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| Introduction Espresso Performance Steaming Performance Materials and Workmanship Conclusion Appendix Videos |
The Achille is a unique lever machine due in part to its heat exchanger. This is a bit of a two-edged sword. It allows the machine to run for hours and pull many back to back shots without overheating. The drawback is that you must pull a cooling flush before every extraction, just as you would any pump driven heat exchanger espresso machine.
Many heavy-grouped machines have long "thermal memory" that can make it difficult to judge the correct flush amount to obtain the desired brew temperature. In contrast, the Achille is among the most predictable heat exchanger espresso machines I've used. Its flushing regime is simple:
These are starting guidelines; the flush amounts will vary slightly depending on the boiler pressure setting and how quickly you lock in the portafilter and begin the extraction. You can adjust your brew temperature by changing the boiler's pressurestat or tweak it slightly on the fly by lengthening or shortening the "rebound time" between the end of the flush and the start of the pull.
The high wattage of the heating element gives the machine almost instant recovery. That fast recovery translates to a mid-to-high brew temperature range preference according to my taste buds. I find that the lighter roast levels (City+ to Full City) produces the best cup. The darker roasts, which tend to perform better at lower temperatures, are challenging. Dan Kehn participated in the research of this article and had the idea of letting the machine heat to temperature, cutting off the power, and then doing the cooling flush. With the heating element off, the recovery time is slower and allows for the lower end of the temperature spectrum; this technique merits further investigation as a means of delivering lower brew temperatures on the fly. Another trick is to fill the HX reservoir with very cold water, which will take slightly longer to heat. Of course, you could also adjust the pressurestat down to draw out the recovery and obtain the lower temperature range more easily.
The Achille has a very powerful heating element, so the recovery is instant with the boiler set at 1.25 bar. For those wanting less hurried recovery times and easier low temperature pulls, lowering the pressurestat setting will lengthen the time before the brew water overheats at the expense of steam power. Over the course of the evaluation, I settled down to a setting of 1.1 bar as a fair tradeoff of steam power and recovery time.
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Light to Dark Roasts |
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Paradise Roasters Espresso Classico is a lightly roasted Northern Italian style blend that works well at higher temperatures. The Achille was well matched to this style of blend. It produced a thick and rich crema, medium acidity, thick buttery mouthfeel with hints of chocolate and berry. Paradise Roasters Espresso Havana is a Cuban-style espresso that is roasted much darker than the Classico blend. I had a harder time getting the Havana to play nice with the Achille. Espresso Havana works best at a lower 198-200°F range. When all the factors came together, I was rewarded with a medium bodied espresso with powerfully deep flavor that reminded me of pumpernickel bread. Light sweetness with hints of spice, molasses, chocolate and just a hint of citrus. Good as espresso and wonderful in a traditional cappuccino. Caffe Fresco Ambrosia is a northern Italian style blend that works best in the 200-201°F range. The all-crema pull settled to a cap of brick red crema that retained a velvety and airy sensation when drank. It possessed a heavy and rich body with a buttery mouthfeel and presently sweet cup. Caffe Fresco Bello Blend is another light roast that works best in the 200-201°F range. Bello has a stronger flavor that stands up well to milk, a little chocolate and citrus. The subtle berry note from my pump-driven espresso machine was not present in the Achille shots. A heaver tasting crema than the Ambrosia, it still presents itself as a medium acidity, heavy body espresso with that buttery mouthfeel that levers are so wonderful at producing. |
The Achille's single basket holds 8 grams of coffee while the double basket holds 17-18 grams. The Faema-style double, La Marzocco double and ridgeless double basket all fit the Achille's 58mm portafilter. Thanks to the deep portafilter, it even accepts a triple basket without having to chop the bottom off the portafilter, so you've got lots of options.
Let's get brewing! After a 20 minute warm-up the machine is ready for use. Below is an outline of the steps for preparing an espresso with the Achille.
Once tamped, the basket should be filled to just above the bottom of the retainer clip groove, which is approximately 17 grams of coffee. To confirm the correct amount, try locking in and then removing the portafilter. The grounds should not show evidence of contact with the dispersion screen; about 2mm clearance is a good starting point..
