Elektra/Pavoni side by side

[srobinson]

Based on some of the interest recently on lever machines, Dan and I thought that it would be fun to do some side-by-side comparisons of two of the more popular lever machines.. the la Pavoni Europiccola and Elektra Micro Casa a leva. Dan is being kind enough to let his Elektra out of his living room on work release and I will be using my trusty Pavoni that is almost a vintage machine now at 9 years old.

[srobinson]

Introducing the Elektra into my workspace was like welcoming a rock star to your home. This thing has presence. First, being Dan's machine, it has its own travel case. I felt like a roadie, lugging this hard-sided beast with its custom foam inserts. Actually, since the levers are very easy to travel with the case makes a lot of sense if you are carrying it on vacation or using it between locations. I have taken my Pavoni on several road trips and the case is a nice addition.

With minimal set up...screw in handle, water fill, spare outlet and getting all the pieces in place, it took over my wife's remaining counter space in record time.

I just love the look of a lever machine. While both have similarities, visually the two machines have very different looks. The Pavoni has been described as more industrial...deco...functional. The Elektra while following the same basic shape has embellishments that show it as part of a line of traditional espresso machines that you see throughout classic Italian designs. The eagle, the dome top and even the logo, all exude presence and quality.

The nice thing about both machines is that they both pass the "wife test" and both look great sitting out.

Now both being countertop machines, one thing to note is the Elektra will be a bit fussy on placement. While the base unit fits about anywhere, if you are flying the full eagle, it may hit some cabinets. Also since its lever is in the more "erect" position than the Pavoni, we found out that the handle interfered with cabinet opening as well.

[srobinson]

While I have worked with both these machines independently, I was hoping that running them side-by-side would give some insight with regards to slight differences, reaction to grinds and effort involved. On the first day with both of them, this type of testing also resulted in a discovery that I had never seen in any write-ups on Pavonis.

One of the first criticisms of the Pavoni is basket size. The single basket is a joke and even the double leaves a lot in the hands of the barista for a good pull. With the Elektra, even though it uses the same diameter basket as the Pavoni, has a much deeper basket.



For kicks I placed the Elektra basket in the Pavoni portafilter and damn if it didn't fit. Those of you who have ever used the Pavoni understand what it means not to get an additional 25% more coffee in the filter and being able to pull some real doubles with 16.5 grams....God was smiling on me. I spent the next couple hours pulling some of the best lever shots of my life.

I am trying to convince the wife that this should go on this year's Christmas card:



Of course testing slowed down as I tried to find where to get some extra baskets once I returned Dan's. Jim over at 1st-Line says they have them in stock...so order goes in tomorrow.

[srobinson]

Now, while both of these machines are considered manual levers, there are some key differences in how they approach the pull. The first indication of the difference in these two machines is the comparison of their group heads



While dispensing about the same amount of fluid per pull, you quickly realize that the Elektra has something else engineered into it to require a group head almost twice the size of the Pavoni.

The Pavoni is a full manual machine, meaning that you manually push it to the top of its stroke and then it is up to the user to apply the necessary pressure on the handle during the pull stroke. Some feel that this adds more variability to the Pavoni process, while others will argue that it give the user more control over the shot.

The Elektra machine removes this variable by utilizing a massive spring to control the downward thrust of the piston. The manual step is to load the spring and bring water into the group head and then the pressure of spring controls the piston to give you a consistent down stroke with each shot.

I pulled the head on the Elektra to give you a view of the spring and piston:



While I had the heads open on both machines I thought I would also compare the pistons and gaskets, since this is the most common maintenance that you do on these machines...

I have covered gasket replacement on the Pavoni in my refeathering thread but, it is worth a quick look again at the piston:



Piston is make of a high density plastic and the two primary gaskets are identical and installed in opposing directions.

Now on the Elektra, the piston is solid brass with two unique washers. It is also clear that you can replace these washers without having to deal with the main spring.



