My first lever was the Europiccola and I have also used the professional. I found the professional was much more prone to overheating. As far as the addition of P-stats in the later models, There is still a slim chance of controlling temperature at the group and it will overheat quite quickly whenever it is left on. My routine was be to open the machine and make my coffee when I felt the group was at a good temperature. In the older two switch machines a pressure release valve would start to sound at the right pressure/temperature. And this pressure valve with a spring was adjustable. But as soon as I would pull a shot the group would quickly overheat. You can turn off the machine but the group would still continue to overheat. I never weighed my coffee just got used to measuring beans into the portafilter basket then grinding and putting them back into the basket.

It took me some time, maybe a month or so to start to get more consistent shots, I learned that one can not use this machine for more than one or two shots in the morning. Which was fine for me. Steaming was ok. I found the Professional had better steaming capabilities though it overheated quicker.

In my opinion the idea of temperature stability for a good shot with Pavonis is not really possible, but when you get the hang of this machine and turn it on to make one or two shots in the morning, you will learn to get wonderful shots from your machine.

La pavoni is a temperature surfing machine and in my opinion a very good hands on machine to learn on.

My pavonis are retired, I gave one to my son and the other is taken out once in a while for the experience of a totally manual machine. The year or so I used the Europiccola was a great espresso learning experience..

Should the espresso need to pour continuously as I pull?

Yes, once it starts, nothing should cause flow to stop while the lever is continuing to move downward. I never use multiple pulls.

With a thermometer (I use IR) and only doing a single shot during warmup, temp control is OK. I have a two switch machine that bleeds air effectively without doing anything (ie, I see no temp changes or more importantly, any increase in repeatability with any additional air bleeding).

I had a LPV, although a new one. When chasing the white rabbit down the Lever bunny hole, it's really key to have a game plan and stick to it. Andrew@Trimethylpurine gave exactly where I'd start. Also factor in a $15 precision scale that measures to the .1g and you're on your way. I have a Lido E, not your ET paired up with a Cremina for the walk-up shot. The Lido is a great grinder.

Just stick to your process, changing only one variable at a time so you know what dials in nirvana.

Can you tell me which notch you are grinding at? Also my grinder allows me to go 2 notches left of the black zero marker, is that normal? It sounds like it is from what I've seen online.

Is the Acaia worth the insane cost? I wonder if I could even fit a cappuccino cup under my bottomless filter with that scale, certainly wouldn't be able to watch the extraction.

You have 2 basic choices. 1) learn to use this machine by experience and feel without so much instrumentation to cause it to look like a cardiac patient in intensive care, or 2) spend a small fortune on crutches and never really get a handle on it. These machines were never designed for a commercial environment. They are a quick 1 or 2 shot in the morning to get your heart going. The intent is to pull a typical Italian shot not some high volume milk creation.

The grinder is fine. Timing is critical with these machines. You do not need a mega-buck, high bling scale but you must have one that works. This will not break the piggy bank. http://www.amazon.com/ONE-Weigh-Triton- ... 1_2&sr=8-2 Cost 21.00$ with Prime. Weight each dose and keep the weight within 0.1gm accuracy. Find a forgiving coffee and stick with it until you can predict the results. maintain water level at 1/2 of a sight glass with about 1/4" above and below variation so you has a somewhat consistent heatup rate while learning. You can monitor temperature by laying an index finger on the right side of the group bell above the lower swell with the tip touching the connection point to the boiler. You have the proper temperature when you do not want your finger there for more than 5 seconds. Learn to have a consistent rate of lever motion with a max down force of 30 lb, use a bathroom scale. At the nominal 30 lb of force the pull should time out somewhere between 20 to 30 seconds. Tamping will cause no end of inconsistencies but you MUST have proper headroom in the basket, 11mm from rim to coffee and a fix tamp depth tamper will solve this. Set the head space and change baskets to get it all to fit. Then adjust grind to reach the 20-30 lb pull force and 20-30 seconds.

Unrooted wrote:Can you tell me which notch you are grinding at? Also my grinder allows me to go 2 notches left of the black zero marker, is that normal? It sounds like it is from what I've seen online.

Is the Acaia worth the insane cost? I wonder if I could even fit a cappuccino cup under my bottomless filter with that scale, certainly wouldn't be able to watch the extraction.

I think it's a mass manufacturing issue that the black zero marker isn't calibrated to zero, and it's really matter either. It's all about the relative number of notches from zero. On my Lido E, the instructions said start at 4 notches from zero. Your grinder is not the same model as mine, so I'd see what they said. 4 notches worked out pretty well and I might be at 4.5 notches. I have pulled my share of bricks by grinding too fine - start with 4 or 5 and dial to a lower value based on time. At 6, you'll pull the shot in ~5 seconds and it will not be drinkable (in my view). But, then try 1 lower, see what the time is, then do smaller adjustments either way to dial it in.

I would not spend more than $15 for a scale. http://amzn.com/B010HKEDPK This is an example, and Amazon has a bunch of them in this price range.

They key here is to weigh your grinds, pull your shot and see how many grams of espresso are produced. There are some great posts recently that discuss the various types of shots you can pull. A ristretto / lungo / etc are all about the fineness of the grind & the ratio of grinds to shot in a given time.

The only difference between the lido e and et is the folding handle. I ordered up a $15 AWS scale via Amazon last night, the Acaia is obviously much more than I need. Hopefully Acaia, or someone else, can make a smaller, more water resistant one in the future...for half as much!


Also: is it normal for my lever to go up when the machine cools all the way?

Unrooted wrote:...

Also: is it normal for my lever to go up when the machine cools all the way?

LOL I don't know if it's on all lever machines, but with that one my wife used to freak out when the lever seems to rise and fall by itself in cooling. Vacuum pulling the piston up, then gravity pulling the piston back down when the vacuum is relieved.

My wife too!