This review puts the Dualit Espressivo Pro Coffee Machine through its paces, to find out whether it can be called one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines on the market.
After using it daily for the past two weeks, I think it's a worthy investment. Here's why.
In a nutshell
With an RRP of £549.99, the Dualit Espressivo Pro is one of the more affordable bean-to-cup machines on the market, but it isn't lacking in quality.
There are up to 40 adjustable grind settings with this machine, allowing you to customise your coffee and create a drink just to your liking. It's easy to change the grind pressure and time, and you can also adjust the extraction time and temperature as well.
So, if you're serious about your coffee, and you want to create a barista-quality drink at home, this could be the machine for you.
But not everyone will need this machine, and indeed, some people might find it overwhelming. It can be difficult to wrap your head around the different settings and what they all mean, but I found that I didn't need to do much tinkering to get my ideal drink.
I was also impressed with how quickly the Espressivo Pro makes a hot drink. Pre-heating takes a matter of seconds, and the steam wand efficiently heats up milk too.
As far as coffee machines go, this one looks (and feels) bulky, so it might not be for you if you're tight on kitchen counter space.
Specifications
- Coffee type: bean
- Dimensions: (W)34.1 x 19.5(D) x 41.2(H) cm
- Coffee options: single and double shot espresso, plus up to 40 adjustable grind settings available
- RRP: £549.99
- Water tank capacity: 2.8L
- Pressure: 20-bar
- Weight: 9.98kg
Who tested this coffee machine?
Unboxing and first impressions
The first thing I note about the Dualit Espressivo Pro Coffee Machine when it arrives is that it's heavy. I have to carry it up two flights of stairs to get it into my flat, and while I manage, it's a struggle. Aside from the weight, the box itself is also quite large, which makes it awkward to transport.
The coffee machine itself weighs just under 10kg, which isn't too much of a problem - but with all the packaging materials and other components, the box itself definitely feels heavier than this. To get the machine out of the box, I end up (carefully) tipping it upside down, as it's packed quite tight.
Everything inside the box is wrapped in protective plastic, labelled as 07. After looking online, it seems that this type of plastic is difficult to recycle, meaning it's more than likely going to end up with general household waste. This is a shame, especially as there's a few components within the box that I didn't feel needed to be wrapped in individual sheets of plastic.
Once the Dualit Espressivo Pro is unwrapped and out the box, I can appreciate its impressiveness. It's sturdy, and wouldn't look out of place in a barista's coffee shop. That does mean however that it's quite large for an at-home coffee machine. I already know I'm going to have move some things off my kitchen countertop to make space for it during the testing process.
As per the instruction manual, there are a couple of steps to follow before you can get started with using the machine. It's recommended to wash the hopper lid, water tank, drip tray, portafilter, and cup filters in soapy water before the first use, which I did, but I learnt that the water tank needs to be handled carefully; an accidental knock into one of my kitchen cabinets tore the hinge on the tank's lid. For such an expensive unit, I wouldn't expect the tank to damage quite so easily.
A water softener bag is included with the machine to prevent limescale from building up, which I thought was a nice addition as it means the machine will need descaling less often. After popping this in the tank and filling it up with water, I switch the machine on and all of the buttons start flashing. Once they stop flashing and pre-heating is complete (which didn't take long at all) the Espressivo Pro was good to go.
What's it like to use?
I'll admit that I did find all the different settings on the Espressivo Pro a little intimidating at first. It's easy enough to get started with using the machine, but there's a few different display elements, including a function indicator (which has indicators for steam, grind, and extraction), the control panel display (including the temperature and pre-brew/ extraction time), and the pressure gauge.
Needless to say that if you're a coffee novice, a lot of these display units might be confusing. But rather than trying to wrap my head around what all these different components meant, I concentrated on just making a cup of coffee in the first instance, so I could familiarise myself with how the machine works.
Following the instructions, I poured some coffee beans into the hopper (I use the GRIND house blend beans), fitted the portafilter into the cradle underneath the grind outlet, and pressed the grind button. At first, nothing happened, and it took me some time to realise that I needed to twist the hopper in place to set the grind size.
Again, as someone who isn't too clued up on different grinding sizes and how these impact the coffee, I found this a little confusing. There's a handy extraction guide in the instruction manual though, which explains that if the grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak, and if it's too fine, it will taste burnt and bitter. The hopper can be twisted to sit in either the coarse, medium, or fine categories, so I put it in the middle.
The beans are ground and poured directly into the portafilter, and I do enjoy the smell of the fresh coffee as it fills my kitchen. I then used the tamper to press down the coffee and spread it evenly across the surface. The tamper is heavyweight, and feels satisfying to use.
The portafilter with the ground coffee is then attached to the group head. There are options on the control panel for a single or double espresso shot, and there's also a single cup filter which will stop you from overfilling the portafilter if you only want a single shot.
After pressing the double shot button, my coffee started to pour. When it's done, there's the satisfying layer of crema on top of the espresso shot, which stays in place while I'm frothing my milk with the steam wand. The steam wand was easy to use, and creates a nice, frothy milk within 30 seconds. I'm not a fan of the screeching sound it makes when it kicks into gear, though this does fade once it gets going.
At the end, I've got a delicious cup of coffee that I'm really happy with. It's the perfect temperature where I don't feel like I have to rush my way through drinking it, and it doesn't feel like it's taken much effort to create a hot drink. Having previously tested the Salter Professional Espirista Coffee Machine, I know that some machines can take a lot longer to get the same result.
I'm also happy with how the coffee tastes. It's not too bitter, but it's definitely strong enough for me to enjoy. All in all, I'd say I wouldn't be disappointed if I was served this exact coffee from a barista in a coffee shop.