On both of these machines, the group head fills with water at the top of the piston stroke. Pressure from the boiler forces water into the cylinder and then the lever pressure forces the water through the coffee puck. It is worth noting that on the Elektra there is full pressure on the lever until water enters the group head. Since you are pulling against a large spring, if you release the handle prior to the water filling, it will quickly snap back to the top....thus how these machines get the reputation of a "chin/teeth buster" to the non-attentive barista. While this is not a risk with the Pavoni, a good shot on the Europiccola does require significant pressure on the down stroke and may be a bit intimidating to initial users as to just how much force is needed to operate the machine.

[another_jim]

So did this turn out like Alan Frew's famous test; "it's not the machine, dummy, it's the basket."

[HB]

For those who may not have read it, below is the excerpt from Up at the Sharp End that Jim is referring to:

Which in turn led me to conclude that in terms of overall shot quality, I wasn't testing machines, I was testing filter baskets! It makes a lot of sense when you consider that all the machines use the same ULKA vibe pump and have similar water distribution and shower screen setups. The only remaining variables (apart from the filters) would be pump bypass pressures and brew water temperatures, and the flushing appeared to take care of the temperature pretty well. Pressure <may> be amenable to adjustment, but I didn't try it.
...

So where does this leave the person looking to "upgrade" their espresso? Well, if all you drink are straight espressos you'd be better off keeping the Silvia and investing in different filter baskets!

[srobinson]

Jim, thanks for the post. The point that I was trying to get to with the basket discussion was that on a Pavoni of my vintage, the basket was a weakness in the design. In the prior version it was the headache of temp and pressure control, with their dual switch setup, which resulted in them adding a new thermostat in the run that I have. In the Millennium versions following mine, you saw Pavoni address two issues....1) the weakness of the basket and 2) the temp at the group head. With regards to the basket they enlarged the group head to accommodate at 51MM basket up from 49MM and went with a deeper design. On the group head they added a channel that forces the water around the group head to help stabilize temperatures instead of having water go directly into the cylinder.

So short of updating the group head on a pre-Millennium Pavoni, using the Elektra basket is a worthy upgrade....but even that will not guarantee good shots. Being a manual machine, all things are not equal and investment in the Mano is still a worthy task.

Now it is easy to see where Alan forms his opinion. Peering down the neck of the Elektra, there is not alot between the coffee and the cup other than the dispersion screen and the basket.

[srobinson]

As I get into some observations about actually making coffee, I've set the stage for the differences between the Pavoni and the Elektra lever mechanisms. The Elektra has the huge spring to do the pull and the Pavoni has....well you. As you may have read from Chris' post on the Pavoni, this can be quite a task:

One thing that has become clear is that this machine is hard to use well if you are very small. You simply don't have the ability to really control the pressure when you're having to work that hard.

This got me thinking about how much pressure it actually took to get a really good pull. Since the wife was out to dinner, I figured I would stage one of those very sophisticated HB tests that women would categorize as a genetic male flaw should they observe it. I decided to do a pull using the bathroom scale.

Now for this task we place the Pavoni fully warmed and primed on the scale to get an initial reading: 11 pounds starting weight.



Now the fun begins to get a full pull underway, trying to maintain form and snap a decent picture: max downward thrust reading was 51 pounds for a delta of 40 pounds required for a good shot.



This is about as sophisticated as I am going to get on the measure, so if any engineers in the audience want to convert that to bars, please knock yourself out. (I am happy to give lever lengths, cylinder dimensions and attack angles) This could be an extra credit question is a future swag contest.

While it is a bit of work, the manual step does give you a decent amount of control over the shot with regards to speed and grind variation. It also gives you an excellent excuse for a second machine by convincing the significant other that it will part of your daily exercise program. You will have at least one killer tricep. With the Elektra design you will hardly break a sweat...cock the handle and release.

[miKe mcKoffee]

Loved it! Pulling a LP shot with the bathroom scale. Who knew bathroom scales were for more than practicing tamp pressure!

