Espresso Machines : Krups Espresso Bravo Plus Espresso Machine 872

There’s nothing quite like a purpose-made, fresh as the day it was ground, home-made cappuccino. Or espresso. Or drip coffee, for that matter. In fact, no, must resist the urge and write some more.

So, most of the time, espresso machines are expensive, humongous, they’re basically like an extension on your kitchen when you think about it. They’re a pain to clean, they take a while to warm up, they make your bank manager freak out; generally you have to be a real coffee nut to want to invest in one.

But this is the age of convenience, and so it goes that many companies out there have turned to creating a smaller, simpler, more compact and easy to clean version of the Italian espresso machine, and the results aren’t bad.

The Krups Espresso Bravo Plus 872 is a great entry level machine upon which to learn the art of espresso/cappuccino-making. It will cost you about $60 (or even less), it takes up a very small footprint on your kitchen counter top, and cleaning is easy as you could ever hope for it to be.

On the downside, the carafe that comes with the model is made of very thin glass, which will break if you treat it with anything less than kid gloves, or if you rinse it in cold water soon after using it. The machine is very sturdy and will likely last for years, but internally it uses a boiler, not a pump, which affects the quality of the coffee, especially when you’re working on a cappuccino. That said, it does make an exceptionally good espresso, regardless.

In fact, if you’re looking for an espresso maker and an espresso maker ONLY, then this is a dynamite little gadget. But if you’re prone to enjoying the fluffy stuff, then you might want to avoid the Krups Espresso Bravo Plus 872, because it just doesn’t do a very good job on cappuccinos at all.

It’s cheap, it’s sturdy, and it does most of what it should do – all in all, we give the Krups Espresso Bravo Plus 872 a decent score of 3 BEANS out of 5.