Espressotoria Piccolo Black Coffee Capsule Machine

Either the machines or the capsules don't line up properly, every third capsule just dribbles. Now that Woolworths have just doubled the price of the capsules I will scrap the machine. Any price increase blamed otherwise price of coffee is utter garbage, there's not even a teaspoonful of coffee in capsule Show details

Best Little Machine – I love my Espressotoria Piccolo machine. The different varieties of coffee are great. I always use a double shot for a tall cup. Makes delicious coffee. My morning coffee is a Latte + Mountain Grown, whisk in coconut oil, add cream & coconut sugar- yum! Best morning coffee :) Show details

Don't buy one! – Useless machine! I have returned it 4 times for replacement. Every one dribbles coffee back into the waste tub. Sometimes doesn't even do that! Don't even start me on the frother! They are even worse!! I am just chucking the whole shemozzle in the bin, and getting a proper machine like I should have in the first place. Show details

Extremely disappointed – Extremely disappointed with this coffee machine. The pods are very weak, and I've tried them all. Also all the different blends taste exactly the same. I have to use 2 pods just to get a coffee that tastes like a very cheap instant coffee. I'm going to count my losses and just throw this piece of crap straight in the bin where it belongs. Wish I had read the reviews on this machine before purchasing. Show details

Stopped dispensing coffee into cup after a few months – Purchased Jan 2024. 7 months later machine has the same fault / issue as other reviewers are advising. Machine doesn't dispense coffee. The coffee ends up in the basket underneath. If coffee does dispense the coffee grounds end up in the cup. Have done the clean / rinse cycles including descale. None seem to help. Show details

Not worth going cheap machine, it doesn't last – I'm on my third machine and they only last 6 months or so before they stop working. The pods of often have the grounds end up in the cup but coffee was reasonable when it did work. Overall not worth the hassle getting a cheap machine and pricing of the pods is all over the place between woolies & coles. Show details

Coffee going straight into pod basket and not much in cup – Have had 3 of these coffee makers. It was only recently when my third one started doing the same thing by ending up with all my coffee in the pod basket that I decided I had nothing to loose. I cleaned machine with denture cleaning tablet as I think it’s the oil in the bean that blocks things up. Also I think the plastic on the top of the pod is… Read more

too thick so decided to try puncturing pod with a metal kebab stick with 5-6 holes then tap pod on bench before putting in the machine. BINGO I have cracked the problem. I now have a machine delivering a good coffee.

Perfectly suitable for the price and features a sleek design – Ease of use 4/5 Design/aesthetic 5/5 Value for money 4/5 Functionality 3/5 Performance 4/5 Overall 4/5 **** This machine works perfectly well for its price point and would be great for students on a budget, a young couple who are just moving in together or singles. It’s not a heavy duty barista worthy machine but such performance can surely not be… Read more

expected for the low price point. For me (interested in aesthetics) I love its chrome and black slimline design and in comparison to others on the market, its appearance is really pleasing. The one issue I would have with it is perhaps the compatible pods it comes with; they don’t produce a strong coffee. However I have only tried the espresso pods and an Italian blend pod and I’m not sure what other compatible pods may provide a better strength coffee.

all coffee pods for this machine and terribly weak even in a small mug – also brand new machine and smoke coming from pod hole after using each time not good at all so i will be taking this back to woolworths and getting the aldi machine which i should have just got in the first place, even at half price at woolworths its just not worth it, do better vittoria!!! Show details

The Coffee Pods that go with this machine are very weak – The coffee that the machine produces is very good...IF YOU USE 2 PODS. Comparatively, this machine makes the weakest coffee I've ever come across. Comparing to Dulce Gusto, Nespresso and Aldi, this one comes last. Vittorio coffee is very good but this is just wasteful and expensive. I tried several different types of Vittoria pods, but I needed 2 pods in a smallish cup. you would need 3 or 4 in a mug. Be warned! Show details

Second and last machine ! – This is my second machine, first was replaced under warranty due to pods bursting and pumping fluid into pod chamber , whilst my replacement has been fantastic at the start ,it to has now blown /popped the last 6 capsules drawing straight into the pod chamber! Pods are far to expensive to waste like this so machine is going to be binned. I've… Read more

given it three stars for the compactness and appearance. Won't be purchasing another, very disappointing .

