I find 1 pull makes too small a shot in my La Pavoni Europiccola (Millennium) but 2 is a little too much. I find about 1.5 oz would be ideal.
Is there a recommended technique for 1 and a half pull? For example shall I shorten the 1st or the 2nd pull? Shall I do 10 sec. prebrewing in each pull? For the 2nd pull is it recommended that the lever is raised quickly or slowly like for the 1st?

All you need to do is to interrupt the first pull, bring the lever back up and complete the second pull with proper time management.

You might also be interested in that thread:
http://www.home-barista.com/forum...piccola-t4937.html

Channeling on the second stroke is a common problem with levers as the puck gets thrashed during depressurization/repressurization. The effect is worse if you have lots of headspace since the puck loses more of its adhesion. Personally I'm a one pull kind of guy. If you want more volume, try the Fellini Move (no snide remarks). That is, lift the lever to fill, wait a few seconds, press down gently a little (or for spring lever espresso machines, let the lever descend a little while resisting the spring pressure), then gently return back to the top for a refill, and finally finish the downstroke (or for spring lever machines, gently release the lever and let the spring take over). That gets the puck nearly fully saturated with a full chamber. You don't want to go to the point of beading during preinfusion since it will do more damage to the puck as you pull back up. With this trick you can get a full stroke with the puck already wet.

Thanks ogatasan for the related discussion from Best advice for pulling doubles, below is the key excerpt:

Alchemist wrote:Mostly, IMO, you are looking to get something out of a lever that simply isn't meant to be. Small(er) basket levers are not 58 mm pump machines and expecting the same thing from them is heading down a path to disappointment. Some people go for multiple pulls but I have never found this to have much success. The puck cracks, channeling occurs and quality decreases.

The 3 best things I can offer are this:

1) Quantity is not quality. 1.25 oz of great espresso is better than 2.5 oz mediocre espresso.
2) Do a couple of very small micro pulls (5 lbs pressure, 20% down) as part of your preinfusion. That will maximize volume.
3) Prep 2 double baskets and pull into one cup in succession.

Mostly, don't try in vain to match another machines performance or your idea of what you think it should be able to pull. Pull the best shot it is capable of pulling and enjoy it.

Volume out of the piston cylinder is a function of volume in. You can increase volume in by 1) the "Fellini" preinfusion ( a short half-pull before preinfusion), 2) reducing the dose of coffee (more headspace in the basket) 3) grinding more coarsely, 4) taking a partial or full second pull, or any combination of these.

With my spring lever a doppio requires at least two pulls. I do not have a naked PF so I can't watch for uneven extraction, but the firmness of the puck and the taste of the espresso suggests that the second pull is not disturbing the puck. With care a second pull is possible on the Pavoni - I'm looking at an undisturbed two-pull puck right now. And the espresso was good.

PC

Thanks you all folks. Yes I am experimenting some degradation of the shots every time I am doing a second pull that's why I wondered about my technique. Your posts and the links you mention are very useful and I'll certainly try Peacecup's suggestions as well as the Fellini move (wow I saw that movie long time ago but wasn't in lever machines yet...)

peacecup wrote:With care a second pull is possible on the Pavoni

Peacecup do you mean I should make a slow move when raising the lever for the 2nd pull?

I just pulled another two-pull shot - here are the steps I used:

1. Have everything (cup, basket, portafilter) warm and ready - I leave the PF locked in, and dose into the basket while it is flat on a plate
2. Wait until the machine is up to preferred pressure (for me this is ~0.75-1.0 bar)
3. With the PF removed, raise the lever until just before the valve opens
4. With the lever held there, engage the PF
5. Raise the lever the remaining distance
6. As soon as the filling stops (a slight hissing sound as air is displaced by water), pull the lever down 1/4-1/2 way down and raise it back up to the top (if you saw drips from the PF stop a little shorter next time, but see the note below) THIS IS THE FELLINI
7. Once the piston is re-filled, start your pull.
8. Pull to the bottom, or stop when you have enough espresso or if it starts to blond
9. Once you complete that pull, if you want more espresso quickly raise the lever and begin another pull
10. Stop when blonding begins.

Alternately, you could make the first pull (not counting the Fellini) a 1/2, then make the second a full


The Fellini pull was posted from a video by Dr. Jim a long time back. Apparently the Italian baristas used this with lever machines sometimes - Dr. Jim noted that they would not put the cup under the PF until after the Fellini pull was done, because the did not want to catch those first drips. I've sometimes done the same. If you see some drops during the Fellini pull you can take a shorter pull, grind a little finer, or simply let them fall, either into the cup or the drip tray before placing the cup.

Basically, with a good espresso roast and anything close to the proper grind you should be getting a very nice espresso no matter what method you use.

PC

I just did a test of the multiple-pull on my loaner La Pavoni Pro, with very pleasing results. A little background:

I dosed pretty full (no scale but 14-15g?). The beans are Heritage Northwest Espresso roast date SEPTEMBER 24, 2007, (a month old) and kept in the freezer in the original bag for most of the past month.

I did a regular (non-Fellini) ~10 sec preinfusion, and had planned to use two full pulls for a 1.5 - 2 oz espresso, BUT, the dose was so full that the first pull yielded very little espresso so I took TWO more pulls for a total of three. Total volume was ~1.75 oz, near the top of the 2-oz shot glass, with very little blonding. The espresso had nice crema (esp. for month-old freezer beans) and was rich and sweet.

[gvideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8662028219459368822[/gvideo]

PC

peacecup wrote:...I took TWO more pulls for a total of three. Total volume was ~1.75 oz, near the top of the 2-oz shot glass, with very little blonding. The espresso had nice crema (esp. for month-old freezer beans) and was rich and sweet.

Thanks for posting a video. It may be the lighting, but the stream looks light for the second pull and translucent for the third. Also the stream is curving inward and twirling, which is a telltale sign of channeling. I believe your report that it was rich and sweet, but I wonder what a "test of thirds" would reveal. Or if you really want to go nuts, Andy's "test of sixths."


Schecter EvaluSpromatic; photo courtesy Mark Prince (flickr)

Well, the multiple cups idea is something I've always wanted to try, but I've been too lazy. And I've seldom been dissatisfied with multiple pulls on my spring lever, because, just as with a pump machine, I just pull the cup whenever the shot looks to beginning to blond.

I posted the Pavoni shot in the video as an example, that even with three full pulls I was not getting serious blonding, and the taste was fine. This was only the second time I'd tried updosing and multiple pulls on the Pavoni. Tomorrow I'll try to refine the technique.

Dan, why not take a try updosing and pulling twice on the Elektra lever? Since we can't easily compare tastes, I'd like to hear your impressions of how it works.

PC

peacecup wrote:Dan, why not take a try updosing and pulling twice on the Elektra lever? Since we can't easily compare tastes, I'd like to hear your impressions of how it works.

As I suggested earlier, minimizing the headspace does help minimize the damage of a two pull on the Microcasa. The taste of the second half is generally inoffensive, so I'll include two pulls if it's cappuccino bound. For straight shots, it depends on the blend, the dosage, and the whimsy of the espresso gods. I think this was a two pull and was still in ristretto territory:


An impromptu photograph of Paradise Roasters Havana Espresso Reserve

I'll skip the second pull if I downdose (12 grams or less). The brew ratio will be in the 60-100% range (short double to ristretto).