Hello fellow home coffee enthusiasts,

As I continue to save for a new espresso machine I continue to come across different machines and find myself seeking advice from experienced owners. I thought I was set on buying a Bezzera Strega but than I discovered the beauty of the MCAL. Reviews seem to be pretty good on the machine but there are those with their strong opinions about it as well. I love the idea of a spring lever as there seems to be so much less to go wrong, easier to maintain, consistent and the price tag is substantially less than other options I have looked at.

I am a home roaster who sticks to SO's mainly in both my pour overs and espressos. I never roast past a Full City so my SO espresso's are on the lighter side for sure. I want a machine that can pull a good shot with this type of bean. I do enjoy some body and crema with clarity and ability to really taste the fruits some of the SO espresso contain. I know it is darn near impossible to get it all and some sacrifice will need to be made but am I way off reservation being interested in getting a MCAL?

I want this next machine to be a machine that I don't feel the need to try something new in short period of time, i have been down that road and am ready for a permeant fixture on my counter. I would be interested in the extra spring mod some users discuss as I think this will keep some the original characteristics of the MCAL but provide some of that body I enjoy but I can't find much in the way of obtaining one. I would also probably do the teflon gasket for it and try to get a different portafilter(i think the spouts on the stock portafilter are hideous and I would interested in a portafilter with more traditional spouts, preferably just one spout or bottomless if they exist).

I have been on a gaggia classic for the past 2 years and don't have much to go off of past that. A local roaster here in town pulls his espressos on a Victoria Arduino Athena and I love those shots and is the reason I started looking into spring levers. I typically only pull 2 shots every morning, 1 for me and a latte for my wife. At the end of the day I want great shots and am willing to take on learning curves if needed to get there.

Thanks,

Ron