[srobinson]

Thanks Mike, you always get unique content on HB. Now if the wife will just let me get the commercial scales for the Elektra A3 that's coming for a visit.

[another_jim]

You must be very experienced on the machine. There was an alt.coffee thread about how much force it took to get 9 bar on the Pavoni. This took the obvious lever ratio stuff as well as few excusions into converting pounds to decipascals and from there to bar and from there to pounds per square inch. After someone took the shortcut of staying with pounds, 40lb force was the rough answer.

[srobinson]

Now I have been avoiding showing shots on the Elektra since it took me a couple days to dial it in. I was struggling with the grind. Since I am truly in love with my new Rocky DL (from one of our great sponsors...Chris' Coffee), I wondered why people continue to pine about upgrading grinders. Then this week I started to understand when I got caught between the notches. I spent the better part of two nights working this...I was either choking the machine out or getting shots with very thin crema and no body on my pulls. I found the Elektra much more sensitive than the Pavoni since on the LP, I could always adjust my pull to compensate for any changes in my grind and tamp.

This forced me to be a bit more disciplined than I normally am and was able to focus my technique to solve the problem. I had been playing with using my finger to distribute since it has been discussed a lot in the barista technique section and I believe that this was resulting in me overdosing on the tighter grind. I went back to just a level sweep and things started to improve dramatically. I can now get great shots pretty close to what I have done with Dan and his Super Jolly.



Things were working so well tonight that I thought that we might be able to capture some of those glamour shots that you see those guys on other coffee fora waste megs and megs on. Since I have never made a naked portafilter for a lever (I can't quite figure out how to pull, watch, and photo...all at the same time). I decided that I would go for hang time.

I present to you in a HB world premier lever machine coffee porn....enjoy.

[srobinson]

Well it's been a fun week with two levers in the house, but its back to Dan's tomorrow for the Microcasa as we get ready to start working on the A3. He swears that it has a lever on it so that I don't fully stain my reputation.

It's a bit sad to see the Elektra go. It is a beautiful machine and the overall build quality is simply amazing on it. With regards to the Pavoni, I felt that it excelled in a couple areas:

1) I loved the base and the stability of the unit. It rarely slipped, skidded, tipped or attempted the Pavoni shuffle. The Pavoni is like an appendage to me now after 9 years, but the light base is a continuing issue for new users of the machine.

2) I loved the spring lever. While I would rate great shots about equal once fully dialed in, you had to be pretty dead on with the Elektra. The spring loaded piston is a very elegant approach and even my wife found the physical effort much less than on the Pavoni.

3) I feel that maintenance will be easier on the machine as well. You can get to the head gaskets in two simple steps vs. almost 7 on the Pavoni. I also liked the piston design which I feel would prevent another problem that you see on a heavily used Pavoni where the piston starts to unscrew from the main post. I did not compare prices on the maintenance parts, but based on the price I got on an Elektra basket, I am sure they are not cheap.

4) Finally they got the basket right and fortunately that will be an upgrade that I use on the Pavoni.

With regards to the Pavoni, I think it still excels with

1) Size. With the Europiccola, I have yet to see a machine that can do as good a shot as it does with such a small footprint. It heats fast, only weighs 11 pounds and it the perfect travel companion when you have to take it with you. Many times, I was already sipping a cup from the Pavoni while I was waiting the 11 minutes for the larger Elektra to reach pressure.

2) Design. There is just something about that shape that I love. The Elektra is a stunning machine, but the Pavoni has the functional beauty that is hard to beat. Now I am not crazy about brass, so the full chrome Elektra without the bird would possibly be the best of both worlds.

3) Price. I feel the Pavoni is still a lot of value for the money, especially as a second machine and as a good used machine.

I want to thank every one for the all the encouragement this week as you followed along with the fun I was having and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if there is interest out there on more threads on levers, process, and the science behind them etc since I tried not to cover ground that is readily available on other sites.

These are both great machines and if you have not experienced a lever then you should. They are both elegant solutions in tackling the complexity of making espresso. While they are not simple to use, I do not view them as out of reach to begin to master by any skill level. You will learn a lot about your skills and in turn be able to apply that to all of your barista endeavors.

