i bought this as it can do coffee three ways, as we had used a nespresso for years and were tired of the waste. However, although it does do what it says, its unreliable in its ability to handle different coffee grounds and esse pads. some grounds and pads seem to be the wrong 'grind' and the machine just cannot push water through, slowing to a drip and leaking water from the head, clearly over-pressuring the machine. Its really annoying, no way to know if the one you buy will work or not, and like now, I've a bag of decaf ground coffee it just cannot handle. Same brand, caffeinated coffee has been fine! Ive a set of esse pads that don't work well either and its not a cheap business when you buy stuff that you can't use. Not impressed. Real shame, it has a lot of positives, its just to unpredictable to be enjoyable - it shouldn't take ten minutes of attempts to get one cup of coffee. Also it needs a solid mug full of water run through before you use it to ensure its hot enough, otherwise its cold coffee. great concept, a real shame the bit that should work the best - straight ground coffee - doesn't.

I bought this machine in 2010 to try to curb spending at Pret en route to work.It took a few attempts to master but when following the instructions regarding pre-heating it makes a perfect cup of coffee with beautifully frothed milk every time.A few key things to ensure longevity are;Use filtered water every time, the machine will scale up without this, just like your kettle but with lots of narrow tubes and pipes getting blocked!Pre-heat the machine according to the instructions.Wipe the milk frother and blast the wand through with water after every use.Periodically flush the machine with de-scaler, nothing expensive or toxic, food grade citric acid does the job perfectly.Empty the drip tray everytime you fill the tank, this will prevent the overfill/spillage that many reviewers talk about.Always use fresh milk.Following these steps has produced 2 perfect cups of coffee everyday for 8 years with no mechanical breakdown. That's nearly 6,000 cups of coffee!!! A friend of mine did none of the steps above and it took me a morning to strip clean and re-build his machine, however with a couple of replacement o-rings and a load of descaling it was perfect again. Now he to follows the guide above, his machine has now been faultless for 12 months!

A brilliant first home espresso machine. Does exactly what you need it to do.

For the price is hard to beat. First one lasted 4 years (approx 5-6 espresso's / lattes daily). I did not descale it once in this time. Second one am now descaling... still going strong.Well built. Good coffee (if you let it warm up to temp). Quick frothing steam wand.

Very pleased with product

Poor..less than 2 years old and leaking water profusely....and seems its a common flaw. Wouldnt recommend dualit

Got this as a multi purpose coffee maker, the holders broke and unable to use anymore. Once they break unlike the dualit toasters, no parts made. So daily use using the pod holder for 4 months, with dualit pods, the plastic but breaks off and no longer able to use as it doesn't fit properly and leaks everywhere. What a waste of money! If you use it with ese pouches then will be fine. If you want this for the pod function don't bother. Use a different brand. Year down the line, still no pod holder replacements available. So it's only a 2 in 1 after 4 months.

I bought this machine almost a year ago. together with matching toaster and kettle. I knew that Dualit has excellent toaster and kettles, and I trusted the brand for coffee machine and didn't read any reviews beforehand, and that turned out to be a big mistake.Never used pods, but it's good if you only use capsule, and that would be limited to NX capsules made by Dualit itself. The moment you start using ground coffee, it gets terrible. The machine's pressure is not enough to empty all the water at the end, hence the filter remains filled with water on top of the used ground coffee.I tried every coffee, from corse to fine, and both with and without paper filters, but the result is always the same. I sent it to be checked by the company, and it came back saying "we found no fault", without even addressing my problem. I called them back, and i was told by the customer service that this is how our machines work!! Literally I was told I have to live with it as it's how their machines work!So, if you want a machine to use with capsules, get any of the Nespresso compatible machines, as this one is just a waste of money. Making coffee from ground it too messy and too much of a hassle that you might as well give it up! If you want a manual espresso machine that works well with the ground coffee, and the same price range, go for Delunghi, which is is similar to this (no capsule) but it makes perfect espresso from ground.

Oooo how I loathe this machine!This is the second Expressivo machine I have owned. The first was the previous model, which never really worked properly - weak espresso and weak and watery steam. Coffee filters not able to be taken apart to clean, so bunged up continuously. Juddered so much that one needed to hold the cup still under the coffee dispenser. Also, soooo noisy!Thankfully ditched it to buy a reconditioned Baby Gaggia, which was great until it suddenly died after 13 months - that's right, guarantee was 12 months ..... The local shop (Steamer Trading) was a little embarrassed about this and offered to replace with a new Espressivo. We looked at each other ..... I really hoped that the newer model would have tackled some of the issues with the previous, but it seems not, apart from a rubber mat on the drip tray so the cup doesn't move around so much.I have to say that I have tried everything with this machine and really persevered. Have used filters (pressure not sufficient to force water through both the coffee and the filter), always use filtered water, have kept it spotless and used the best coffee possible. Illy (prefered choice) is ground too fine and bungs up coffee filters, but Lavazza seems to work ok, if not tamped too hard. If the filters block up during use, sometimes they will clear with a whoosh and the espresso then is full of coffee grounds.Using a proper SS jug, if it is filled deep enough for the wand to get into the milk, it overflows before it reaches a decent temperature, so milk everywhere.The only positive is that it looks great.I'm so sick of this every morning - such a performance and still a pretty horrid latte. Today I gave up and have ordered a DeLonghi bean to cup machine.