The Vittoria Coffee Pods - Deserve a better machine – We have owned a Piccolo for over 12 months and since the day we bought it (because we love the Maragogype Capsules) we have had issues with water preasure and unable to pump through the capsule. We have to make little pin holes in the base of the capsule to get a flow of coffee if not it all goes into the waste trap in the machine. The Vittoria Pods, deserve a better machine. We love the coffee, hate the machine. Show details

An Honest Assessment – I've used this machine daily for the last three months. These are the good and bad points of it. First the positives. It's very easy to use. Though as I don't have the milk frother optional contraption, I warm up the milk in the microwave. Then it's just a matter of pushing a button after inserting the capsule/s. That's as far as the positives… Read more

go. Now the not so good. The pods are weak. WEAK. No matter which variety, and I've tried them all. Espresso, Oro, Latte, Mountain whatever, Aurora, and a few others. You need to use at least 2-3 to get anything close to a coffee flavour. And that works out to be ridiculously pricey. A 12 pack was $9, though has come down to $5 at Woolies. A very ordinary coffee for this price. The water reservoir is far too small. The machine leaks. You're constantly cleaning water puddles, or emptying the used pod bin which is always mysteriously full of expensive coffee that's supposed to be in my cup! The coffee pouring is inconsistent. Often the machine makes a noise when it's supposed to be pouring, though nothing comes out. It's like it's struggling to pump water? Would I buy again if I could go back in time? Absolutely not! For this cost, having to use 3 pods to make a very ordinary coffee and all the other issues I've pointed out there are far better machines out there. A big disappointment. Your coffee is ok in cafes, Vittoria. Why are you dumping this crap on the home users?

Disappointing – We have had this machine since November 2021. I can't get it replaced as I can't find our warranty. It's not punching the bottom of the pods properly and the water is going straight into the pod collector. After reading other reviews on this product it appears to be a common issue. The coffee in the pods is actually great. Disappointed +++ Show details

Disappointed – 19 months of occasional use and then it stopped working. Leaking and unusable. Contacted Espressotoria to ask if there was some recompense as the machine is relatively young, but they said no due to the 1 year warranty expiring. I liked the coffee and would have replaced it with a discount on a replacement, however, since none was given I’ll change to a different company and won’t buy another from Espressotoria. Show details

Just bought one and now they are FREE – UPDATE #4: I have reported my suspicions of a change in quality in the manufacturing of the pods to Espressitoria. I suspect the sidewall is weaker and the base is thicker. The machine does not pierce all the holes in the base and coffee doesn't come through as it should. Some people are using a hollowed out used coffee pod as a template to poke… Read more ·  5

holes in the base before loading the pod in the machine. I tried sitting the pod in boiled water to soften the plastic so the machine has an easier task of poking holes, I also used hot water in the reservoir to give the machine a head start. I have been somewhat successful by using my sidewall slip-on collar that I made from a used pod. TODAY, I forgot to take my slip-on off the last pod and threw it away. But I just opened a newly purchased box of pods. The customer support at Espressotoria just tell me I have a faulty machine that is out of warranty and they have never heard of a potential fault in the recently manufactured or any pods. The result is the machine could not puncture the base of the new pod. Without the slip-on sidewall to strengthen the pod, the combination of pressure and water entering the pod, crushed and split the pod. This is repeatable, unless I strengthen the sides of the pod with an extra sidewall. I have included a new photo.

UPDATE #3: try using hotter (not boiling) water. About 50 degrees Celcius, put that in the reservoir and see if it gets hot enough to enable the pins to pierce the holes in the bottom of the pod.

UPDATE #2: September 2024 I am annoyed that I am wasting coffee, so I have stopped buying the coffee pods. I now wonder if buying a new machine is worth it to use my stash of pods. Well that would mean buying this same coffee machine, but would that be a good idea. The pods splitting on the side might be a quality control problem with manufacturing of the pods. One guy in these reviews started puncturing holes in the base of his pods as a workaround. Relieving some of the pressure by puncturing a hole in the base of the pod might help solve the split pods issue I am having, but I am trying another idea, strengthening the sides of the pod to prevent it from splitting and losing the coffee into the used pod holder. See pictures. I have cut the top and bottom of a new pod that hasn't been split. This makes a cylinder that I slip onto the next pod and hope it can go through without splitting. Reference Picture shows 3 pods on an orange mat. .pod #1 this is the used pod that is deformed on its base (shown) the concave base pops out from heat and pressure inside the pod and up to 12 holes are punctured in the base to allow coffee to flow out through the spout. .pod #2 is emptied and trimmed to make a collar to strengthen .pod #3 which is hoped will allow the base to pop out and be punctured before splitting on the side.

