Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16554 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Dualit
• Model: Dualit 84202

Manufacturer's Description
Designed for the coffee enthusiast, the Espressivo delivers the ultimate cup every time, with each component crafted to ensure a deliciously rich flavour. From the 15 bar pump delivering the optimum pressure needed to create a perfect crema, to the Thermobloc water heating system providing instant hot water and steam on demand, Dualit have thought of everything. Even the steamer nozzle frothing up milk into fluffy foam for your cappuccino is easy to use, with the minimum of fuss and mess. Not only is the Espressivo sturdy and durable, working hard to make you the ideal cup of coffee, it packs an equal punch in the style stakes with all the design attributes you would expect from Dualit. Sleek curves, tactile materials, chunky dials and a compact size make a winning combination.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Good budget machine, but possible reliability issues
I received this machine for christmas. As soon as i got the tamp right, it was producing great coffee. It's very easy and fast to use, producing espresso with excellent crema (the thermoblock makes a huge difference - you can have a shot of steaming hot espresso ready in less than a minute from turning the machine on!). From a taste point of view, I can't fault it. However, the steamer is quite weak and in a slightly awkward position. It takes a long time to get the milk to a decent froth and I'm not entirely convinced by how constant the steam is. I'd agree with the previous reviewer - the drip tray is rather small, and seems to fill up quickly.

However, my major gripe is that after 5 days of use, the pump suddenly gave in. So I had to return it to Amazon. Which was a real shame - not what I'd expect from Dualit and hopefully not indicative of a wider fault with the machine.

After lots of research on other machines, I am settling down to this one again - the price is excellent, the quality of the coffee is brilliant and compared to other machines in the price range it appears outperforms them in virtually every area. So, fingers crossed that the pump issue is a one off.

a known issue?
machine arrived super-quick and looked fantastic straight from the box.
i read the very comprehensive instructions first (i didn't have any coffee so i couldn't use it straight away) and a couple of things stood out. there was repeated instruction to pre-heat all parts of the machine before brewing but also that the control knob would be stiff to start with and then free up with use. these messages were repeated so many times that it did raise suspicion a little.
well, after a couple of days of struggling with the very stiff knob (fnarr), something has now given and the control valve no longer operates. as an engineer, used to the way such things 'should' feel, i knew the effort needed to operate this control wasn't good and the warning in the instructions seemed to be an admission of a known issue. if this is true i am very disappointed that such a company would do this. i'll try a replacement and see if it is better.
the reason i'll try a replacement (and for the four stars) is because, for the few occasions that i used the machine before it broke, the coffee was fantastic and it was far more easy to make good coffee than you may think if you read the on-line reviews and 'how-to' sites.
assuming i am being paranoid about the warnings and the control knob issue goes away on my replacement, this is a fine machine with all the features you'll need to make great coffee.

Great looks
First thoughts are that is is a nice looking machine. Lovely cream colour and quite compact. Fits nicely with their matching kettle and toaster.

Pros
- Very simple to use and heats up nice and quickly.
- The cup warmer is great and big enough for 2 coffee cups and 2 expresso cups.
- You get three coffee holders, a shallow 1 shot holder, a deeper 2 shot and 1 x pod holder
- Huge water tank
- makes nice coffee !

Cons
- Well mine arrived with one of the plastic lugs broken that holds the water tank on. Currently going throught the Amazon replacement process, so hopefully that will be resolved soon.
- Somethings are slightly plasticy and cheap, like the poor design to hold on the water tank and the black plastic coffee holder handle doesn't feel very secure.
- Drip tray is quite shallow and will fill up quickly if you overflow your cups.
- Quite noisy during operation
- Warming plate takes longer than the water to heat up, so you have to turn the machine on 5 minutes before you want the coffee, to heat the cups
- Ability to have hot water and or steam is a nice feature.
- It heats and froths milk quickly and well
- Just my preference, but it is a shame they didn't put 'Dualit' on the main front instead of 'Expressivo'.

All in all a nice looking machine that does the job but could have had a few more solid feel features built in.