Dualit Espressivo Pro review: a top semi-auto espresso maker for discerning coffee aficionados

Welcome to T3's review of the new Dualit Espressivo Pro domestic espresso machine with built-in grinder and professional-style group head and portafilter.

With its on-board grinder and full digital extraction control, a handsome, fuss-free bean-to-cup style model like this will not only look the part on any kitchen worktop but it should produce exceptional results without the need for a degree in barista physics.

Will the Dualit Espressivo Pro knock Sage off the top perches in our guides to the best espresso machine and best bean to cup coffee machine? There’s only one way to know.

Dualit Espressivo Pro review: Price and availability

The Espressivo Pro doesn’t appear on the Dualit website because it’s exclusive to John Lewis & Partners where it’s shifting for £549.99 – a price that’s about par for a high-end machine of this calibre.

Dualit Espressivo Pro review: design and features

You can rarely go wrong with a Dualit product. Aside from the very agreeable design aesthetics of its appliances (especially its retro toasters), its products are also known for their impressive reliability and expert fit and finish.

The Espressivo Pro straddles the area between a manual espresso machine and a bean-to-cup. However, where a bona fide bean-to-cup machine does absolutely everything for you – from grinding and tamping to extraction – this model requires a wee bit of human interaction. In a nutshell, your only set of tasks – aside from placing a cup below the spout – is to place the portafilter under the grinder and tap the grinding button. When full, tamp the coffee grounds using the provided heavy-weight tamper, attach the portafilter to the group head and tap the single or double shot button. And that’s about it.

The really good thing about this semi-automatic method is that it cuts out all the possible things that can, and do, go wrong with a fully-automatic bean-to-cup machine – like forgetting to empty the spent coffee grounds container and emptying the used water reservoir the machine uses to purge contaminated water from the group head and when running periodical self-cleaning regimes. With this machine you can see all the working parts and nothing is too overly automated. 

At 41 x 34 x 19.5cm, the Espressivo Pro is more compact than most bean-to-cup machines so it won’t hog too much worktop space. It also sports stylish aesthetics and a dark grey livery that won't upset the balance of your kitchen’s décor.

Heading to the top of the machine, the burr grinder’s container has enough capacity for about 250 grams of beans and provides a wide range of grinds from powder fine to extremely coarse. Granted, you will never select anywhere near the coarsest settings for espresso but it’s good to know that these settings are available in case you ever want to make a large amount of coffee using a completely different process, like a filter system or a coffee press.

Although you can remove the grinder while it’s still full of beans, it does involve unscrewing the container all the way beyond the coarsest grind setting which means you will need to remember which grind number you have it set to before performing the action of changing blends. I would have preferred to see a system like the Sage Dose Control Pro which simply unclips the container by turning an internal dial while leaving the grind setting alone.

One very major plus with this machine is that it’s grinder is actually really good, indeed  better than some stand-alone models. How so? Well its conical burrs can be programmed to a much finer degree than most of the other grinders I’ve reviewed bar, say, the very expensive Niche. In fact, I’ve had to settle at 8 on its grind scale of 0 to 40 because any finer and the water refuses to pass through the portafilter. Granted it took a bit of experimentation to find the sweet spot where the black nectar pours out in a thin stream rather than a drip or a gush, but it’s great to know that this grinder still has plenty of headroom for an even finer grind should you require one in the future.

The Espressivo Pro ships with a reassuringly weighty pro-spec 58mm portafilter and two non-pressurised baskets: one for single shots and one for doubles. It also comes with a hefty 390g tamper that is almost heavy enough to tamp coffee grounds under its own weight.

As is the case with many espresso machines sporting a 'pro' label, this model’s portafilter has two spouts designed for making two espressos at once. However, since the spouts are spaced about 4cm apart and angled outwards to allow two espresso cups to be filled at the same time, it’s very tricky to line up a single cup without some coffee pouring over the edges. This is a common issue with many  espresso machines, especially those fitted with pro-spec 38mm portafilters. I personally would like to see manufacturers provide a second portafilter with a single spout for one-cup espressos because I don’t have many single-shot espresso cups that are wide enough to use with this twin-spout portafilter.

Moving over to the right hand side, there’s an easy-to-use steam wand for those who like cappuccinos, macchiatos and lattes. Simply fill the supplied metal jug with cold semi-skimmed milk and hold it under the wand at an angle. Now flick the lever to the steam position and wait until the milk builds up a decent froth.

As any seasoned barista will tell you, espresso making is quite an art that involves a lot of experimentation with coffee grind size, tamping pressure, extraction time, water pressure and water temperature. Thankfully, the Espressivo Pro’s computer processor takes care of extraction time along with water temperature and pressure so all you really need to concentrate on is the quantity and size of the coffee grounds and the pressure applied when tamping. To help you visualise the quality of extraction, this model features a pressure gauge and the sweet spot for correct extraction is between 5 and 13 BARs of pressure. If too low, the coffee will pour out too quickly and taste like dishwater and, if too high, there will be very little crema and the coffee will taste bitter. 

The Espressivo Pro arrives preset for use with the double basket but you can change the main parameters like coffee grinding time, extraction time and water temperature by following instructions in the accompanying illustrated manual. Crucially, the machine performs a pre-infusion sequence first which soaks the coffee grounds in advance of the extraction process. This is to ensure that the pressurised water evenly penetrates the grounds without creating channels that may affect the quality of the espresso.

There’s very little maintenance with this machine aside from keeping its extra-large reservoir topped up (ideally with bottled water), emptying the dirty water tray beneath the group head and performing a periodical descale.

Dualit Espressivo Pro review: performance

Like any new espresso machine, it takes a few trial-and-error attempts to get the most out of this machine and, as usual, most of the experimentation is down to grind size, the quantity of grinds and the level of tamping.

At first I ground the coffee on setting number 4 which proved to be far too fine for the water to penetrate the grounds. As a result, the pressure needle on the gauge skyrocketed and only a few drips of thick black liquid were deposited, and with very little crema. So I changed the grind to setting 10 and the coffee came out too quickly, with very little pressure showing on the gauge. Eventually I found the sweet spot on the grinder at position 8 and, bingo, the gauge showed perfect pressure and the coffee streamed out at a sedate pace, producing oodles of rich, oily crema in the process. Just the way I like it.

Dualit Espressivo Pro review: verdict

I’ve tested many espresso machines in the past and the Dualit Espressivo Pro is easily one of the better models when it comes to grind quality and strength of espresso. Hence, if you’re fed up with domestic coffee machines – especially those of the bean-to-cup variety – that often produce insipidly weak coffee akin to that of a vending machine, step right this way.