Hi, I'm a newbie trying to decide on my first machine.
I'm thinking of going with a lever machine, the main thing that I'm concerned with is the shot volume.
The idea of doing two pulls or 1.5 pulls seems to be scary.

Is there a machine that will do a full double with one pull? Or is there a machine that is easiest to perform a second pull?

Thanks!

I guess the real question here is how much do you want out of a single pull?

And is the machine you are looking at able make that in a single pull?

Is that single pull giving you the taste you want?

There is more than one yank on the lever to look at.

Ciao Red,

Among home levers, the Gaggia Achille is one of the very few that use a standard 58 mm PF, and as the video "Classico" on this page indicates, you can get a pretty big shot from it:

http://www.home-barista.com/gaggia-achi ... ideos.html

However, it is worth noting that the Achille has been phased out in Europe and may not be available in the US much longer. I'd put it down to the leakage complaints -- however, that's not a deal-breaker for those skilled at DIY repairs.

Happy Brewing,
Wayne

None that I know of (save maybe the Achille) have a full 60 ml group volume. If your taste runs towards the lower brew ratios (i.e. the traditional double is 14g/60 ml) you'll need to pull twice or get a commercial lever. Or, pull two 30ml shots.

There have been lots of threads about brew ratios, and it seems that most people's taste these days run towards higher brew ratios, i.e. 14g:45ml or less. Some will debate whether its even possible to make a good traditional double.

You might ask how many of those with commercial levers ever let the pull go a full 60ml.

You're misguided, OP. Just my opinion, of course. Of the many things to be concerned with in selecting a lever machine, shot volume ought to be way way way down on your list of priorities.

The classic single is a tiny drink. Have two!

I agree with Timo
volume is the list that I will consider
quality of the machine components and material
the first

This raises an issue that's bothered me for a while. Why doesn't someone make a lever machine with a full commercial grouphead? Other than the Gaggia Achille, which apparently is on the way out due to quality control issues, there aren't any home levers that sport big commercial style groups. Commercial lever machines have large groups with ~ 58mm PF's, right? Why can't someone make a true "prosumer" lever that has the commercial group with a smaller boiler and case? Seems like this would be the best of both worlds. Not that there's anything wrong with some of the current lever machines like the Lusso, Pavoni or Elektra, but I've always thought that they were somewhat limited by the small group, which makes a smaller shot and heats up faster. Any thoughts?

Red West wrote:Hi, I'm a newbie trying to decide on my first machine.
I'm thinking of going with a lever machine, the main thing that I'm concerned with is the shot volume.
The idea of doing two pulls or 1.5 pulls seems to be scary.

I don't find it "scary" but I'm not much of a fan of double pulls. My experience (which is not necessarily confirmed by others) is that you don't get very good shots using a second pull. With all levers that I use (Brugnetti commercial, Caravel, Peppina and Bruni) preinfusion and one full stroke of the lever are optimum for my taste. Volumes vary - with my machines the smaller machines pull smaller (but delicious) volumes, the commercial machine pulls shots similar in size to a pump machine. If I want more volume I pull another shot.

Beezer wrote:This raises an issue that's bothered me for a while. Why doesn't someone make a lever machine with a full commercial grouphead?

Although we in this forum are great fans of levers, I suspect that the fact that it is, relatively speaking, a small market has something to do with it. There are, however, one group commercial machines like the Conti and Termazona (Aurora), that are small enough to be adapted to some kitchens. While I have, and enjoy, both small and large lever machines the commercial lever is the "star" performer here.