Thursday, December 9, 2010

La Pavoni Romantica

When Old Wwworld Cafe first started pulling espresso shots, we used a La Pavoni Romantica. We wanted to stick with the manual lever machine, and really enjoyed learning our way around espresso and frothing milk. However, when our Elektra Barlume arrived, the La Pavoni was pushed to the side to collect dust....


Well, we decided to go back to the La Pavoni this week to see just how much it differs from the Barlume. Now, the La Pavoni is fun to pull a shot on and to froth latte milk on, but it is still just a home machine. It's crema is nothing compared to the Barlume and the pressue to the steam wand is minuscule. It's extremely difficult to get great latte milk from, though it is possible.
Overall, I was more than surprised by the La Pavoni's performance. Remembering back to when we first started using it, the steam pressure seemed too high and hard to control to froth milk. Now, I sit there waiting and thinking of how the milk must be baking. Though a whirlpool is still possible and a good frothing may occur, it is not an easy feat to pull off.


After pulling the shot and getting the milk ready, which cannot be done at the same time like on the Barlume, I was able to mark the top and have a tasty latte. Though the La Pavoni may not compare to the Barlume, it's not meant to; these are two different classes of machine. Still, the La Pavoni is fun to pull shots on and makes a great latte =D.


-Ashley

www.theoldworldcafe.com

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