UPDATE #1: September 2024 It is time for an update, because we have been experiencing problems with the coffee machine. I understand how this works, we have coffee pods. The label side of the pod is where the hot water is injected in. The other side is where the water mixed with coffee flows out into the cup below.

The label side of the coffee pod is punctured with 6 pin holes when the pod is held in the cradle and the lever/hatch is closed. This works well. The other end of the coffee pod also has to be punctured to let the coffee flow out, but we are noticing that this has recently become a possible fault. There should be 12 holes in a used pod, and they are larger than pin holes. These holes would be like a thumb tack has been pushed in. These holes are not made by closing the lever. The coffee machine must fill the pod with hot water, this builds up heat and pressure and the plastic pod expands toward the 12 larger needles and then it is punctured. The pod has been heated up and deformed making it easier to puncture (and you can hear an audible POP when successful), but sometimes this doesn't happen quick enough and we have noticed the pod will burst on the side and coffee will flow down into the used pod compartment.

NB: if the exit needles are blocked with coffee grains then the pod may also build up too much internal pressure when the hot liquid cannot flow out and burst its side. That is why we have to run the machine without a pod so the hot water can clean the exit needles.

I don't like wasting my coffee so I replaced the used pod compartment with a small glass to capture the coffee so I can still drink it.

I am attempting to dismantle my coffee machine to check if the needles on the exit side are damaged because if they are too far away from the pod, then that would explain why the pod doesn't POP on cue.

SOMETHING INTERESTING: September 2024 while dismantling the Espressotoria Piccolo Black Coffee Capsule Machine, I have made the observation that this is a very well-built machine. I have included some photos. The internals are molded to an unnecessarily high finish. The internals are not supposed to be seen after assembly, so they do not need to be so finely finished. I also noted that the wiring is very neat and the electrical connectors and water hoses and clamps are very high quality. The assembly of the components is very good.

The components look good, but if there was a fault in the heating element in the instant heat tank, that would explain why the coffee pod does not get the exit side punctures, that require the correct temperature to deform the pod, when it needs to happen and then the pod bursts on its side because the water pressure then becomes too great. The plastic is too thick on the base of the pod (another owner has suggested this) or the water isn't hot enough quick enough to deform the plastic enough.

They could make the pods a millimetre taller so the puncture starts when the pod is inserted and completes the punctures when the heat deforms the plastic a bit more.

I did notice some issues that only affect my machine. There was a spider web inside. There are dust particles on the inside surfaces which seem to be evidence of spiders maturing. This area is completely isolated from the water storage and the path of water through the machine to the spout and out to the cup. I am not concerned about germs and contamination. I just need to clean it before I reassemble it.

There is another issue which highlights the excellent design and build of this machine. Some may notice an accessories power socket on the right hand side. It is a standard IEC 3 pin socket. They spent some unnecessary money here. I don't use that socket but it is nice to see they put a fuse on the brown wire. I have included a photo of my brown wire and circled my discovery. The spiders appear to have eaten the insulation on that wire. I can see bare wire. The spiders must have been attracted to the current cycles. This is the only insulated wire that has been affected in this coffee machine. I can just remove the fuse and disable this wire so I don't have an issue with it, but I will put some shrink fit insulation over it before reassembling it. The fuse would have isolated any potential problem even if I had not discovered it, so anyone else should feel safe because the designers added a fuse on that wire. Like I already stated, I find this machine to be well designed and assembled.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: April 2022 We made an impulse buy of this coffee pod machine. We also bought 15 boxes of 12 capsules.

We are probably the last people to actually pay money for this machine because today we found out they are giving them away with every purchase of (just) 6 boxes of coffee pods.

It looks like a solid machine, we have only unwrapped it and are now looking for a place to put it on the kitchen bench.

The idea of putting it on the coffee table might appeal to some people, but there is still a need to fill the water tank and take the cup to the kitchen sink, so this will live in the kitchen at our place.