Customer Reviews

Handpresso Wild Espresso Maker for Coffee Pods

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My partner loves expresso but we have a tiny kitchen so no room for a big machine, plus I know it would gather dust as the whole cleaning routine would bore him. So took the plunge and bought him a handpresso for Christmas. Quite expensive I thought but what the heck.

Its lovely! Makes apparently good expresso (I've no idea I hate the stuff), quick, easy, really easy to clean and it fits in the cutlery drawer. The clearest indicator that this is a winner is, in a house with gadgets gathering dust in every cupboard, this gets used regularly.

Two downsides - firstly despite what I'd read I couldn't find the right pods in any supermarked - had to buy them on line so no coffe Christmas day, secondly I can't get the lid off after the coffee is made so I shan't be buying one for my arthritic father!

If you you have strong hands and a small kitchen go for it.

I bought the handpresso for at work and going on holiday. It saved my life this summer holiday, as I am an espresso addict!
I use Illy coffee pods purchsed at waitrose. Extremely easy to use, had no problems at all unscrewing the lid ( and I am not strong) and makes delicious espresso. It's worth getting the carry case to protect it, looks great too. Who needs a big bulky machine?
I love it!
Lisa

The 'Handpresso' does 'what it says on the tin' and produces a good cup of espresso from a standard coffee pod. A drawback is that you have to load the container with hot water from a kettle (or thermos if you are outdoors) for each espresso you want to make. It works well with standard coffee pods. It just needs to be pumped up a few times to get pressure up and then it delivers a perfectly respectable espresso.

A most useful device if you wish to make an espresso in your hotel bedroom or on a picnic. Not a candidate for your main espresso maker but a useful portable adjunct.

Works well if you heat it all up and do not use the full 16 Bar. Otherwise the extraction is too fast and cold to make a great crema. Still tinkering with my technique like a real Barista. I do not think the Posh one with the flask would keep the water hot enough to do well.

It's taken a LOT of experimenting to work out how to get a good drink out of it... For me, the supplied portafilter produced weak, odd tasting espresso, with fake, bubbly crema. The optional Handpresso Intense Portafilter produces a much better shot (& IMHO should be the standard filter). I am however still not entirely convinced it's strong enough as the basis for a cappuccino. Even with the Intense filter, the Crema is thin and a light colour. A very mellow taste that got lost in a standard sized mug of frothed milk.

However, an 'Intense' shot, in a small 6oz (traditional cappuccino sized) cup of lightly frothed milk, makes an exceptionally nice cappuccino. I'm finally hooked and it's now replaced by pump machine at home.

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Additional Notes:
- Coffee Pods: I could only get this to produce a decent shot with the individually sealed ese pods. The loose pods that come in a tin just would not produce any crema at all.
- Durability: The Red version has a matte plastic water pod which looks more durable for travel than the standard clear pod.
- For making Cappuccino: The Judge Milk Frother/Sauce Pot works exceptionally well with the handpresso, as you can limit the thickness of the froth, so as not to drown at the mild espresso taste. The Nespresso Aeroccino frother is a lot simpler but the froth consistency isn't quite as controllable.

Bought the handpresso and used it only on vacations. The pump broke after seven month of light use. At this price didn't expect such cheap construction.

I bought this because I work in an office with nothing but a rubbish coffee machine and a boiler. I previously worked in the middle of London and got used to decent coffee from the nearby Italian coffee shop. The Handpresso didn't disappoint. You need to preheat the espresso cup and the glass reservoir or it won't be hot enough. But the coffee has a good kick and a nice crema on top. The best pods I've found so far have been the Waitrose own-brand. About half the price of Illy and a darker roast.

I store it in my drawer at work and the thin paint on the bezel around the pressure gauge has started to come off, but it's only cosmetic and it still seems to be a very solidly built machine. Now I just have to teach my colleagues to stop calling it "expresso"!

Highly recommended.

Bought this after seeing on the Gadget Show - not cheap but worth the £s. Makes excellent coffee & great for taking away. Pods best bought in bulk online or could get expensive. Only slight flaw is that paintwork chips fairly easily (even with it's expensive case). Would recommend if you like your espresso!

Pros
Makes very good coffee
Is very portable

Cons
Too many steps: adding the ground coffee to the holder, boiling the water, pumping it up, pushing the button, and finally, cleaning it out.
Step 1 tends to be messy with ground coffee going all over the bathroom sink in a B&B.
Doesn't make enough espresso. I could cope with the above 2 cons but as I like really strong coffee and a good big mug of it, I seemed to be forever fiddling with it and then cleaning up after it.

Handpresso's competitor, the Presso, solves the Cons but is too bulky and heavy for use when on the go.

Would love a compact device that makes lots of espresso and is not messy.

I had this delivered yesterday and I am using it with Illy pods in my office which lacks a decent coffee machine. This is beautifully designed and built. It produces a decent shot of espresso with the minimum of fuss. It only needs a few pumps to get up to pressure and is very easy to use. The coffee produced is as good as the full sized Nespresso machine I use at home. When you are done remove the pod and rinse the exit nozzle and stick it back in the drawer. A very good product that lives up to its advertising.