Review on ☕ WACACO Nanopresso Portable Espresso Maker: Upgraded Travel Coffee Maker with Protective Case, 18 Bar Pressure, Manual Operation by Johnathan Stoner

I rarely write reviews but I feel this product needs them. We bought it in July 2018 and we use it EVERY DAY to make 2-4 cups of coffee (Americano). It makes the best espresso (it even has crema on top!) for such a simple device. We've taken it on hikes, camping trips, visiting friends (who don't drink coffee), etc. With that, we bought a Baristo kit to make a double espresso and add hot water. The device is easy to clean and easy to use (and builds muscle since it gives you a little workout!). I put off that consideration for a while because I contacted the company about a year ago for a replacement gasket (the big orange one) to have as a backup in case the one that came with it fails. At that time they said that this seal is not sold separately. I was dissatisfied as this product would not work without this seal (it would not be able to build the required pressure) and this seal was made specifically for this product so it would probably be impossible to find anywhere else. Well, about 3 months ago the gasket broke a little horizontally. It still worked, but coffee grounds got underneath and you had to remove the gasket after each shot to clean it. Since we repeatedly turned it on and off, I didn't think the pad would last too long. So I contacted the company again, although their website is a marvel, now they were selling this pad for $1 each. I ordered 2 of these (just in case!) and shipping was $7. But it came from China so it took about 6 weeks to get here. It was worth the wait though as it works like new and doesn't require cleaning under the gasket every time we brew a shot of espresso. We are very, very happy with this little device and have removed or shelved our regular coffee makers and Keurig. One last comment. Sometimes the device doesn't build pressure when pumping for some reason (the pump handle just goes in and out with no resistance). I'm not sure why this happens as it's so rare and we haven't found a pattern. When this happened (maybe 5 times in 2.5 years) I simply unscrewed all the parts, pumped out the excess water from the main unit and put the ground coffee back into the pod. Whatever to do has always fixed this in the past. But like I said, that rarely happened. If the pump is REALLY hard to press, the coffee is either ground too fine and/or you packed it too tightly into the pod. If you decide to buy this piece of paradise. Enjoy! ;-) UPDATE (4/27/21): Shortly after I wrote the above review, he sadly passed away. I think the spring loaded connector came loose and without being able to open the device it was impossible to see the problem let alone fix it. However, we liked it so much that we bought another one when it was on sale at Costco.com. The first replacement we bought creaked loudly with every squeeze (completely unacceptable) so we returned it and bought another one that seems to work fine. It came with a Nespresso adapter which was a nice touch as Nespresso espresso roasting pods make very good coffee. However, we still use the Barista Double Shot Set and our ground coffee on a daily basis, so we should have bought another one anyway. I think if you look at it if you buy it instead of visiting Starbucks 16 times for $5 coffee (both cost about the same!) we would definitely go for it!