I bought this machine in November 2014 to replace an ailing De'Longhi Icona.Being around the entry level for this sort of machine, I was disappointed by the lack of decent reviews, but decided to go for it anyway, based on my good experience of the brand.First coffee out of the machine justified my decision immediately. This machine produces an espresso shot far superior to the Icona range, with a much better crema. Although both machines report the same pressure, this machine gives the impression that it is more capable and produces the shot with much more ease.Having said that, the steam wand is not as good as on the De'Longhi - I don't count that as too much of an issue since I bought the machine to make coffee with steamed milk being a bonus. The only way it is inferior is in the amount of time it takes to warm the milk. Froth is still good and a side effect of it being slower is that it makes it easier to create a stiff froth for Cappuccino. The wand is shorter, so I've ended up buying a second, smaller jug for when I am steaming less milk.I like how easy it is to switch between producing steam and hot water from the wand (a toggle switch on the front of the machine). This makes flushing the wand after heating milk very easy.I've read some reviews that this machine makes coffee that is too cold - I've never had that issue. Running through the suggested pre-warming routine produces coffee that is too hot to drink immediately, both black and white. I tend to split a double shot between two cups, so I will fill both cups with hot water first as my pre-warming routine. This leaves more than enough water for four coffees. I don't generally repeat the warming routine before the second pair of coffees (unless I need to warm the portafilter due to rinsing in cold water).I do use the paper filters - I bought a large pack of them through espares and if nothing else, they help avoid having to clean the portafilter thoroughly every time. It was worth the extra spend for this ease of use.I did use the portafilter without

I bought this machine in November 2014 to replace an ailing De'Longhi Icona.
Being around the entry level for this sort of machine, I was disappointed by the lack of decent reviews, but decided to go for it anyway, based on my good experience of the brand.

First coffee out of the machine justified my decision immediately. This machine produces an espresso shot far superior to the Icona range, with a much better crema. Although both machines report the same pressure, this machine gives the impression that it is more capable and produces the shot with much more ease.

Having said that, the steam wand is not as good as on the De'Longhi - I don't count that as too much of an issue since I bought the machine to make coffee with steamed milk being a bonus. The only way it is inferior is in the amount of time it takes to warm the milk. Froth is still good and a side effect of it being slower is that it makes it easier to create a stiff froth for Cappuccino. The wand is shorter, so I've ended up buying a second, smaller jug for when I am steaming less milk.
I like how easy it is to switch between producing steam and hot water from the wand (a toggle switch on the front of the machine). This makes flushing the wand after heating milk very easy.

I've read some reviews that this machine makes coffee that is too cold - I've never had that issue. Running through the suggested pre-warming routine produces coffee that is too hot to drink immediately, both black and white. I tend to split a double shot between two cups, so I will fill both cups with hot water first as my pre-warming routine. This leaves more than enough water for four coffees. I don't generally repeat the warming routine before the second pair of coffees (unless I need to warm the portafilter due to rinsing in cold water).

I do use the paper filters - I bought a large pack of them through espares and if nothing else, they help avoid having to clean the portafilter thoroughly every time. It was worth the extra spend for this ease

I've owned one of these machine and had regular 'use' of a second Dualit machine. Both have suffered from numerous blockages requiring stripping out the coffee basket assembly and soaking in bleach for 24 hours to unblock them. They have both been very noisy and the pump stalls when blocked. I have tried using the useless paper filters that Dualit recommend, but this does little or nothing to prevent the machine failing. At least once per week, these machines need attention. Today, I have reached the end of my patience with these poorly designed machines and they are going into the wheelie bin.Please don't waste your money on one of these machines, they are not cheap and they will let you down. Dualit toasters are excellent. It's a pity they have failed so miserably with the Espressivo range of coffee makers. Shame on you Dualit!

I bought this in 2009. I use it every day, several times a day. It makes delicious espressos with minimal fuss. I'm only writing this review now because after all the use I've got out of it, only now am I having to buy a replacement part which cost three pounds off the dualit website and took five minutes to install. It's great.

