Review on Chrome La Pavoni EPC-8 Europiccola 8-Cup Lever Style Espresso Machine by Roy Whetstone

I fell in love with this item. It's durable and beautiful, and once you get a little experience with it, espresso can be phenomenal. At a time when everything is disposable and digitally controlled, here you have a system that lets you freely play with water temperature, extraction rate, pressure, etc. Almost everything is at your fingertips. There are many videos/groups dedicated to this topic and how to make the most of it. It is also at the top of the best budget home espresso machines ever made/built including service design/build. The first machines hit the market over 50 years ago and their design was at its best and has only improved since then. There are so many of these that in 30 years there will be gaskets, rebuild kits, heaters, switches, etc. In general, most of them are pretty easy to make too. With a minimum of maintenance and care on your part, you have a machine that can be used for many decades. With that all said, what's the downside? Well, it's not a car and it's not a super car. That's both good and bad. You have to turn it on, maybe blow off some steam and wait for it to heat up, then chop/stuff the dose and manually fire the shot. It usually takes about 15-20 minutes from start to finish and requires 3-6 minutes of working time from you. If you just want to wake up in the morning and drink a prepared espresso, this machine is not for you. But if you want to experiment with different types/roasts of espresso, a full-automatic/super-automatic isn't perfect and this machine is certainly easier to experiment with. Another thought; In my experience, you don't want to use a machine to take endless shots. Without any heat management, 1-3 double shots are ideal and then switch off. If you fire a lot of shots or leave the machine on, the temperature of the brew head/water dispenser will get too high. This is a home car, even if the water tank holds 1.6 liters. That's it, I hope you find it useful and if you buy it I hope you fall in love with it like I did and many others. If not, it can be reassuring to know that there is a fairly good aftermarket/used market for them and well maintained cars hold their value better than most express cars in this price range.