WACACOPicopresso Portable Espresso Maker Bundled with Protective Case, Pro-level Specialty Coffee Machine, Compatible Ultra-fine Grind, Manually Operated Travel Coffee Maker

This machine is awesome! Totally blown away. I mentioned in the catch line that it isn’t stand alone. Why?Well-Opinion commentary here:To do this correctly you will need a scale, a great mill, and (obviously) a kettle. Whole beans-dark roast.So, that cuts down on portability for me. Although, of itself, the machine is small and portable.What else? So…There are MANY parts. All well machined and finished. Perfectly so, in fact. But, all the same, there are many parts that all interrelate. If my littles were to find this, I can see it losing some vital parts quickly, such as the distribution tool, the funnel ring, or any of the protective rubber caps. Even the tamper. All of the parts interrelate, as I mentioned. You could use non proprietary tools to get the job done, but the supplied ones were designed to fit.Why did I buy this?I bought this to keep at home in the kitchen for me time/self-care time/art of making a good shot totally manually (along with all my other ways to make coffee in small batches). I bought this as a person who has reduced caffeine intake to the bare minimum of enjoying the making of/brewing of/taste over quantity experiences.I won’t be making me and the missus each a shot to have at the same time. I won’t be using it more than two times in one setting. It’s just to make for me because anything else would be impractical from a time perspective.Why? It takes a while to get it working. Prep. Timing. Pre-warming. Clean up.I bought this for the ritual of making a double shot with great crema. A task that it performs perfectly.The machine does it beautifully. I can’t believe the thought that went into this design and the care with which it is produced. First rate.If you are thinking you are trotting off on the PCT with this and will have great espresso every morning…doable. Maybe. Brave. Cleanup will be…no. Wait. You could do it. It’s durable. Cleanable. Mostly completely breaks down (except for pump internals). Would just need to have some extra components. But would you? I think Illy would work…the grounds are fine enough. Recommend experimenting a bit. You could maybe get away without the grinder and scale.But for me. 7 minutes of prep (going slow-weighing/grinding). 3-4 minutes of action during brewing (pour, prime, empty, fill, pre-extract, extract), and 10 minutes of cleanup for a total of 20 minutes-TOTALLY WORTH IT! Just not on the road or trail (surely, this says more about me than the picopresso).Love this machine. Yes, it performs and feels just like what I expected for the cost. The manufacturer didn’t cut corners. Use premium, well roasted whole beans. Grind them ultra fine (don’t go as far as Turkish coffee fine, though). Weigh it out. Use filtered water. Pump at the right interval and YOU WIN.Payton

Exactly as advertised, very high quality manufacture, great espresso. Some things to consider:1. there are a LOT of parts that will be hard to remember how to assemble at first. It would be nice to have a printed blow-out illustration of assembly order on the inside of the holding case. A bit fussy to assemble/disassemble/clean.2. you have to twist the edge of the pump plunger to get it to pop out. The edge is very thin and made of slippery material. If this were ridged it would make twisting it much easier.3. if you have a home espresso maker / grinder you will find the Picospresso needs an even finer grind, sometimes labeled as "Turkish coffee". You really MUST have a quality burr grinder to get this fine. I pre-grind with my home grinder when I'm on a trip so this is not a problem but you may need to invest in their hand grinder, which I did not try.4. heavier in the hand than you might expect -- fastidious backpackers may complain but for my travel via car/airplane it is not an issue. On the other hand it is because it seems very well made and of high quality metal and silicone.5. The carrying case is very nice but tight and I worry that the zippers might not be up to the task for the lifetime of the product, even though they are made of sturdy stainless steel -- not plastic ones.6. I have heard the pump action described as "a bit stiff" but I found it quite smooth and easy to use. It is two handed but unless you have strongly arthritic hands you should have not problem with it.7. A real portafilter basket, nice. Does NOT use pods -- ugh!8. obviously you will need a source of boiling water. If your hotel only has electric outlets and no microwave, you may need a portable hot water maker.9. perhaps obviously it does not steam milk.I love the Picospresso and am a picky espresso drinker. This will make my travel (6-8 weeks per year) so much more enjoyable. Good espresso on the road is spotty at best and now I probably won't bother looking.UPDATE:I've now used this one a few trips an it does make incredible espresso! However I find two problems.1. It is like solving a puzzle each time I re-assemble it. They designed for compactness but sacrificed in the somewhat ridiculous complexity of packing it back up.2. When I traveled with another espresso lover I found that pulling the second shot will lock up the device. The portafilter becomes extremely hard to push water through AND it was impossible to unscrew after the (difficult) second shot. I had to wrap it in a plastic bag (it will leak) and pack it with grounds still in the device - then disassemble and clean at the next opportunity. From now on I'll wash the bottom section, the one with the portafilter, in COLD water before trying to pull the second shot. This should help with both problems like it does in my home machine.UPDATE 2:Some design suggestions after extended trip usage:1. The plastic lid on top contains the hot water. It has no grippy texture like the portafilter tightener. Be CAREFUL, if this is not on TIGHT you'll get boiling hot water dribbling on your hands when you pump. It would be great if this lid had a grip texture. Same for the screw-out pump handle locking mechanism - it is very thin and slippery when wet, when locking it down for storage.2. The pump is a bit hard to use - you have to squat or contort to cover some cup or glass receptacle and compress using your chest muscles, not your hand gripping muscles - all without splattering hot coffee everywhere. I eventually found a plastic insulated cup the fit tightish around the bottom of the picospresso. This allows me to hold it in a way where I use my gripping muscles. The bottom has a flat rubber cover, why not make an accessory rubber cup-sized cover to solve this problem?These tweaks would make it easier and safer to use and less messy.UPDAYE 3:Broken! In cold weather the plastic tabs the hold the plunger from comeing out of the side of the unit broke mearly by releasing the pump piston. This is how you are supposed to release the piston so clearly another flaw in design materials. I'm very disappointed so tried a Nanospresso to replace this but the coffee is dismal so trying another Picospesso. This device is the ONLY true espresso you are going to find on the road/camp so despite all my issues above it is the only game in town so far.ADVICE: EASE OUT THE PISTON! don't let it pop out or you may end up with a handful of metal parts and a broken piston.Five stars for espresso quality and size, far less for plastic part qualty.

I've used my Picopresso for almost three years now and I still am pleasantly surprised by how well it works and how good the espresso is that it produces. I still get a chuckle out of bringing it along to a hotel and pulling a very decent double shot - it still feels too good to be true.I'll go some weeks using the Picopresso multiple times a day, then I'll waffle over to the Aeropress for a while and then back to the Picopresso. Just switching up flavors. I say this to highlight that I've been putting it through regular use for nearly three years and I haven't noticed any degradation in performance.The one drawback is temperature, it's really hard to hit a good hot brewing temperature. I will pump through two tanks of boiling water to preheat the pump, then I'll fully-assemble it with grounds ready to go and balance it above my boiling kettle for a minute or so to heat up the metal components, then I'll fill the tank with boiling water once more and pull the shot. Works well enough but still ends up tasting like the espresso wanted hotter brewing water. This is simply a limitation of the form factor and is the compromise one has to accept for a <$200 hand-pumped brewer.The Picopresso is actually my only espresso-brewing device. I keep thinking about getting a more powerful machine for home use and dedicate the Picopresso for travel, but then I see the price tags on actual quality espresso machines and always end up deciding the Picopresso is plenty good enough. I can't bring myself to shell out $600++ on something that will do just 10-20% better than this little gizmo I already have.Highly recommend. It's fun, it feels like a hack every time I use it, and used properly it's way better than it ought to be.