Review: Presso Hand Pressed Espresso and Single Serve Coffee Maker

We've been pretty excited about the Presso single serve coffee and espresso maker from Presso.ca. Currently, the Presso is only available in Canada and other countries across the globe, but for a short time All-Clad made a version here in the US. We're not sure why they decided not to continue carrying the Presso, because with a few days of Presso use under our belts, we were able to make an amazing cup of single serve coffee and espresso.

Presso is very unique. Maybe not as unique as the Aeropress from Aerobie (come on - the inventor also invented the Aerobie frisbee), but the Presso sure looks the part. What's interesting is how impressed we are with pressing our own espresso or double-shot Americano using the Presso. It's really fun, and the results can be varied until you get to know your Presso.

Okay - for one last time - what is the Presso?

A Revolutionary way to make connoisseur espresso coffee at home. From the Design centre of Europe comes the innovation of the era. A multi award winning product that makes espresso as easy as one…two…three. PRESSO puts you in control.

And it truly is and we do feel in control - seriously we do!

What's Included with the Presso

You're going to get the following with your Presso kit:

• The Presso Maker
• A Hand Milk Frother
• Adaptor for single shot espressos
• Two Cup Adaptor
• Portafilter for a 2 shot espresso
• Scoop

You'll need to supply your own espresso ground coffee, and of course hot water to fill into the top. We used our instant hot water and even tried boiling water from a kettle - how old school is that?

Making A Cup of Presso Espresso or Single Serve Coffee

It's really quite easy to get started, but there's a bunch of "oh now I get its" you'll need to learn. First you fill into the portafilter with espresso ground coffee. We used Sumatra blend from Starbucks all espresso ground with our burr grinder. We went very fine on the coffee grind, and found the finer the grind the better the crema.

We then put the portafilter in place and pour hot water in the top. We found filling to the top gave the best results and perhaps even over-pouring.

Here's the results of what happened:

Fill up that portafilter with espresso ground coffee.

Pour in some hot water in the top of the Presso.

Pull down those levers into place by pulling up first then pulling down.

We went very slow at first and the results weren't that crema like.

The coffee was good, but more americano than espresso.

Pulling the levers faster and then using the excess coffee water for
an americano produced rich crema. NICE SHOT!

The result is a nice hard cookie of espresso grounds
if you get the shot and water extracted correctly.

Making a Latte or Cappuccino with the Presso

First you're going to need to microwave or heat up a cup of milk to use the hand frother with. Then you'll pull a shot from the Presso of espresso using the single shot adaptor, and then mix it together. Results with the hand frother are really good. It has a double end with that pulls the milk up into the middle and pushes it back down to froth.

Get your hot milk and hand frother.

Froth it up Presso style!


Pour over your shot of Presso espresso.


Bam! Press latte!

Conclusions on the Presso

We found the faster you pushed the handles down to crank up the pressure produced the crema like results we wanted. The slower the pull - you got a nice tasting cup of single serve coffee, but it had little crema. However you decided to pull your shot or cup, you can get lots of different strengths and flavors using the Presso.

We think for $200 canadian dollars you can't go wrong. Many people who've written in use the Presso for camping and other places without power. What we like is the fact you can make a bunch of coffee and then wash it up in the sink and be good to go later in the day or the next morning. It's a very striking beautifully designed espresso and single serve coffe maker, and we think it's a unique statement for your coffee life.

At Presso

Read More in: Reviews | Single Serve Coffee Machines | Whole Bean and Ground Coffeee

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