La Pavoni Professional. Review and tips.

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
pandabeans
Posts: 4
Joined: 2 years ago

#1: Post by pandabeans »

I'm bored right now and feel like writing about my experience with a La Pavoni professional machine after about 3 years of almost daily use. I consider this my first real espresso machine.
I have come to a point where I can make some really good espresso. Some of the best coffee I've ever had has come out of this little machine and I lived in Australia for 3 years (yes, I have visited Melbourne and their best cafes). So I know what good coffee is supposed to taste like.

Firstly, this machine is wonderful. If you know what you're doing, you can get excellent shots. If you don't know what you're doing, you're going to pull horrible shots and might even believe the machine sucks. I've been there. Surprise surprise, I sucked not the machine. The only thing that has broken on the machine was a seal around the glass water line which I fixed on my own. I'm handy and can fix just about anything so to me it was easy enough that I can't even remember doing it. I like that. I like being able to easily service this machine. The boiler also did get loose, that was an easy fix too though.

Before I talk about coffee, I will say that my go to drink is either an iced latte or hot latte. I include this so you have some reference.

I have tried many different amounts of ground coffee for the portafilter, I find 14.2g to be the perfect amount for me. Anything larger than that and you're going to have to grind coarser to get a decent ratio. With 14.2g, I get a perfect 2:1 with an optimal grind setting. One thing that I have recently discovered that makes a huge difference in my consistency is using a coffee filter (51mm) on top of my puck. I find the chances of channeling is almost nonexistent. I would love to use another filter at the bottom of the puck, but unfortunately can't find a 47-48mm sized filter.

To pull the shot, you should wait for the grouphead to come up to temp. I don't use a thermometer strip like some do, but I find that pulling a "shot" without the portafilter does a decent job at getting the grouphead at the right temp. Usually the 2nd shot is the best, then 3rd one starts getting a bit too hot.

Before you put the portafilter in, I recommend you bring the lever up to just before the water comes out. Then, without moving the lever lock in the portafilter. The reason you do this is so you don't suck the puck up which will created channeling around the puck. Doing this makes a noticeable difference is consistency. You need to make sure that you lift the lever slowly, you do not want to let in a bunch of water and disturb the puck. It should take about 5sec to get the lever all the way up from the moment it starts filling the portafilter up. My pre infusion time is 12seconds. After this I move the lever slowly downwards until I feel resistance. Then I apply a decent amount of pressure and ease off towards the end. The entire process from the moment water starts entering the portafilter to finishing the shot, takes ~30sec. It's hard to describe how much pressure you should be putting on the lever. If I had to take a guess, it would be roughly 20lbs. It should feel like how it feels like cutting a cool stick of butter. There's resistance, but not so much that you get stuck and not so little that there's almost no pressure required to create decent flow. I highly recommend you weigh your shots afterwards. This is what helped me dial in the right amount of pressure/flow.

When it comes to steaming, get rid of the 3 hole tip. Don't even bother. Get a one hole steam tip. I got mine from oe and it works flawlessly. You can get great microfoam with this machine. If you're not, you need to watch some more tutorials. I will say that the larger the pitcher, the more difficult it is because of the boiler being so close. I think this machine does better steaming in smaller pitchers because of this. I have been using a 20oz pitcher which I have now decided is too big. I am waiting for my 15oz pitcher now which I believe will be the perfect size for this machine when it comes to steaming 6oz of milk for lattes. I have tried 6oz in my 12oz pitcher and I prefer using the 20oz.

Anyway, if anyone has questions or wants to know ask away. Hopefully this helps some new la pavoni users.