Coffee machines

The Little Guy home espresso maker review

This stovetop espresso maker has won design awards, but we want to know how well it makes coffee.
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Last updated: 24 Jan 2017
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The Little Guy recycled stainless steel stovetop espresso maker ($699) is quite an impressive statement piece on your kitchen benchtop, but does it deliver professional barista results at home?

This shiny espresso machine has won several design awards but we wanted to test its performance for ourselves.

How it works

The Little Guy operates much like other manual stovetop machines and is very easy to use if you use the included instructional DVD. Two supplied coffee baskets give you the option of using either supermarket-bought coffee or freshly ground espresso-style coffee.

To get started, fill the boiler with water, add 20g of ground coffee to the basket then begin to heat. You can use an electric or a gas cooktop (so long as the flame doesn’t exceed the circumference of the base). The Little Guy claims to be unsuitable on standard induction cooktops, other than on the specially designed Little Guy induction top which is sold separately ($199 RRP).

Each cycle produces two espressos. Once the espresso-making process is complete, there should be enough back-pressure in the machine to froth milk. We found that 100mL of cold milk took about one minute to heat and texture, however The Little Guy may not be ideal for frothing milk over this quantity as you may run out of steam. Note that you can only use the steaming wand after the coffee has finished extracting and it can’t be used as a stand-alone function.

When it comes to repeat cycling, you’ll need to let the machine cool down for around 20 minutes as it can become very hot. If you want to speed up the process you can place the machine under a running tap, but take care to pick it up using the rubber handles.

How we tested

To test The Little Guy, we used freshly ground medium-blend coffee beans and selected the professional espresso basket (the basket is the part of the machine that holds and filters the coffee). The professional basket has multiple holes and is only for very finely ground espresso-style coffee. A panel of six CHOICE staff sampled the resulting espresso, rating it from OK to good overall. Some found the espresso to be slightly watery and quite bitter however the general panel found it to be reasonably pleasant to drink and fairly neutral.

CHOICE verdict

The Little Guy needs very little cleaning and servicing, but there’s quite a bit of time (and money) to be invested. The Little Guy will take about eight minutes to heat, with the extraction process taking approximately two minutes to collect around 60mL of espresso – adding quite a bit of time to your morning routine. Your investment will take you to just under $1000 if you buy The Little Guy espresso machine along with its induction top, which the manufacturer highly recommends for optimal performance.

Our out-of-the-box verdict is that while The Little Guy produces OK to good espresso, its taste won’t quite blow you away. And although it looks good, it’s quite an expensive piece of gear when some models recommended by CHOICE in our home espresso machines review can cost under $300.

Cost

$699, plus $199 for the optional induction cooktop.

thelittleguy.info

Chantelle

I've always had a passion for food from a young age, as my grandfather was a chef, so I studied food technology and hospitality at school. After school I studied business administration and event management where I worked as a wedding planner for a few years, but when the position at CHOICE came up, I jumped at the chance to get back into the kitchen and have loved working in the kitchen lab as a test officer alongside Fiona Mair for the past eight years. Each week I help test a range of kitchen appliances and gadgets, from ovens, cooktops and air fryers to espresso machines, blenders, food processors, microwaves, frypans and more. We conduct practical, real-world cooking tests for all of the appliances we review, including how safe and easy to use they are. I also help out with our many taste tests and always find them interesting and educating. There's always so much to learn! At home I love to cook for family and friends, and am passionate about cooking good, wholesome food from scratch. I have two young kids and I want to make sure they eat a variety of foods, that they are exposed to different tastes and cuisines, and that they're encouraged to build a good relationship with food. I love the fact that I can help consumers choose the best kitchen product available that best suits their needs, while also saving them time and money. The range of products that we test in-house at CHOICE and the level of expertise from testers and writers really is second to none.

I've always had a passion for food from a young age, as my grandfather was a chef, so I studied food technology and hospitality at school. After school I studied business administration and event management where I worked as a wedding planner for a few years, but when the position at CHOICE came up, I jumped at the chance to get back into the kitchen and have loved working in the kitchen lab as a test officer alongside Fiona Mair for the past eight years. Each week I help test a range of kitchen appliances and gadgets, from ovens, cooktops and air fryers to espresso machines, blenders, food processors, microwaves, frypans and more. We conduct practical, real-world cooking tests for all of the appliances we review, including how safe and easy to use they are. I also help out with our many taste tests and always find them interesting and educating. There's always so much to learn! At home I love to cook for family and friends, and am passionate about cooking good, wholesome food from scratch. I have two young kids and I want to make sure they eat a variety of foods, that they are exposed to different tastes and cuisines, and that they're encouraged to build a good relationship with food. I love the fact that I can help consumers choose the best kitchen product available that best suits their needs, while also saving them time and money. The range of products that we test in-house at CHOICE and the level of expertise from testers and writers really is second to none.

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