Owner experience with Londinium I - Page 75

A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
Lowlander
Posts: 36
Joined: 14 years ago

#741: Post by Lowlander »

@ Stefan:
Welcome to this privileged club!
Good to see that our private barista jam has convinced you.

Thanet
Posts: 6
Joined: 11 years ago

#742: Post by Thanet »

I like to share my experience using the Londinium 1 here in Thailand. I think it is the first one here as I had it since late December 2012. Thank you Reiss for creating this machine. It is exactly what I have been searching for a few years for my new house. I was willing to pay for one of those monster 2-group commercial lever machines for the house at easily 5 times the price.

The espresso tastes much better than what I can get from my VBM Super Domobar Double Boiler with PID. It tastes very smooth and for the first time I can taste sweetness in the espresso. Now I can drink espresso without a little bit of milk to smooth out the edge.

It took a little of tuning of the grinder as L-1 takes slightly different ground. I am very happy with L-1, especially at the price, and now thinking about getting another to replace the VBM.

P.S. Thank you Reiss for getting the exact plug with the ground for Thailand. You are the best for doing this minor request for just one machine. Throwing in the special wand tip and some coffee in my order of bottomless portafilter is beyond expectation of good customer relation!

Thanet

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Possepat
Posts: 477
Joined: 12 years ago

#743: Post by Possepat »

Thanet wrote: I am very happy with L-1, especially at the price, and now thinking about getting another to replace the VBM.
Congrats! Glad you like the machine. What's better than One Londinium-I? TWO LONDINIUM-I's!

Love it!
"Do what you want, you're gonna do it anyways!" - My father

LMWDP #365

Thanet
Posts: 6
Joined: 11 years ago

#744: Post by Thanet »

Thanks, Possepat. The 2nd one will be in another house. But not so soon. My brother will order L-1 in the next few weeks.

Thanet

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FotonDrv
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Joined: 11 years ago

#745: Post by FotonDrv »

Has anyone tried to remove the knobs from the steam and water wands in order to put wooden knobs on to them?? Mine won't budge and unless I remove the entire valve assembly from the case of the machine I am not sure how to do it!

If I put a wrench up against the stainless case and hold the valve there I would be putting stress across the entire valve. I tried hanging onto the Tee part, where it goes to the rose bud water tip, and I could not get a good enough grip and the entire valve body tried to rotate in the case.

My GS/3 knobs unscrew very easily so it looks like that is where the cocobolo is going first...

Suggestions for the L-I knobs?
That Light at the End of the Tunnel is actually a train

salvatore
Posts: 77
Joined: 11 years ago

#746: Post by salvatore »

peacecup wrote: Interestingly, the L1 will have the opposite limitation from what my little Lusso has in terms of brew ratio. With my Lusso, I need to do two lever pulls to get a 16:30g shot, a 50% brew ratio. Your photo shows something like a 16:60g shot, (I assume those were two 30 ml shots and that you dosed around 16g?).

I suppose most commercial levers produce about 60 ml per lever pull, enough for one "traditional double". I thought I'd read that the L1 likes a 16 g dose - how do folks get the brew ratio up to 50% - by pulling the cup halfway through the shot? If so, what half of the shot does one keep? Is the grind set for getting 30 ml in 30 seconds, or for the whole lever pull in 30 secs?

PC
This machine is simply fascinating. I just read through this entire thread, along with all the others related to the Londinium, and my interest is piqued, to say the least. The above question, however, is one I found interesting, yet seemingly unanswered.

I tend to favor more of a ristretto type of pour, and I am curious if this is possible with the Londinium? Something in the range of a 67-90% ratio.

(I apologize if I missed the answer somewhere, but I literally think my eyes are bleeding from too much reading on my phone!)
"L'unico modo per liberarsi da una tentazione è cedervi." Oscar Wilde

RoloD
Posts: 99
Joined: 12 years ago

#747: Post by RoloD »

Yes, the LI will give a full double, but I tend to pull the cup away at around 45 to 50cc.

Like all espresso machines, the quality of the shot diminishes as extraction continues but, as with all lever machines, the extraction 'tails off' towards the end (pressure and temperature reduces) so you can let the shot run a little longer than on a pump machine.

I time from the beginning of the flow of coffee (not from pre-infusion or from release of lever). For a ristretto I'd say it's a combination of grinding a little finer and pulling a little sooner. There is no definitive formula, like there is no definitive agreement on what constitutes a 'ristretto'.

The good thing about a commercial lever group machine like the LI is that it is very forgiving - it's really quite hard to pull a bad shot, the mechanical design of the group really does get the best out of the coffee and never overheats.

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erics
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Joined: 19 years ago

#748: Post by erics »

I just read through this entire thread, along with all the others related to the Londinium, and my interest is piqued, to say the least.
That might just qualify you for the Home-Barista Medal of Honor. :) If you want to see one of these up close, send me an email.
Skål,

Eric S.
http://users.rcn.com/erics/
E-mail: erics at rcn dot com

idensie
Posts: 2
Joined: 11 years ago

#749: Post by idensie »

erics

If you're handing out medals I read the whole thread too! One of the bits I liked most was when it got shut down for a couple of day just when the guys were talking about how much they could bench press!!

Ha ha ha, classic.

I didn't contribute to the discussion or ask any questions online. I prefered to email and skype my questions directly to Reiss before I made the decision to buy a machine.

The wait has been painful but my machine is now on the courier making its way to New Zealand.

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Possepat
Posts: 477
Joined: 12 years ago

#750: Post by Possepat »

In regards to brew ratios...

I've dosed shots right up to 22g. There was some talk in the begining about how the L-I likes 16g doses (Reiss' suggestion I believe) but since they have found their way out into the wild the L-Is have proven themselves to be much more versatile than originally thought. The bean I was using for a couple months suggested an 18g dose pulled over 28 seconds to achieve a final shot weight of 32~34g. The L-I has had no problem with any dose I've thrown her way and I haven't had to grind extra coarse for the big doses.

Shes steady and sure of herself, she takes no prisoners... unless you count your hearts.... she can handle anything you throw at her and will ask "is that all you got?!!!" :o She's an Iron nay... Stainless Steel Lady and she makes no apologies....

The Margaret Thatcher of espresso machines.
"Do what you want, you're gonna do it anyways!" - My father

LMWDP #365

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