Our initial skepticism about the Handpresso was born out of the novel idea (a bicycle pump plus espresso machine? Really?) and the fact that it uses espresso pods instead of freshly roasted and ground coffee beans.
Some of you cautioned us not to dismiss coffee pods so readily, however, and we are coming round to the idea here at the show. We visited the Illy booth and had two (!!) rather amazing shots of espresso made from their pods. We were impressed by these (and their Fiat-inspired Francis Francis espresso machines; we'll show you some beauty shots soon...). So we had warmed up to the idea of espresso pods by the time we met the wonderfully charming Handpresso team.
We were very impressed with the espresso. It didn't quite hold up to the full-on Francis Francis machines, but it was smooth and rich, with a body that lingered and a heady crema.
If your espresso is important enough to you that you want it on the road, this is a great option. We venture to say that it may very well produce a better espresso than Starbucks and their automated espresso machines anyway.
The machine itself is very attractive - well built, heavy, and gleaming with polished black steel and glass. There is a whole case set you can buy with espresso cups. Also, we discovered that it takes all types of espresso pods - there is no proprietary kind that you are forced to use.
These will retail in the United States for about $150.
So, what do you think? Now that you've seen it in action, would you be up for buying one?
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Kind of expensive. Too bad it doesn't have the same price point as the Aeropress.
Nice.
i just wonder you needs an expresso so bad they need to take a press with them. i thought it needed boiling water to work,is that wrong? because if it does and this is an appliance for the home for that cost why not use a real machine that sits on your counter? I am just raining on your parade here but it does look lovely.
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I am from Puerto Rico and got my Handpresso through Coffee World Puerto Rico: http://www.coffeeworldpuertorico.ecrater.com I received my Handpresso about a week ago. The first expression is that this Handpresso is just nicely built, as well as the case. Making espresso is very easy, and it takes a minute or so to make a cup. I was impressed with the coffee. Believe me for a portable machine, coffee was great. Now my Handpresso substituted my Krups machine. I use Island Joe's ESE pods,Lavazza Grand Crema AND PORTO RICO ESE PODS FROM PUERTO RICO. A good hint is: to make sure the espresso has an ok temperature, I heat up my cup as well as the water container adding the boiling water and then adding the water to make the coffee. I always fill a bit more water (a few drops more) so the ESE pods gets soaked before extraction. And it really takes about 30-38 pumps, no big deal. With this I get a great espresso and crema too. I recommend buying ESE pods buy bulks of 100 or 150, it gets cheaper. The unit works best with the standard 7g E.S.E pod.