Wow, after years of lurking on this forum & others, I finally had a reason to join HB. I won a pre-millenium La Pavoni Europiccola from eBay & am expecting shipment of it this week. Some background info may be in order...

I live in a small West Texas town. There is not a decent cup of coffee or shot of espresso to be found within 100 miles. I had to educate myself to make good coffee. I home-roast my coffee, hand-grind my beans on old German coffee mills, and use a French Press. Those who have tried my coffee all agree it is the best they have ever had. Coffee is great & I love it, but it is time for espresso. Unfortunately, I have never had one good shot of espresso in my life. There are no cafes around that serve authentic espresso. I have been to Starbucks, but the espresso they had was nasty.

Don't feel sorry for me, though. After doing my homework, I knew the time had come to graduate to espresso and pick my machine. I decided on a lever. La Pavoni was a natural choice. I am fully aware of the learning curve, overheating, and all the other issues. These are not problems to me, they are challenges. That is part of the fun. The challenges are welcome.

Here are my questions:

1) The eBay seller has told me the La Pavoni leaks. Is it better order new seals & gaskets now(from Orphan Espresso) or better to wait until it arrives for me to take it apart? If I should order replacement seals & gaskets now, which ones do I get?

2) The La Pavoni is missing its portafilter basket. People complain about the stock Pavoni double basket. Is the Elektra double basket still preferred? Would I need to cut the bottom out of the portafilter to accommodate it?

3) Tamper? Aside from a crappy Hamilton-Beach espresso machine, this will be my first real espresso machine. I have been reading about the 49.4mm tampers. Is that still the recommended standard? Will it work with the Elektra basket?

4) Frothing pitcher? Is a 12 oz pitcher adequate? I intend to get the one-hole steam tip.

5) What else am I missing??

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I want to get into the espresso world the right way. The amount of information on La Pavoni's is overwhelming. I just want the latest and greatest wisdom. I appreciate any answers, advice, and help anyone can provide. Thank you so much in advance.

WestTexasDerek wrote:La Pavoni was a natural choice. I am fully aware of the learning curve, overheating, and all the other issues. These are not problems to me, they are challenges. That is part of the fun. The challenges are welcome.

That definitely sounds like the prerequisite for owning a La Pavoni - you'll do fine.

WestTexasDerek wrote:1) The eBay seller has told me the La Pavoni leaks. Is it better order new seals & gaskets now(from Orphan Espresso) or better to wait until it arrives for me to take it apart? If I should order replacement seals & gaskets now, which ones do I get?

Wait until it arrives. Most likely you'll find plenty of other stuff that needs attention. I've rebuilt mine from the ground up (and modified it quite a bit). If you have any questions on anything, let us all know.

WestTexasDerek wrote:2) The La Pavoni is missing its portafilter basket. People complain about the stock Pavoni double basket. Is the Elektra double basket still preferred? Would I need to cut the bottom out of the portafilter to accommodate it?

I only use a double shot basket on mine. As far as I know, it's stock. Should be fine.

WestTexasDerek wrote:3) Tamper? Aside from a crappy Hamilton-Beach espresso machine, this will be my first real espresso machine. I have been reading about the 49.4mm tampers. Is that still the recommended standard? Will it work with the Elektra basket?

For my La Pavoni, I use a 49.6 mm tamper from Reg Barber.

WestTexasDerek wrote:4) Frothing pitcher? Is a 12 oz pitcher adequate? I intend to get the one-hole steam tip.

12 oz should be fine.

WestTexasDerek wrote:5) What else am I missing??

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I want to get into the espresso world the right way. The amount of information on La Pavoni's is overwhelming. I just want the latest and greatest wisdom. I appreciate any answers, advice, and help anyone can provide. Thank you so much in advance.

I have some videos here, which you might find helpful:

http://www.youtube.com/ray5961

Ray

Thank you, Ray! It shouldn't surprise you that I have already read many of your posts and seen many of your videos already. I appreciate the quick response. Sounds like a good idea to wait until the La Pavoni arrives before ordering parts.

If anyone has anything else to add, feel free.

Derek

WestTexasDerek wrote:Thank you, Ray! It shouldn't surprise you that I have already read many of your posts and seen many of your videos already. I appreciate the quick response. Sounds like a good idea to wait until the La Pavoni arrives before ordering parts.

If anyone has anything else to add, feel free.

Derek

Welcome to the forum, btw!



Speaking of videos, I'm editing one regarding my La Pavoni PID right now. Should be up later today with any luck.

Do you have any photos of your machine (from the ebay auction)?

Ray

A howdy from San Antonio, where you actually can get a decent shot of espresso. On the MCAL double basket, I purchased one and would recommend it, along with the pressure gauge and adapter Orphan Espresso sells. You would also get a lot out of a naked portafilter. IMO, the gauge made the most difference in my espresso shots. Hope your grinder is adequate; La Pavonis like quite a fine and even grind.

If you're willing to drive a couple of hours to see what good espresso tastes like, you can go to Sugar Brown's in Lubbock. They have a really knowledgeable staff and can make some fantastic shots. Of course, you're welcome to come to our roasting lab (and play around on our Pavoni), but it's more like a four hour drive. It's good to see a coffee culture developing in West Texas. It's long overdue.

strfish7 wrote:A howdy from San Antonio, where you actually can get a decent shot of espresso. On the MCAL double basket, I purchased one and would recommend it, along with the pressure gauge and adapter Orphan Espresso sells. You would also get a lot out of a naked portafilter. IMO, the gauge made the most difference in my espresso shots. Hope your grinder is adequate; La Pavonis like quite a fine and even grind.

+1 on the naked portafilter. Without it, you are operating in the dark. It's the most important item to have, along with a good quality grinder (the La Pavoni is very touchy about the grind).

Ray

Here is a direct link to my machine from eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=330552029371&si=1SWd4R%252BqhUhyTSciCpEiwshdtEg%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Sounds like the naked portafilter and pressure gauge are must-haves.

I have some hand grinders that seem to produce an even grind. It remains to be seen how well they will play with the La Pavoni.

If I find myself in Lubbock, I will check out Sugar Brown's. I was in San Antonio for Spring Break vacation. Didn't even think to try espresso.

Once I get all my equipment in and set up, I will post pictures. Thank you all.

Hey guys; New here myself and soaking in the info on the lever machines. Derek, good to see someone on here won that La Pavoni on EBAY. I put a bid on it myself, still looking

Ive seen Rays videos as well and they sure help a lot (Thanks Ray)

ANeat wrote:Hey guys; New here myself and soaking in the info on the lever machines. Derek, good to see someone on here won that La Pavoni on EBAY. I put a bid on it myself, still looking

Ive seen Rays videos as well and they sure help a lot (Thanks Ray)

I had to have it. I had bid on several lever machines and each one was sniped at the last second. That was one was mine! There are plenty more left, though. I promise not to drive the price up.