[HB]

This morning Steve returned with Elektra and the Pavoni for a friendly competition. There's no way around it -- I got thumped hard by the leader of the LMWDP. Below is a out of focus picture of one of his creations:



Not a godshot, but certainly a gosh shot. I really expected his third shot to be off-temp, but he managed a smooth and balanced espresso. My mojo was clearly missing as I pulled three that were only passable and one that was not worthy of Elektra's driptray. He faulted my overfilling as the culprit. Alas, the best of the series that I managed was on the Pavoni under the careful scrutiny of The One. And now I see what he means by the Pavoni shuffle.

On other news, we packed up the A3 and all the supplies Steve will need for his test run. Apparently the prowness of Steve's espresso-making skills have earned him brownie points with the missus -- she's allowing him to drill in the Corian countertops for a clean installation. Look for Steve's comments in the Bench starting late next week.

[KarlSchneider]

Steve,

Many thanks for this comparison. I have been on the brink of buying a lever machine for a good while and when someone on CG wanted to buy a used HX I decided to take the plunge. I sold my much enjoyed Giotto and am eagerly awaiting my new Elektra Microcasa a Leva.

I anticipate having many questions for the lever users on this list as I work my way through the learning curve and hope to earn an LMWDP number.

I have just been appointed Dean of my college so I wonder what the parallels in the learning curves will be.

KS

[srobinson]

Karl, thanks for the post and congratulations on seeing the light and joining the LMWDP (lever machine world domination plot), which will result in ten-fold the coffee enjoyment with 1/10th the engineering headaches.

Best of luck on your new machine and I would appreciate it if you could post a few pics of your early experiences with the machine.

With the power granted to me by the HB team, I hereby grant you LMWDP member number #008.

[jd576]

I am using a newer Pavoni (purchased this year) with the 51mm portafilter. And I am still unhappy with the basket size - it just needs to be a bit bigger, to hold about 15 gm. I saw your comments about the Eleckta, and immediately thought I had a solution -- then realized you were using the older 49mm basket.

Are you aware of any slightly large portafilters that will fit the 51mm model??

Thanks for any tips -- and thanks for a great review. The gasket replacement section was extremely helpful!

[HB]

Are you aware of any slightly large portafilters that will fit the 51mm model??

I asked Brian at espressoparts.com about a larger basket on your behalf:

The only thing close to this is the Solis PF. They are close but I believe a bit too far off to work properly. Maybe with some heavy mods you may have success but I don't think much will show up in your cup in the end. Thanks for the query.

Brian.

It may be worth contacting the lair of the chrome peacock site owner, or posting on CoffeeGeek / alt.coffee. If you do find a lead, please let Steve and the other LMWDP members know.

[jd576]

What I am thinking about doing is purchasing a second Pavoni portafilter and having it "modified" to crotchless (bottomless) by espressoparts.com -- they offer this service for about $25. I have two old 51mm baskets that actually hold about 24gm (really big) and will fit in a bottomless La Pavoni portafilter. Of course it would be nice to find a 51mm basket that is right around 16gm. If anyone has experience with such a mod, let me know.

If I get the job done, I will send a report. I enjoy working with the La Pavoni, but like about 3 oz in my double shots -- and I can barely get a good 2 oz (and 1.5 pulls) without overextracting using the stock basket. And per the referenced article above, I think the basket size makes a big difference in the richness of the shots.

[srobinson]

Before you went to too much headache trying to find a perfect fit, I would start with 16 grams in your larger basket and work from there. Assuming that it is straight sided and you can get a good tamp, then I think you would be OK. You can play with the preinfusion and rate of the pull and you should be fine. Still should be a little less than two full pulls. Nice thing is that you will have some headroom to work with and you may find for your full 3oz that you may need 18 or more to be your optimum amount.

Now if you can pull, hold the portafilter and take pictures of your pour then please post some pictures.