Home LivingAppliancesKitchenCoffee MachinesDualit Espressivo Pro review: a top semi-auto espresso maker for discerning coffee aficionadosThe Dualit Espressivo Pro produces espressos every bit as good as the ‘pro’ moniker suggestsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dualit)T3 VerdictThe new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to useReasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spotWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Home LivingAppliancesKitchenCoffee MachinesDualit Espressivo Pro review: a top semi-auto espresso maker for discerning coffee aficionadosThe Dualit Espressivo Pro produces espressos every bit as good as the ‘pro’ moniker suggestsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dualit)T3 VerdictThe new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to useReasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spotWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The Dualit Espressivo Pro produces espressos every bit as good as the ‘pro’ moniker suggests
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Dualit)T3 VerdictThe new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to useReasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spot
(Image credit: Dualit)
(Image credit: Dualit)
T3 VerdictThe new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to useReasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spot
T3 VerdictThe new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.
T3 Verdict
The new semi-automatic Dualit Espressivo Pro is the perfect espresso machine for wannabe baristas with a taste for rich espresso that packs plenty of palette-smacking punch. It’s very easy to get a handle on and it comes with an excellent burr grinder, a pro-spec 58mm group head and heavyweight tamper for perfect espressos time after time.
Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to useReasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spot
Reasons to buy+Excellent performance+Superb on-board grinder+Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper+Easy to use
Excellent performance
Superb on-board grinder
Pro-spec group head, portafilter and tamper
Easy to use
Reasons to avoid-Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spot
Requires some experimentation to hit the sweet spot
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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Welcome to T3’s review of the new Dualit Espressivo Pro domestic espresso machine with built-in grinder and professional-style group head and portafilter.
With its on-board grinder and full digital extraction control, a handsome, fuss-free bean-to-cup style model like this will not only look the part on any kitchen worktop but it should produce exceptional results without the need for a degree in barista physics.
Will the Dualit Espressivo Pro knock Sage off the top perches in our guides to thebest espresso machineandbest bean to cup coffee machine? There’s only one way to know.
Dualit Espressivo Pro review: Price and availability
At the moment the Espressivo Pro is exclusive toJohn Lewis & Partnerswhere it’s shifting for £549.99 – a price that’s about par for a high-end machine of this calibre. However, you can also purchase it direct fromDualit.
Dualit Espressivo Pro review: design and features
(Image credit: Dualit)
(Image credit: Dualit)
You can rarely go wrong with a Dualit product. Aside from the very agreeable design aesthetics of its appliances (especially its retro toasters), its products are also known for their impressive reliability and expert fit and finish.
The Espressivo Pro straddles the area between a manual espresso machine and a bean-to-cup. However, where a bona fide bean-to-cup machine does absolutely everything for you – from grinding and tamping to extraction – this model requires a wee bit of human interaction. In a nutshell, your only set of tasks – aside from placing a cup below the spout – is to place the portafilter under the grinder and tap the grinding button. When full, tamp the coffee grounds using the provided heavy-weight tamper, attach the portafilter to the group head and tap the single or double shot button. And that’s about it.
The really good thing about this semi-automatic method is that it cuts out all the possible things that can, and do, go wrong with a fully-automatic bean-to-cup machine – like forgetting to empty the spent coffee grounds container and emptying the used water reservoir the machine uses to purge contaminated water from the group head and when running periodical self-cleaning regimes. With this machine you can see all the working parts and nothing is too overly automated.
At 41 x 34 x 19.5cm, the Espressivo Pro is more compact than most bean-to-cup machines so it won’t hog too much worktop space. It also sports stylish aesthetics and a dark grey livery that won’t upset the balance of your kitchen’s décor.
(Image credit: Dualit)
(Image credit: Dualit)
Heading to the top of the machine, the burr grinder’s container has enough capacity for about 250 grams of beans and provides a wide range of grinds from powder fine to extremely coarse. Granted, you will never select anywhere near the coarsest settings for espresso but it’s good to know that these settings are available in case you ever want to make a large amount of coffee using a completely different process, like a filter system or a coffee press.
