drgary wrote:Comparable in price won't really help you choose a lever you'll like. There are manual levers (Olympia Express Cremina) that are comparably priced to spring levers (Elektra Microcasa a Leva), that are not much less expensive than prosumer levers (Bezzera Strega).

Do you want a manual lever, a spring lever with a home-sized group (Microcasa, Ponte Vecchio/Sama Export or Lusso), or a single group machine with a commercial spring lever (Strega and others)? Did you try something like any of these at Bodka?

And this is why I'm here...I really don't have a clue what I want. I think I used a spring lever at davids. I want control. I'm a control freak Roasting, brewing, espresso, etc.

It's just an older Astoria lever. I don't know which model.

To the question of pricing your machine, checking the eBay sold listings will give you a sense of that, including comparable models. Or, you might keep your current machine and try with a completely manually controlled lever machine, maybe even a vintage one.

I've been pulling shots the last two days with a 1st generation La Pavoni Europiccola. It's vintage, although there are sources where you can get them restored. It would go counter to being a control freak and introduce you to the analog world where espresso started. A few hundred $ will get you one of those.



My favorite lever espresso machine is a small commercial unit where I added a PID to control temperature to the degree. The spring provides a consistent pull to eliminate one variable.

Those are cool...I'll start digging around with what was shared so far. Thanks

If you want to go very basic and learn about the lever experience, I would suggest something very analog, the Arrarex Caravel. They don't cost much, you can measure the temperature in the kettle with a thermometer since it's open kettle. And you can manually control pressure as much as you want.

The Arrarex Caravel

That seems much more basic than I was hoping for. I'll give it a look though.

Simple, perhaps - but it gives you a lot of control...

I guess my biggest reservation is getting something simple and in a month want some new. I like my e61 and have no desire to upgrade it to a nicer semi. Hope that makes sense

An upgrade-proof lever ... wrong hobby!

What you might do, though, is see if anything appeals to you in this thread. Just browse and see if something catches your eye.

Lever Espresso Machine Gallery

drgary wrote:An upgrade-proof lever ... wrong hobby!

Crap! This coffee hobby..Geez