My rebuilt Faemina is on its way home from OE, and I'd like a little assistance with lever shot-pulling specifically for the Faemina. One question specifically that I'd like addressed is how mechanically does the length of time that you hold the lever down affect the pull, and what is a good starting point in seconds to start from? Anyone with experience using a Faemina that has general advise would be greatly appreciated.

I believe that Doug of OE said that foaming milk with a Faemina just overheats the group faster; for cappuccinos an alternate method of foaming the milk will keep the temp down for making the espresso correctly instead of the foamed milk.

No Faemina users out there who want to help me???

Bluecold,
Thanks for the response. I am new with a quality lever machine, so please bear with me. Pre-infusion is wetting the puck prior to extracting? to do this you just allow a little water into the pressure chamber by moving the lever slightly?

Not many people here own Faeminas sadly, me included . Gorgeous machine though. Maybe Doug has some tips learned on the Faeminas that have gone through OE. In any case, please keep us posted on your experience with it. Maybe you will become the expert!

Bluecold wrote:Nope preinfusion happens when you pull down the lever completely and hold it there

The Faemina has a unique 2 part piston design, as soon as you start pulling the lever, water flow begins.By pulling down on the lever, you release pressure on the lower half of the piston, and water enters the puck for pre-infusion.Dougs OE video of the Faemina explains it nicely and shows it in action

OE's video doesn't show the lever during the pull and he doesn't offer any discussion regarding pre-infusion. All I can tell is that he holds the lever down for about 10 seconds and then releases it.

Like many lever machine fanatics, my first lever was a La Pav EPC8 which lays a good groundwork for temperature management, pre infusion, dosing, and pull performance et al and my first spring lever was a La Peppina, which removes the temperature management from the equation but aside from the actual piston movement,all the other important factors remain...the operator still must use skill, a good grinder, and good beans for a decent shot as well as have some overall understanding of espresso in general.

As one's first espresso machine, let alone lever, the Faemina presents a challenge equal to any...particularly in the temperature management area. As with all machines there is no set method to pull the perfect shot, no absolute number of seconds for pre infusion and a lot of trial and error learning can be involved. Thanks to forums such as this, at least one can hope for a simpler path to learning than the classic Italian instruction manual that generally states "fill basket with coffee. For one cup pull lever once, for two cups pull lever twice". But still there is a lot to figure out on your own though the general rules of thumb for making espresso apply to the Faemina.