Makes excellent cappuccinno. (Sorry, Propeia.)
Written: Aug 02 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Makes excellent espresso (with crema), caps and lattes
Cons: Not enough steam power for two cups at a time
The Bottom Line: For $70, for double (maybe triple) that amount, you can't buy a machine that will make better espresso. I tried (and returned) several before I lucked out with this one.
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| flexikon's Full Review: Krups Bravo Plus 872 Espresso Machine |
The Krups Bravo Plus makes excellent espresso, lattes and cappuccinos. Here are a few tips to get you making café as good as the best coffee bars.
Tip#1. Start with good coffee. I hate to say it, but Starbucks is the best I've found so far, about $7 with a coupon at the supermarket. Green Mountain is good too, more nuanced but not as full-bodied. Grind fine, but not so fine you clog the basket pores. On store grinders, I make it 1-1/2 or 2 stops coarser than the 'espresso' setting.
Tip#2. Fill basket a third to halfway between 2oz and 4oz marking. Tamp lightly down to 2oz mark. This is the only way to get crema from this machine. If it's too ristretto for you, use less coffee.
Tip#3. Brew directly into the cup! If you brew into the carafe, you'll lose the crema when you pour into another cup. If making a cap or latte, start steaming as soon as possible, then switch back to brewing. When the crema stops forming, switch back to the steamer and let it hiss away while you immediately remove your cup. Drink the espresso (or make your cap or latte) while the aromatic effervescent crema is still present....it goes away quickly.
The frothing attachment does a great job...for a $70 machine. But there's only enough frothing power for one cup at a time, and just barely at that. Someday they should make a Bravissimo Plus that provides a longer run of dry steam...preferably from it's own boiler. Keep the frothing parts clean.
I tried several machines,all pump machines, as much as $250 before I settled on this one. But they didn't make espresso as good as the Bravo Plus, in fact they didn't make good espresso at all. And I could never get comfortable with a whirring sound coming from my espresso machine. Steam is the original concept, and it seems more honest to me.
Buon appetito!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
flexikon
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
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