...split from Lever Espresso Machine Smackdown by moderator...


I recently purchased an Elektra MCAL. It is my third machine over the years and I got it because the ritual of making the espresso is more important than the larger capacity of a home pro machine.

initially discovering this forum was a great help in figuring out how to use the machine. As I have explored h-b.com and the lever smack down, I have become confused as to the best practices to use to pull a good shot. I already understand the importance and inter relationship of grind, beans, proper dosing, tamp pressure, pre-infusion and the infamous single or double pull.

Can anyone clear up the best practices to start with on the MCAL? I have seen threads that the MCAL works best if under-dosed and over-dosed. Tamp pressure -- there are many points of light and heavy tamp being the best. Then we get to pre-infusion -- with good arguments for both short and long, as well as the fellini move..... Lastly, there is a number of points now on the single versus the double pull.

I tried recently to split my 1st and 2nd shot and true to the discussions, the 1st was rich and full, the second was more like strong coffee -- so that seems to make the argument for using only a single pull. Does this make the MCAL really a ristretto machine -- in that you are striving for a 30 ml shot out of the double basket dosed with 12g and trying for a 25 second pour? That seems to risk over-extraction.

Or, should you be striving for the first half of a double (2 pulls), which would only be a quick 15 second pour.

Any advice on the best basic practices to master would be appreciated.

I've owned the MicroCasa a Leva (MCaL) for a few years, but am definitely not an "expert" MCaL or any other type of lever user. With all the variables to control and possible combinations I'm not really sure what is the "best" technique for a particular blend or SO. This is where I'm at now. Progressing towards a finer and lighter tamp. Broke out the digital scale after reading the posts regarding brew ratios. The doses were 15,15,16& 16gm (scale precision is +/-1 gm). Brew ratios were 56-61%. Tamp pressure of ~15lbs with a resulting headspace of ~8mm. 3-4sec preinfusion, pull lever at onset of extraction (couple seconds post preinfusion) I pull again.

WBElektra wrote:Can anyone clear up the best practices to start with on the MCAL?

Once you've been around this site for awhile, you'll probably notice that I frequently post links to previous discussions. Lest anyone think that I'm an embodiment of Google, one of my tricks is the site's "Related topics". It's shown as a list at the bottom of the thread and a navigation link in the upper right corner. Let's see what the magical related topics for this thread reveals (*)...

• Elektra Microcasa a Leva Techniques I
• Elektra Microcasa a Leva Techniques II
• Elektra/Pavoni side-by-side

Not bad! Karl's the board's authority on the Microcasa and authored the first two threads. Steve's the leader of the LMWDP and wrote the third. Offsite I recommend Mark's must-read Elektra Microcasa a Leva Detailed Review. I don't agree with his conclusion ("Espresso, hands on, at its finest. I've turned out shots better than I've gotten from a La Marzocco. Only the high learning curve, and the overheat issues prevent a '10'."), but his how-to steps are spot on.

(*) This is why I discourage excessive use of acronyms like MCaL, especially in the topic title... it makes it harder to refind older discussions if there's multiple keywords for the same thing.