One very major plus with this machine is that it’s grinder is actually really good, indeed better than some stand-alone models. How so? Well its conical burrs can be programmed to a much finer degree than most of the other grinders I’ve reviewed bar, say, the very expensive Niche. In fact, I’ve had to settle at 8 on its grind scale of 0 to 40 because any finer and the water refuses to pass through the portafilter. Granted it took a bit of experimentation to find the sweet spot where the black nectar pours out in a thin stream rather than a drip or a gush, but it’s great to know that this grinder still has plenty of headroom for an even finer grind should you require one in the future.
The Espressivo Pro ships with a very large 2.8-litre water reservoir, a reassuringly weighty pro-spec 58mm portafilter and two non-pressurised baskets: one for single shots and one for doubles. It also comes with a hefty 390g tamper that is almost heavy enough to tamp coffee grounds under its own weight.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
As is the case with many espresso machines sporting a ‘pro’ label, this model’s portafilter has two spouts designed for making two espressos at once. However, since the spouts are spaced about 4cm apart and angled outwards to allow two espresso cups to be filled at the same time, it’s very tricky to line up a single cup without some coffee pouring over the edges. This is a common issue with many espresso machines, especially those fitted with pro-spec 38mm portafilters. I personally would like to see manufacturers provide a second portafilter with a single spout for one-cup espressos because I don’t have many single-shot espresso cups that are wide enough to use with this twin-spout portafilter.
Moving over to the right hand side, there’s an easy-to-use steam wand for those who like cappuccinos, macchiatos and lattes. Simply fill the supplied metal jug with cold semi-skimmed milk and hold it under the wand at an angle. Now flick the lever to the steam position and wait until the milk builds up a decent froth.
As any seasoned barista will tell you, espresso making is quite an art that involves a lot of experimentation with coffee grind size, tamping pressure, extraction time, water pressure and water temperature. Thankfully, the Espressivo Pro’s computer processor takes care of extraction time along with water temperature and pressure so all you really need to concentrate on is the quantity and size of the coffee grounds and the pressure applied when tamping. To help you visualise the quality of extraction, this model features a pressure gauge and the sweet spot for correct extraction is between 5 and 13 BARs of pressure. If too low, the coffee will pour out too quickly and taste like dishwater and, if too high, there will be very little crema and the coffee will taste bitter.
There’s very little maintenance with this machine aside from keeping its extra-large reservoir topped up (ideally with bottled water), emptying the dirty water tray beneath the group head and performing a periodical descale.
Dualit Espressivo Pro review: performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Like any new espresso machine, it takes a few trial-and-error attempts to get the most out of this machine and, as usual, most of the experimentation is down to grind size, the quantity of grinds and the level of tamping.
At first I ground the coffee on setting number 4 which proved to be far too fine for the water to penetrate the grounds. As a result, the pressure needle on the gauge skyrocketed and only a few drips of thick black liquid were deposited, and with very little crema. So I changed the grind to setting 10 and the coffee came out too quickly, with very little pressure showing on the gauge. Eventually I found the sweet spot on the grinder at position 8 and, bingo, the gauge showed perfect pressure and the coffee streamed out at a sedate pace, producing oodles of rich, oily crema in the process. Just the way I like it.
Dualit Espressivo Pro review: verdict
(Image credit: Dualit)
(Image credit: Dualit)
I’ve tested many espresso machines in the past and the Dualit Espressivo Pro is easily one of the better models when it comes to grind quality and strength of espresso. Hence, if you’re fed up with domestic coffee machines – especially those of the bean-to-cup variety – that often produce insipidly weak coffee akin to that of a vending machine, step right this way.
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Today’s best Espresso Coffee Machines deals206 Amazon customer reviews☆☆☆☆☆$12.47View$99.95$80.99View$149.99$109.99ViewShow More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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