Review – Lavazza Piccina Espresso Machine

Lavazza Piccina

I have always wanted to be a domestic goddess but I have to be honest to myself I am not cut out for it. From one reason to another there is always something preventing me from being that perfect stepford housewife type. One of my main downfalls is my ability to make a lovely cup of coffee, not really something that would be seen as a major problem but when you have guests and they have to pretend to drink your beverage that you have spent the past 5 minutes whizzing around the kitchen trying to prepare, you know that something is wrong. I love how people are very polite when they visit and accept my offers of a hot drink and they sit and nurse the cup until it is cold. Now it’s not totally my fault, I do not drink coffee or tea myself so I cannot tell the difference between a good cup or a bad cup but my guests and partner certainly can.

My prayers were answered when we were asked to review the Lavazza Piccina Espresso machine ( I think my partner thought that all his Christmases had come at once when I told him) I jumped at the opportunity, how could I not? This was my chance to pretend I was a skillful host when I had guests over and my partner would no longer have to suffer drinking burnt coffee!

Lavazza Piccina

The Lavazza Piccina Coffee Machine comes from one of the finest names in quality Italian Coffee so I was extremely excited to be receiving the product.

When the box arrived I couldn’t wait to open it, and that I did. Barely seconds after closing the door to the delivery driver I was breaking into the box with Styrofoam pieces flying everywhere. Isabelle was delighted by this and after her trying to eat a couple of pieces I decided it was best to wait until my partner arrived home from work. It was probably the best choice since I wouldn’t be able to do anything with the machine until he was home anyway.

Lavazza Piccina

Placed to one side I watched the clock until he arrived home, before he could put his bags down and take his coat of I pounced on him and insisted that he come look at our shiny new machine.

Lavazza Piccina

Pulling it out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised, we received the white model. The machine looked great, not only did it match our current kitchen appliances it really stood out as a fancy piece of equipment. Oh yes I was going to be the hostess with the most-est, just wait until I could invite people around to sample a real coffee.

Lavazza Piccina

It is the perfect entry level machine for people who do not want the hassle of having to grind your own coffee first. It is designed to use the Lavazza A Modo Mio capsules and comes with a supply of 24 to get you started. I liked the fact that it came with a variety so that we could sample them and decide which roast/blend would be suitable for us.

Lavazza Piccina

Lavazza Piccina

Before we could sample the delights of this machine we had to be sensible and read the instruction manual (safety first!) Following it step by step they were very clear an easy to understand with a few illustrations to help out along the way. After priming the machine for use we were ready to go.

The machine has a 1.4 litre capacity water tank with a clearly labelled minimum and maximum fill point guide so even novices like me cannot get it wrong and it allows us to make more than one cup at a time.

Lavazza Piccina

Priming the machine

Once we ha refilled the machine after priming my partner selected his coffee capsule of choice which happened to be the ¡Tierra! Intenso, a full bodied 100% fine Arabica. This roast is 100% sustainably grown and comes exclusively from Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms which means that it helps to protect the environment and also improve conditions for the farm workers.

Lavazza Piccina

So here is how we did it

Lavazza Piccina

After placing the capsule in the holder and locking it into place as explained in the manual we could start pouring our coffee by pressing the button on the left making sure that our cup was in place.

Lavazza Piccina

Lavazza Piccina

Once we had our desired amount of coffee it was time to add the milk, my partner decided that he would like to have a frothy coffee and according to the instructions it was very simple to do. We filled the container (in our case a cup) 1/3 full of milk and pressed the button on the right of the machine. When we had the green light we could turn the dial on the right to produce the steam that would heat and froth our milk. I was amazed at how highly effective it was.

Lavazza Piccina

The whole process of making the coffee took as little as 3 minutes from start to finish (with the exception of priming the machine first but this should only have to be done with the new machine once)

So here is our finished product

Lavazza Piccina

Following the instructions we were able to produce a lovely (even better than the coffee shops) cup of coffee with a rich unmistakable chocolaty aroma. With the added touch of the frothy milk that we were able to create ourselves it truly was an amazingly velvety cup of coffee. My partner has been enjoying cups of coffee at home ever since we received the machine and I have even dished some impressive cups out to my guests and had a very positive response. We have tried all of the capsules provided in the sample packet an can honestly say that we have not found one that we haven’t liked and cannot choose a favourite.

Because it only takes a few minutes to make his coffee he is able to make a cup before he goes to work and also make one that he can take in his travel thermos to take to work in mornings so it really saves time.

The only issue that we came across was trying to fit our mugs under the spout as it was quite low, for now we can get by with this until we purchase some smaller mugs.

So our verdict,  even though the machine is by no means a top of the range, the price you pay for the machine means that you get great Lavazza coffee and a really fab looking little machine that  will add a touch of to any kitchen worktop.

The Lavazza Piccina retails for £99 (yes really, less than £100!) and is available in 3 colours Red, White and Black that would look great in almost any kitchen. You can purchase it direct from the Lavazza website along with the Lavazza A Modo Mio Capsules which are £3.89 for a pack of 16 capsules.

 
I did not receive any payment for this review and all thoughts are my own. We did however receive the item for review purposes

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