Lenoxx ECM90

A great little espresso machine that knows it can – This is the first review for the Barista Mate touch. I thought I would add a review as I was quite impressed with the quality of the machine, especially for the price I paid. I gave it 5 stars mainly due to what you get for the price you pay. I have read only one other review on some other site saying there is a metallic taste, and it takes for ever to heat the milk and squirts out water. I want to say this is false and most likely didn't read the instructions on purging the machine when first using it and pre-purge wand when steaming as with all espresso machines. After purging the machine for use I made my first coffee. The Portafilter comes preinstalled with a two-cup filter, Its just a tad smaller than industry standard but still makes a good strong cup of coffee. The Portafilter is also quite light but the filters themselves are excellent and are made in a way that you will always get a good cup of coffee as its designed to build and keep pressure no matter on grind. Extracting the coffee the Lenoxx machine does one pre line fill, then one small presoak, then another presoak then the extraction... I have only seen this in expensive machines such as the Breville’s eg 3 wave extraction. This makes for a nice strong fully extracted with a thick crema on top. Steam wand wise it quickly heats, I would pre-purge water in line before steaming milk as good practice, its only a tiny bit of water so wont really affect milk if don’t. It took around 40seconds to heat the included milk frothing pitcher (cup) which is really impressive in my experience it can take around 1min to 1min40 to heat milk on many other machines. The steam quality is excellent and can get a nice froth for anyone wanting to practice latte art. Taste wise I was impressed hence writing this review. I have had Breville Barista Pro machines then went to a Gaggia Automatic mainly due to the family but wanted to go manual again without the expense. Found this machine on catch and jumped on it and are very impressed. It can handle espresso fine grind (used my Breville grinder) Its very easy to use. and only suggestions is to get a silicon mat which can be found online to put under it to stop it from sliding around when putting in the portafilter and upgrade the 51mm portafilter and tamper which are available online and get a knock box to empty the filter and you will have a nice little compact yet cheap setup. Perfect for small kitchens or if want to keep your bench space. It also looks great, the icons on touch panel are colour, the case is stainless steel. Overall, its light but looks quality. Visitors wouldn’t expect it to be such a cheap machine.