Pull your cooling flush into an appropriate container. I prefer to warm the cup by pulling the cooling flush water into it. As a rule of thumb, you should see one full lever stroke with no flash boiling (if this terminology is unfamiliar, see How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love HXs). Once the flush is done, remove your flushing container.
Insert the the portafilter tabs into the grouphead and lock it gently into place. Place your warmed cup under the spouts. The recovery is a very fast 10-15 seconds, so you need to have everything ready prior to your cooling flush. Grasp the lever in one hand and portafilter handle in the other to support the group, and then raise the lever. For a 1.5 ounce double, pull the lever down one quarter stroke, raise back to the top, and then pull to the end of the lever stroke. For a two ounce double, a half pull followed by a full pull is needed. Thanks to the Achille's unique check valves, the coffee puck will not be subjected to suction during pump refill strokes.
If you're making a milk drink, you can start steaming immediately after the extraction. No recovery time is required. Remember to purge the wand beforehand and wipe it down after steaming.
The start to finish video shows the steps above in action. Note that I slowed between steps 3 and 4 in the video for easier viewing, but normally I would start the extraction much sooner after the cooling flush.
Reminder: When pulling shots, hold the portafilter handle firmly in one hand while pulling the lever downward with the other hand to help steady the machine.
The cooling flushes use up the reservoir's water quickly if you are pulling five back to back shots. Fortunately the Achille has a removable and refillable heat exchanger reservoir referred to as a "continuous refill tank". That is, the boiler water is used exclusively for steaming and heating the brew water, while the brew water is pulled from the fresh supply atop the machine. The tank's outlet has a valve that automatically closes when it's lifted off the machine, so you can refill it even if it's partially full.
To refill the brew water reservoir, you can choose to fill it while on the machine, or remove it and fill it at the sink. Neither requires that you power down the machine and wait for it to cool as is typically the case for many home lever espresso machines. The reservoir capacity is 0.85 liters to the brim, which is adequate for four or five doubles depending on the amount of water dispensed during the flushing and cup heating cycles.
Even though spills are no concern for the Achille's one-piece base, you'll save yourself cleanup time by using a container to catch the water during the flush. The drip tray is small when compared to the large basin style on most pump machines, but larger than most lever machines. It holds 10 ounces of liquid when filled to the brim; 8 ounces is a reasonable amount to avoid spilling on your way to the sink.
The shots flow like thick warm honey and pull nearly 100% crema. I get a rather unique cup character that marries of the best of both lever and pump worlds. You'll recognize the characteristic thick buttery mouthfeel that attracts so many of us to levers. In addition, it produces the heavy crema-laden shots you normally associate with pump machines. There is also ample clarity in the cup very reminiscent of the pump machines, though I found a good pump HX or double boiler machine could edge out the Achille on this front.
The Achille does require a lot of lever pressure to pull a proper shot. The Achille has a sturdy lever and group built to deliver the required pressure. I literally lean into the lever while pulling up on the portafilter handle to help steady the machine. The espressos from pulls less than the required 30 to 35 pounds of force will still be quite good, but won't have the same volume and richness of crema.
During the research for this article, I had the opportunity to visit one of our HB members, KarlSchneider (Chuck). He owns both an Elektra Microcasa a Leva and Olympia Cremina. The Microcasa pulls a very different kind of shot. The body is lighter and the crema thinner than either the Cremina or Achille in both quantity and color. The cup is lighter in taste, almost more coffee-like than espresso—a mellow and flavorful cup. The Cremina pulls a much more robust cup than the Microcasa. Its espressos are darker and have thicker crema with more volume. The body was deeper and the flavor much richer than the Microcasa. After an hour and four shots it hit its limit and started overheating. The Achille produces an espresso that was very comparable to the Cremina. Espressos from the Achille have the same velvety and dense crema but with slightly more volume. I also noticed a cleaner and slightly more defined flavor profile in the cup. The impressive espresso performance combined with the Achille's ability to pull shot after shot for hours without overheating represents a major advance in home lever machine design.
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