I have a La Pavoni Pro for over 10 years but I just started using it more seriously about one month ago. I read and learned a lot from this site and I am happy about the progress I made so far. It's fun using La Pavoni when I am not in a hurry but usually that's not the case for the weekday mornings before work. I find it stressful pulling 2 shots and one cap in the morning since I also need to take care of the kid. The main thing about La Pavoni is that I feel I must finish all the shots quickly without interruption before it gets overheated. I read there are ways to cool off the group but I feel that will just prolong the total time. I also clean up the drip tray every time since it's so small. I would like to get a Vivaldi but I don't have the space for it until we move. As an temporary solution, I am thinking about picking up a Gaggia or Lelit pl041 for the time being. My question is would either machine pull good enough shots and faster than La Pavoni? My preparation speed is slow so maybe it won't make a difference?

Chris

I know I just need to get up 30 minutes earlier but I am really not an early person and my kid usually is up before me.

A spring lever has the advantage of pulling shots and steaming milk at the same time. Most pump machines need time between to heat to steaming temp, and you can't go back and forth between brewing and steaming quickly.

A PonteVecchio Lusso could be a long-term solution - plenty to read about that machine here on HB.

I must say reading your situation reminded me of mine, and the suggestion of the PV Lusso is an excellent one. It is quick to warm up, does not overheat, gives you plenty of immediate steam all without fuss. The espresso is excellent as well. Other solutions are HX or double boiler machines, such as your Vivaldi. But if space is a premium, the Lusso should be compact enough (but do check the dimensions!).

Single boiler machines such as the Lelit and Gaggia certainly do not guarantee the same shot quality as your Pav, nor necessarily speed if you are preparing milk drinks, as there is a ramp up time waiting for that single bolier to come to steam temp (or a ramp down time to flush the boiler with cooler water if you have steamed first). Also, there will be some further learning time required to get the best out of them. But they might create less mess as they tend to have bigger drip trays, and probably require less refill. I'd say a marginal improvement overall.

If you go down the PV Lusso route ensure you have bought this from a reputable supplier that gives you warranty and checks your machine out before you purchase - there have been some initial direct-from-factory build issues.

The only thing that tempers this advice is that you are looking for a 'temporary' solution. Depending on your move date and your interim budget such a solution might be overly extravagant and expensive - particularly if you already have your heart set on a Vivaldi. That is really down to you. If you get into this espresso game in a big way however you might actually enjoy having 3 different types of machines - a manual lever, a spring lever and a pump DB! Otherwise, hang onto your Pav for a little longer. I found using a plastic tab to augment the drip tray helps to reduce the mess.

Thanks for the very good advice. I didn't really consider the additional wait time for steaming so it may not work that well.
For the long term, I will get a double boiler machine, most likely Vivaldi II, when I have the counter space. We are selling the apartment so it's hard to know when we will move. But it will probably take a while judging from the number of buyers. PV Lusso seems like a very good machine but I don't see myself owning two lever machines at this point. I will be looking for a good convenient machine first.
For the short term, maybe I should look into a better way of using the La Pavoni so I don't need to block out 15-20 minutes in the morning. I would feel much better if I can take care other urgent stuff in between shots. I guess it's time to try those cooling methods.


Chris

chris07305 wrote:I guess it's time to try those cooling methods.

The most effective and quickest cooling method that I found was to take two blocks of ice cubes and hold them on each side of the grouphead, moving them around as you hold it. Not perfect, but only takes a couple of minutes and it brings the grouphead temperature down quickly. I've tried cold towels and cold portafilters with only mixed success. The best way of course is to allow the group to cool naturally and you will get to know the interval timings for this.

But if time is at a premium - and I do empathise with your morning rush, then try the ice cube route.

Good luck

Chris,

I would think the Pavoni is one of the fastest machines you could choose based on the short warm-up time. In my experience, no extreme cooling measures are needed for three shots. Turn the machine off in between pulls and it should not overheat. You're not happy about 15-20 minutes to pull two shots and a cappa - I assume that means three shots and then foaming the milk - so what is your goal?

If that includes warm up time for the machine, I don't think you'll do much better. If the 15-20 minutes does not include warm-up time, then you need to work on your routine.

Gio