Thinking Dualit to be a trusted name, had no hesitation in buying this machine. Well if you want a machine that produces cold coffee with the most faffing about ever, this is for you! I contacted Dualit to voice my concerns and was told to use coarse ground coffee, not to tamp it down, preheat the cups and run the machine without the grounds to start with. When I told them I had done all this but still couldn't get a decent cup of coffee, they told me to contact the retailer! There is clearly nothing wrong with the machine other than the fact that is simply doesn't do what any normal person would expect from it. The retailer said Dualit were a nightmare to deal with and if they sent it back, they would only be told it was working! It's not the retailer's fault this is a rubbish machine and Dualit appear to want to take no responsibility for foisting it on the market. So take my advice and look elsewhere and avoid this make.

After some months use it dawned that there is a right and wrong way up for the filter paper circle. Smoother side up = fast pour and happiness. Smoother side down= blocked filter and slow,slow drip by drip pour. Remember this and you are laughing!

I've had several espresso machines ranging from an old Krups, a Gaggia, two Magimix L'espressios and several De Longis. This was bought in an attempt to move up the quality ladder to get a machine that was robust enough for me.So far I'm hugely impressed. This machine has a significantly different operation and build to all the others. For starters, it is all metal, including the grey base which is anodised alloy. The top plate is solid aluminium plate.It's general operation is different too. For instance, the milk frother doesn't jet water which gradually turns to steam, it has a pulse feature which delivers a set amount to the pump ensuring quick steam and little water spay. The frother's nozzle is soft rubber and simply pulls off ro be washed up a tap.The big black knob operates a proper, heavy duty selector where you can chose the coffee maker or the frother. It is a mechanical device and takes the sort of effort one would have expected to use from a machine from the '50's or '60's...The sort of machines that were built with decent metal components and lasted a lifetime so if you are so weak and feeble from using today's plastic buttons you can't turn the knob...Do some exercise until you can!The coffee holder basket moves smoothly around once the lugs are engaged then snicks into a locked position...Very nice and much nicer than other machines which have to be forced around to their stops to prevent leaks.I've used mine with ground espresso coffee, and with pods. Now, the pods it is designed for are ESE types. I don't know what they are but I found some extra large ordinary ones in tesco which said they were mugs of coffee rather than the more common cup sized ones. These wedge into the standard basket nicely and make a pretty good coffee. Strong and tasty.Generally I use either Lavazza espresso or Lidls 'big gold brick' coffee because it is £3.500 for 500 gms. i tend to have Cappuccino's and despite the Lidl stuff not being espresso, both make a cracking cup.On the subject of Cappuccinos, the frother makes

I've had several espresso machines ranging from an old Krups, a Gaggia, two Magimix L'espressios and several De Longis. This was bought in an attempt to move up the quality ladder to get a machine that was robust enough for me.So far I'm hugely impressed. This machine has a significantly different operation and build to all the others. For starters, it is all metal, including the grey base which is anodised alloy. The top plate is solid aluminium plate.It's general operation is different too. For instance, the milk frother doesn't jet water which gradually turns to steam, it has a pulse feature which delivers a set amount to the pump ensuring quick steam and little water spay. The frother's nozzle is soft rubber and simply pulls off ro be washed up a tap.The big black knob operates a proper, heavy duty selector where you can chose the coffee maker or the frother. It is a mechanical device and takes the sort of effort one would have expected to use from a machine from the '50's or '60's...The sort of machines that were built with decent metal components and lasted a lifetime so if you are so weak and feeble from using today's plastic buttons you can't turn the knob...Do some exercise until you can!The coffee holder basket moves smoothly around once the lugs are engaged then snicks into a locked position...Very nice and much nicer than other machines which have to be forced around to their stops to prevent leaks.I've used mine with ground espresso coffee, and with pods. Now, the pods it is designed for are ESE types. I don't know what they are but I found some extra large ordinary ones in tesco which said they were mugs of coffee rather than the more common cup sized ones. These wedge into the standard basket nicely and make a pretty good coffee. Strong and tasty.Generally I use either Lavazza espresso or Lidls 'big gold brick' coffee because it is £3.500 for 500 gms. i tend to have Cappuccino's and despite the Lidl stuff not being espresso, both make a cracking cup.On the subject of Cappuccinos, the frother makes

I can relate to several of the reviews here. My first Dualit sprang a leak after 2 days and went back. It was fine for a while but as others have noted here, after a few months it started struggling to push the water through. This results in pressure building up in the holder, and if you try to release the holder it can release the pressure and the water and coffee all over the place. This happens to mine all the time now even after rescaling etc so I will have to look for a different brand of coffee maker. I was always unsure why this machine needs filters too. Poor design in my opinion.

A replacement through Amazon, great service, but again quickly sprang a leak. Had one for years but quality now seems awful so after 3 in a year changed to Russell Hobbs lookalike at a fraction of the price which after 3 months still fine.

Good machine but needs descaling often. My first one was sent for repair because of leakage. I never got it repaired properly after two attempts by the insurance companys' repairer and bought another one but it stopped working too. It is hard to get someone to fix them. For that reason I would not buy again.