Apologies for the delay in bringing the Otto review to a conclusion

We tried the Otto out on an electric hob & it certainly performs much better than on gas

For starters the time before the coffee starts to issue forth from the spout of the Otto is around the six minute mark, a significant reduction from around 10 minutes on gas

We also achieved much more consistent results in terms of the taste & appearance of the coffee with the electric hob

The Otto provides a very strong milk steamer which makes the task of frothing the milk easy

We purchased the Otto because we are always looking for a machine that will allow our customers to make espresso at home at a more accessible price point

We have spoken at length with the Otto’s inventor, Craig Hiron, in Australia and can confirm he is a top bloke and we wish him every success and look forward to meeting him in London later this year. We are acutely aware of how much time, effort, and resource have been expended to bring the Otto to life. We have no hesitation in telling you that the Otto is a very beautiful and well made product

While the Otto delivers crema, we were unable to achieve the dense crema that the Olympia machines deliver with ease, shot after shot. This is less of an issue if you drink cappuccino as you douse the espresso in foamed milk, but as pure espresso drinkers we found it frustrating

Having used the Otto once you will need to immerse it in cold water and completely cool the stainless body, dry it down & reload with coffee before you prepare a second shot, all of which takes considerable time. This is less of an issue if you only need to prepare one double shot of espresso.

If you are seeking a machine for occasional use only to produce two single shot cappuccinos, then you will probably find the Otto meets your needs. You are likely to be frustrated if you expect the Otto to deliver a traditional espresso with a dense crema and need to do so several times during the course of a day, or wish to prepare drinks for more than two people from it

The Otto can be bought online at www.ottoespresso.com

In addition the Otto is a superb piece of functional sculpture to add to your coffee table; a great conversation piece