured they would have commercial grade grinders so what’s the difference? Well, the difference is that this La Pavoni needs an EXACT grind level, and I mean exact! If the grinds are too coarse, water will pass through the…

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