3-Year Summary of Experience
Update: At the three year mark, the heating elements on my machine failed. Repair costs TBD. If it's a write off, I estimate my service life equipment cost to have been right around a buck a shot. I had hoped for better longevity from a simple, expensively over-built machine. My initial rating was five stars, which I now reduce to three. Original review follows, with updates noted:
I have owned the 16-cup La Pavoni Stradivari model for about six months. I purchased it through Seattle Coffee Gear, a nearby dealer and repair shop I have come to trust. My wife and I use the machine at home for 4-6 Americanos or lattes per day.
My machine arrived in good order and was easy to set up. Per directions, I ran a tank of water with baking soda through initially, and set up the steamer with the venturi frothing attachment. There's a lot about this machine I like: its small footprint and steamship-era aesthetics, sturdiness and perpetual maintainability, silent...
La Pavoni Stradivari 8-cup
This machine was a great disappointment. I got this to replace a 70's Pavoni Europiccola that simply wore out. From the beginning the first cup of espresso is cold, unless you go though a ritual to get it hotter. The manufacturer said this was just the way it is now designed.
Then I noticed that after using it, there was a puddle of water underneath. La Pavoni sent me to Thomas Cara in San Francisco, and said he was their representative. HE curtly said he was NOT their representative. But he described a defect in the Stradivari design - the heating element is made of stainless steel and the bottom fixture is brass - so they cool at different rates and frequently leak like mine was doing. So there is no good fix for this $800 espresso maker.
Thankfully, Amazon has been very responsive in taking the unit back, and I expect a full refund. That part was easy.
La Pavoni ESW-8 Stradavari...
Great machine, but disappointed in plastic parts
This machine is exactly what I expected, pulls beautiful shots, but not without some patient troubleshooting. You MUST use an adjustable burr grinder and learn the art of grinding, tamping and pulling the shot. There are some good videos on youtube on this machine.
However, the plastic tray that catches any spilled espresso was either broken out of the box, or broke during its first cleaning. It is made of gossamer plastic, and cracked right away.
Also of concern, the base of the unit (Stradivarius) appears to be plastic covered with a chrome looking finish. It sure looks like metal in the pictures, and for a machine that costs as much as this one does, I would expect the base to be metal. Unfortunately, when you pull a shot, the plastic base flexes, and after only a few weeks, I have noticed some cracks on the base unit just to the right of the boiler. I think older machines have metal bases, and I would definitely try to get an older metal base machine if...
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