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The Lavazza A Modo Mio Fantasia coffee machine measures 32x17x27cm, the last figure needs some extra clearance as the mechanism to insert the pods requires this to be lifted to move the used pods to the internal storage area and this adds around 12cm to the height. Do remember to empty this regularly as it also contains waste coffee from the pod and otherwise it can overflow.

For me anyway this is all about the Frother unit that can add the amount of milk - or possibly a tad more – that you would normally add to a cup of black coffee to turn it white into a cup full of froth so while the bottom 2cm of the cup is strong coffee the next 6cm is totally froth to drink your coffee through and this action would normally require an experienced barista to achieve.

A small Expresso – from machine off – would take 30-40 seconds a large one slightly longer.

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With the first marking of milk in the stirrer jug which not only stirs but with a separate pipe inserts lots of steam into the mix you get a jug full of froth in around 90 seconds.

First thing in the morning I tend to make a coffee sandwich, a coffee pod in a Cappuccino cup then the cup full of froth and finally a coffee pod on the top which of course there does look as if there is room for it but the froth absorbs well.

When you have drained your cup you probably still need a spoon to finish the froth that holds its volume something that normally only occurs in a decent coffee shop.

I certainly could only sip the coffee but I know certain readers have the ability to swallow very hot coffee so there is a heat adjustor to allow you to go above the standard 76-83 degrees Celsius.

For those you like black the standard measure is 30ml over the 7-8grams of coffee in the pod but this can be increased to 100ml.

There is a 32 page A5 manual in four languages. This has some illustrations but does explain the controls adequately. There are a total of twelve buttons on the face of the machine with only the relevant one lighting once you have touched the on/off button in the middle. The only one I needed to check the manual for is the descale button that never came on during my test period.

The clear plastic water tank at the back is just marked ‘min’ and ‘max’ I found the former to be around ¼ pint and the latter 2 pints. On certain machines I have reviewed in the past you had to be very careful when replacing the tank not to get a leak around the seal this unit has a firm fitting and I never got any leaks.

There are lots of less expensive machines if you just want black coffee but if you want Latte or Cappuccino then this frother unit makes the extra cost worthwhile.    

The AEG Lavazza LM7100 Fantasia Plus is available from John Lewis for £159.95 and £ 182.05 from Amazon and it's available in black, white or cream.