It is possible to adjust the pre-brew water volume, pre-brew time, extraction temperature, and extraction water volume of both the single and double espresso functions, as well as the grind time. The instructions walk you through how to do this, making it pretty easy to customise your drink to however you want it.
The extraction guide indicates that the ideal extraction takes between 20-40 seconds, at a 4-13 bar pressure. I found I didn't need to play around with the settings to get a drink that I was happy with. The pressure gauge stays within the 9-12 region when I'm making my coffee, and takes around 20 seconds to make. I do try moving the hopper a few clicks along to see what a coffee tastes like at a higher pressure, but this creates a drink that's a bit too bitter for my liking.
I did use the single cup filter a couple of times, but it ended up being quite messy; you can't attach the portafilter to the group head if it's got the cup filter in it, so you need to tip the coffee into the portafilter directly. Because it's really easy to adjust the grind time (you simply press the grind button and the grinding function stops), I found this was the better option for me than using the single cup filter. I just used my eye to judge whether or not there was enough coffee in the portafilter, and went from there.
I also experimented with making an iced coffee, which was nice, but you'll need a separate milk whisk to create a frothy milk consistency. The steam wand on the Espressivo Pro makes the milk hot, which isn't what you want in an iced drink. That's where the best iced coffee makers really come into their own.
I do think it's great that they are so many ways to customise your coffee with this machine, and I can see a coffee aficionado being pleased with the range of adjustable settings. The grind size is adjusted via a series of clicks, so you're not just limited to coffee that is either coarse, regular, or fine - rather, it's a sliding scale where you can make a drink that sits between any of these categories.
I also found the pressure gauge to be a helpful indicator for how my coffee was being made. I'm not sure if the number the dial flicks to is 100% accurate (it does seem to waver between 2-3 numbers most times), but it's still a nice addition for coffee lovers that like to see the pressure with which their coffee is made.
What's it like to clean?
Cleaning the Dualit Espressivo Pro is pretty straightforward. After each use, I washed the drip tray and portafilter, and gave the steam wand a wipe down. It's recommended to also dispense steam through the steam wand after every use too, but I'll admit I didn't do this every time. But after a few uses, I did this to remove any milk residue sitting inside the wand.
The instructions also recommend to clean the grinding system once a month to avoid flavour tainting. I actually did this when it was time refill the hopper with coffee beans, as I noticed when removing the hopper that there was a lot of leftover beans sitting in the grind outlet. Removing these wasn't the easiest, and I did end up with a lot of coffee residue over my worktop afterwards.
There's a handy little cleaning brush to clean the upper burr with (the component that sits underneath the hopper), and with this, it's easy to remove any traces of the previous batch of beans. There's also a small cleaning pin to remove dried milk from the steam wand.
Something that was a little trickier to clean was the filter plate, which had a lot of old coffee stuck to it after a few uses. The instructions recommend to clean this once a month by unscrewing the plate from the machine, but I ended up wiping it down more frequently than this once I noticed just how much old coffee was stuck to the plate. Getting the stuck coffee off the plate while it was still attached to the machine wasn't easy though, and left a huge mess on my worktop.
Finally, the control panel will indicate when the machine needs descaling. The water softener bag that's included will reduce the frequency of this, but when the time comes, you'll need to purchase a separate descaling solution to keep the coffee machine in tip-top condition.
How does it compare to similar models?
In general, bean-to-cup coffee machines tend to be expensive, and the Dualit Espressivo Pro is actually more affordable than similar models on the market. It's comparable to the Sage Barista Express Impress in both features and aesthetic; both offer adjustable grind size and volume, a powerful steam wand, and a pressure gauge. But the Espressivo Pro's RRP is almost £200 less than the Sage Barista Express, making it a much more affordable option. One of the main features the Sage has over the Dualit is an auto mode, where the machine automatically adjusts the amount it dispenses based on the last drink you made, to hit the perfect point each time. This would take some of the guesswork out of making the coffee.
If convenience is important to you, I'd consider the Breville Barista Signature Espresso Machine. It's around £150 more expensive than the Espressivo Pro, but it's been deigned as the best easy to use bean-to-cup machine in our guide for a reason. It still offers customisable settings for the coffee aficionado, but its user-friendliness will allow you to make the perfect drink hassle-free.
The price point of the Dualit Espressivo Pro is actually where it seems to stand out. For the amount of features and adjustable settings you get with this machine, I'm impressed that it doesn't cost more. Our top recommendation for an affordable bean-to-cup machine is the Breville Barista Max+, which is only £50 cheaper than the Espressivo Pro.
Should you buy the Dualit Espressivo Pro Coffee Machine?
For a bean-to-cup machine that produces an excellent quality drink, the Dualit Espressivo Pro is a serious contender. It seems silly that the price point (£549.99) is considered affordable, but as far as bean-to-cup machines go, the Espressivo Pro is actually really reasonable. It comes with a lot of advanced features to create your preferred cup of coffee, and I was impressed with how quick it took to create a hot drink.
Of course, not everyone will need or even want this machine. It's fancy, as a lot of bean-to-cup machines are, and I personally am just as happy with the taste of my coffee when I make it in my usual espresso machine. I also wouldn't recommend the Espressivo Pro for smaller kitchens. It's bulky, and since it's been sitting on my kitchen counter, I feel like it's dominated the space. Of course, some people might like this aesthetic, but it's definitely something to consider if your kitchen is on the smaller side.
But if you take your coffee seriously and you've got the budget for a bean-to-cup machine, I doubt you would regret investing in the Dualit Espressivo Pro. It's an easy way to create the perfect coffee at home.
