La Pavoni PC-16 Professional Espresso Machine - 16-Cup Capacity Lever Espresso Maker - Chrome Finish- Solid Brass 38oz Boiler - Dual Frothing Systems & Mounted Pressure Gauge - Made in Italy

Well, it’s undoubtedly a gorgeous piece of Italian high art product design, but does require a steep learning curve. After 2 cups a day for two weeks, I can make a pretty tasty brew, but so far, the crema is meager at best. I’ve seen videos showing great crema on this machine, so I’ll keep trying till I get it right.Two months later: I found that the strainer cup from my old Breville machine fits the La Pavoni and makes an incredible crema, typically more than 1 cm thick. The La Pavoni cup has hundreds of holes while the Breville has just one. This creates a high back pressure which streams out the very robust crema and you can use a somewhat courser grind as all the back pressure comes from the strainer cup and not the coffee grind. My recommendation: get the Breville strainer and use it on your La Pavoni machine - the espresso is devine!

This machine makes great coffee. better than you can get in most coffee shops with a little practice.I have been using one since 1985 and swear by it. Purchased the first one in Milan Italy. Cant go wrong with this item.

This La Pavoni worked for 6 months. I have been a La Pavoni user for decades, so know how to use and properly take care of the machine. The issue happened within the 12 month warranty period. Amazon did not help get the warranty claim handled - but sent me to an Italian website, which is worthless to a U.S. customer. As a reseller in the U.S., Amazon should handle warranty issues. I feel let down, and will no longer purchase any high value items from Amazon. After years of being a loyal customer, this has been a very negative experience.

Second one I have owned. First was purchased in 1983 and served me well until April of 2025 when it finally gave up the ghost. Not a bad run! I love the coffee I made in the new one as much as I did in the old one. A great machine!

This Pavoni makes excellent espresso. There are a few tricks that allow consistently excellent shots. Leave room at top of Porto filter: about 3/8 inch. A mid fill tamp Is a good idea. Then replace the nozzle provided with a single hole brass nozzle. With this installation the machine is perfect. It is regrettable the machine is not equipped with an appropriate frother given the cost of the Pavoni.

What a beautiful machine. You're in full control here, and that means that there's going to be a learning curve, which may frustrate some while bringing joy to others. When you finally start getting things right, the espresso can at times be life changing, but such can also have a tendency to come and go until you master your technique completely. The machine is very well built, designed to last a long time and is easily serviced. There's many stories of these machines working well 30+ years with nothing more than basic care and maintenance. It is not well suited out of the box for leaving on for long times, nor pulling many back to back shots. The group head temp can overheat when trying to do so, which can wildly impact extraction (there's mods to help with this if you need them). It has a relatively small portafilter so I typically run a 15 gram dose and target a 2:1 extraction, but you can get the normal 18 gram dose to work by adjusting your pre-infusion technique. There's aftermarket shower heads, naked portafilters, options for measuring and profiling extraction pressure, ways to monitor group head temp, and PID controller mods, all of which will add to cost, but if you want to tech things out you can, and such may help with the learning curve starting out. When you consider the cost over the years the machine will last, it's very cost effective and it can reward you with skills, flexibility and an experience you're not going to get with an auto or super auto machine.

We bought this model on Amazon in 2010.we enjoyed it much, and used it 2x daily. It made great coffee and it is beautiful. But unfortunately it broke after a year. We sent it out for repairs and it lasted only 6 more months.We gave up and now use a stove top moka pot.

I fell in love with the design and allure of pulling my own espresso. Followed all the youtube videos, roasted my own coffee etc. After struggling trying to make a decent espresso the machine started tripping my GFI. Called the seller for support and they said likely the boiler is defective. They said I may have ran it with no water in the boiler...(which I didn't). I'm a passionate home chef and fairly confident I'm capable of figuring how to make good use of the La Pavoni but couldn't yet pull a decent espresso with a reasonable amount of crema. I returned it and was going to order another one but when I made an espresso on my $500 Breville espresso machine using my home roasted coffee, guess what? A beautiful espresso with plenty of crema! So, I decided to pocket the 1300 bucks and not reorder the La Pavoni. No saying not to buy it or that I might not change my mind but I'm runnin with the Breville for now.