Presso Part II

I love the Presso!

Well, now I have had the Presso Espresso maker for a while I can write a good review. (This will be a continuation of Part I.)

When my Presso arrived it was missing the basket for the portafilter so I fired off an email asking for the correct part. I have to say I am impressed by the Presso support! I received an email promptly and a new portafilter was put into the mail by Presso Canada. It arrived in around a week and I was making lattes quickly.

The only complaint, and it's minor, is that if you are serious about this machine, after using it for a month or so, you will want to buy a 49mm tamper. They can be found rather inexpensively. The spoon/tamper supplied with the Presso is really adequate but the perfectionist in me says buy a good tamper. The other thing, and this is really not a problem, is that when you pour hot water into the water reservoir, it steams up the heavy plastic making it hard to see the actual fill line. This will become, very quickly, a non-issue with use.

The machine itself is strong. The minimal design is pure and does what it should. It does exactly what it is supposed to do and easily.

Here's some tips:

- Buy espresso ground coffee or grind it yourself. The grind quality matters.

- After the water descends into the portafilter, let enough time go by to allow the water to soak/penetrate the coffee. Longer than recommended.

- Make sure your tamp is level, polished smooth and has no cracks. Lightly, not strongly, tap the portafilter before polishing to prevent cracking the surface!

- Draw the coffee through the Presso pushing down the arms ideally in one 25 second motion. It won't take long for you to learn the perfect pulling speed.

That's about it. If everything is done perfectly you should end up with a great espresso pull and a cake like this!

If you are looking for a beautiful, no electricity machine, and believe good espresso is an art, buy the Presso. I vouch for it.