Makes okay cafe au lait, but for espresso drinks it just doesn't cut it.
Positive Product Points
The coffee it produces tastes good. Machine attractive. Grinder works well.
Negative Product Points
Insufficient pump pressure.
Detailed Commentary
We were disappointed with the machine, The pump simply does not have sufficient pressure to extract the rich, oily crema which is the hallmark of good espresso, nor was it able to steam milk properly (i.e. the milk is heated, but there's no dense foam). Hence it makes good cafe au lait, but for espresso/latte/etc. it just doesn't cut it. To be fair, the grinder worked well after much experimentation, although it took a LOT of knob-turning before I could begin to notice whether the grind was getting coarser or finer, and the instructions were not helpful in this regard. After six months we bought a commercial espresso machine, and just used the grinder from the La Pavoni machine.
