It took a bit to get the grind dialed in and getting a good cup of espresso. A bit more tweaking on the grind size then I'll work on pressure and water temperature. I see a great espresso in my future. I think a good fresh roasted coffee and a good burr grinder are essential.

If you're looking for a portable and reliable coffee espresso quality with a lower range budget, Leverpresso is the one to go. I have tried 2 portable espresso maker before this, all falls under the same $ range, Leverpresso comes out the most consistent, and the taste closest to store bought latte. Definitely attaining crema requires a certain level of coffee knowledge and practice, but for it's price I'm already impressed. Good stuff!

The Leverpresso is fantastic! It finds the right balance in cost, quality of shot, portability and ease of use. I have both basket types and use them both for different beans. You can definitely get crema with both basket types. The non-pressurised basket requires you to dial in your dose and grind for each bean to achieve crema. Hardest to do is using a light roast because it needs very high heat and the plastic chamber loses heat to quickly to get crema easily. A medium roast is much easier to get crema but you still need to figure out the right grind and dose(I usually use 18g for medium roast beans and 17g for light roast).
With the pressurized basket achieving crema is quite easy without spending as much time to dial in the dose and grind. Again hardest with the light roast beans, I would stick to meduim roast. The crema for the pressurized basket is much frothier then you get with the non-pressurized basket or out of a semi-automatic espresso machine, this is because the espresso comes out in a pinpoint stream.
I have a saeco aroma semi-automatic espresso machine and my Leverpresso makes significantly better espresso. I love how portable it is too, I am a wildlife biologist and I bring the leverpresso with me in the field and literally have espresso where ever I want! It is great! It is also easy to clean and light weight, making it great for camping.
Take the time to get to know your leverpresso. Grind, bean and dose are all important to reaching the full potential of the machine. If you don't have a good grinder, use too small a dose, and don't have quality beans you won't get a tasty espresso out of any machine. Use fresh off the boil water to keep heat high as it the plastic components do have a low heat retention and heat loss can impact your espresso.
I am very happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good value, portable manual espresso machine.

We ordered the Non Pressurized and it doesn't make crema like the pressurized one.

I bought my Leverpresso after trying my brother's. Super easy to use, delicious espresso. Initially wasn't in stock on Eight Ounce's website, but their email alert that lets you know when it's in stock was appreciated. Quick, contactless delivery - thank you!