Espressos for Afficionados (Dualit 84202)

Member Name: mortarake

Product:	Dualit 84202
Date:	17/07/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sturdy. Matches the Aga. Makes excellent espressos. Nice little manual

Disadvantages: Only in cream or stainless colours. Odd temperature- ready light.

Have you seen the press lately saying that coffee is good at keeping Alzheimers at bay? Well I'm 57 so I'm glad that means that I no longer need to worry about drinking too much coffee. Now what was I writing about? Oh yes.

I bought one of these four months ago to replace a broken Krups machine. I bought it in a little Kitchen shop called Steamer Trading in Alfriston in East Sussex. The village is worth a visit if you are in the area.

I read a few reviews and went in to see them. They had an offer on which helped ( a lot). I went for the cream coloured one. It's got a thick quality enamel-like cream coating and it's made of metal so it's quite sturdy, though not too heavy. The side are sheet metal with a nice cream painted coating. The drip tray feels like thick plastic with a removable pressed stainless steel top.
The buttons appear to be placed in a cast metal section. My Krups machine was all plastic so this felt much more of a quality item.

There is a warming plate on the top, which I don't use, with a couple of chromed accessory hangers down the sides, which I don't use. The warming plate is either metal or a thick plastic, I'm not sure which, and is coated grey with dimples to stop it scratching.

The knobs and buttons are plenty large enough with big easy to read writing and icons. They seem to be of pretty good quality. The big centre knob rotates very smoothly and feels as if it is rubber mounted.

It looks good next to the Aga :->

The coffee holder feels plenty sturdy enough with a couple of removable filters. These snap into the holder and are held quite tightly by friction. I think they are deliberately slightly off-round to give them grip. You need to prise them out with a fingernail, which could be a problem if you've got no nails from having bitten them off after too many espressos!

There's a steamer nozzle for Capuccinos and such like, which I don't use as I like espressos. Turn the big knob left for Espressos, right for others.
The left button and light is for on/off. The right button is for hot water or steam through the nozzle. The light is 'on' for not-ready, 'off' for ready to dispense. Personally I find that the wrong way round but I quickly got use to it. I don't know what I'll do if the bulb blows.

There's a water container on the back. removeable, with a hinged lid. The capacity is plenty for me for 4 to 5 big espressos, and mine are about half a tea-cup in size. It slides down from vertically above, with a couple of lugs for guidance that slide in rails down the back of the container. As it has to lift vertically upwards you cannot place this machine underneath anything, at least one machine's height above it must be clear. For me this means I have to move the machine forward to refill the water tank. It's unlikely you'd ever properly empty the tank by making espressos and I don't like to leave water in the tank if I don't use it for a few days. So it has to come off regularly.
The little rubber device that connects the tank to the machine looks a little lightweight, but no more so than on my Krups machine- and that was the only bit that didn't fail on my Krups machine. Sometimes the tank doesn't sit right down onto the machine so the machine starts up dry. You can soon tell, as it sounds 'dry'. Switch off quickly and press the tank down a little more firmly. Is he ever going to talk about the coffee I hear you asking.

The manual is a little gem. It tells you about coffee. There are two types of beans don't you know. I didn't. Now I look on the packet. One type has shedloads of caffeine and the other doesn't. I go for the latter, but I've just realised I'll have to find out just exactly what it is in coffee that delays Alzheimers (in mice). It also tells you how to put the coffee in the dispenser and to rotate the tamping down device after tamping down to add a polished surface to the grains. That's the sort of detail you need. My Krups manual gave me a phone number in Slovakia to phone if it broke. Needless to say it was disconnected.

I make my coffee like this, having learned how the machine likes to operate; Firstly fill the coffee holder two thirds full, tamp down and rotate the tamper for a smooth surface. I find it is too strong and ruins the taste, for me, if it is too full. Assuming the tank contains water, I place a cup under the water outlet (coffee not in place yet) and half fill the cup with hot water. You could use the hot plate but I'm not that organised. This is important because this machine does not push boiling water or steam through your coffee (unlike my Krups), which ruins the taste. It's hot enough to make you yelp, but only hot, not scalding. It's meant to be this way. You need a warm cup.
Only then place the coffee holder and switch on. Then you realise this machine is different. The pump stops and starts a couple of times before it pushes hot water through. It sounds dead professional but I've no idea what it is doing. It works though. The espresso is, well, black, with a creamy topping that makes all the difference. The temperature is just right for immediate drinking. I use Waitrose own brand Espresso or similar, depending on where there's an offer on. I buy a few short dated packs and freeze it. And I always look forward to it. I never once got a single cup out of my Krups that was as good as the worst that comes out of this machine.

Oh, and it's got rubber feet to stop it moving around and I use it to annoy the neighbours if they wake me up by coming in late. I'll let you figure out how. There's no point in having an espresso machine if the neighbours don't konw you've got it, is there?

It comes with an adaptor for pods but I don't buy them. Too much packaging.

I believe these people are best known for their toasters.

Enjoy.

Dimensions: Height 13 inches, Width: 9 inches Depth: 11 inches.
Clearance needed from worksurface to any obstruction above: 2 foot 2 inches, to allow the water contain to be lifted off vertically.

Summary: Friendly little machine.

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