The ease of maintenance and short warm-up time for the Strietman is appealing compared to the closed-boilers. I think I also value the flexibility of a manual lever more than the convenience of a spring lever. So maybe I'm just trying to talk myself out of buying a Strietman at this point...

JuhlaMokka wrote:How come you want to replace it with a Meticulous? Do you find it hard to pull consistent shots? I'm pondering getting the Gabor gauge kit if I get a CT2 for this reason. Both Meticulous and OE Argos looks interesting but I'd like to buy a proven product, so these are off the table for now.

It's extremely easy to pull consistent shots and if meticulous can't do that, I would be sticking with the strietman. There is really no great reason for wanting to switch but maybe it's wanting to try semi auto since I have always only used manual. But I still want open boiler so meticulous is literally the first to have that and semi auto.

Reasons for switching? Wanting to use standard size portafilter that are 58mm, being able to pull longer shots, have more clearance to use more types of cups, not having to slide it out and back in every day to use it, smaller footprint on the counter, fits in better with rest of my gear, not having to take lid off to refill water, and skip the work of manually pulling if it can pull good shots consistently.

After some soul-searching I'm thinking my approach has not been the right one. I already own a manual lever without steam that I'm mostly happy with. So if I'm looking to treat myself to a new machine, why not have it both ways and add a spring lever that can steam?

I disregarded the ACS Vesuvius Evo Leva at first since it seemed a bit too expensive for me. However, after more research it does tick many boxes. Quick startup time? Check! Easy-ish maintenance? Check! Precise temperature control and some pressure profiling? Check! For a dual-boiler spring lever the price doesn't seem as outrageous anymore.

Corgo wrote:When filled, the ct2 can pull 5 back to back shots easily. It also excels with lighter roast but I found I needed to preinfuse for 1.5-2 mins. Everything under 1.5mins came out sour while around 2 min mark was bright. .

Just to note, I've never heard of anyone needing to preinfuse for so long to avoid sour underextracted espresso with a strietman. That sounds like something unique to your situation.

It was literally advice from strietman himself to go that long and he said it is normal to do so for light roast. I find it unlikely the advice from the creator is something only I do. Sure the beans I used were extremely light so maybe only a minute or so will do. But strietman was very clear in our communications it is the norm for light roast to have long preinfusion times on the ct2.

I didn't say that I haven't heard of anybody preinfusing for that long. I said that I haven't heard of anybody needing to preinfuse for that long on a ct2 to avoid sour underextracted espresso (with quality light roast coffee and a capable grinder). I've been using one long enough myself and have had enough conversations with other users to know that myself and many others preinfuse for much less time with the machine and enjoy great espresso with light roasts. All I'm suggesting is if you need to use a 1.5-2 min long preinfusion to avoid underextraction then it has something to do with your situation (grinder, beans, tastebuds, etc) making it necessary, because the machine is plenty capable.