La Pavonie Eurobar-best machine I've had (La Pavoni Eurobar)

Member Name: John Frewer

Product:	La Pavoni Eurobar
Date:	03/10/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Large water tank. Excellent cup of coffee

Disadvantages: Minor repair to water valve at 8 months.

I got this machine to replace a Briel that kept breaking down.

Good points:
Excellent Crema. Makes a really smooth coffee
The water tank holds just under 3litres and can be filled without removing, from a jug, or taken out to refill
It heats up reasonably quickly
The filter holder is pretty robust and has a pressurised outlet
It takes pods as well although I've never used them.
There is fairly good clearance for slightly taller cups
There is an attachment that will siphon milk from a jug and froth it automatically
It's pretty solidly built on the outside
The frother is quite good for cappucino.
There's a separate button to heat the steam for the frother

Not so good points:
Cup clearance could be better still for normal mug sizes if you prefer them
It takes a little bit of time to heat up when you switch to steam and if you're steaming a mug size or two it slows down to reheat in the middle of it.
The automatic frother attachment is a bit of a fiddle and you need to flush it through with water after use or it'll have milk going off in the tube, but it works ok if you're not into theatricals with milk jugs.
It developed a leak from the valve in the steamer within about 8 months. This went back under warranty to Fairfax coffee and has been fine for the last 6 months. Fairfax took ages to get through to but were fine once you can get them to contact you. I had the same difficulties with them when the Briel played up.

So far I've had a Gaggia Deluxe, a Briel and a La Pavonie Eurobar and this is by far the best machine I've had. The crema from the Gaggia is pretty nonexistent. It still irritates a bit when things go wrong on such expensive machines but the coffee it makes is really good and makes it worth while. It's straightforward to use and I'd give it 5 stars if it hadn't developed that minor fault. So it gets 4.

John

Summary: I love it and recommend it for a great cup of coffee.

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