Pawel,

If you are concerned with micromanaging temperature, I'm not sure any of the lever machines commonly available will work. They all, as Dave notes, use pressure to push water to the group - and this water therefore is hot - ~230F (Pressure increases the boiling point). The very large piece of brass, known as the group on lever machines, draws away the extra heat, allowing proper brew temperature. This is why they tend to overheat during prolonged use. Eventually the group cannot absorb enough heat to cool the water sufficiently.

Managing these temperatures to +/- 1 degree, therefore will be very difficult. That said, there is a very long list of very satisfied, and some very discriminating, lever users. This is because lever espresso tastes great, and because using a lever espresso machine is a beautiful experience. Somehow each of these users has developed means to obtain the brew temperatures they like, and you will too.

Any of the commonly available lever machines (Pavoni, Elektra, Ponte Vecchio) will make a great espresso, and will be a joy to use. You'll need to decide between spring and manual levers, and plenty has been written about each.

Good luck,

PC

I quite enjoyed reading through this smackdown and was most interested in comparisons of the Mcal and the Europiccola especially since I have a Europiccola myself.

My biggest takeaway from all this is that each of the machines have their own characteristic - be it manual lever or spring assisted lever. However, are the differences between the Lusso and the Mcal minute enough that we can classify them as of the same character? For someone new to espresso is the difference actual so great that he/she can taste the difference between say the Mcal and the Lusso?

For me the difference between my europiccola and my NS Oscar is a 'softer' edge on the manual vs the Oscar HX semi-auto pump. I was convinced of getting a lever after trying some espresso at Lux coffeebar in Phoenix. They have a 3 group manual 'spring' lever machine there. As is often the case for me I always order an espresso prior to ordering a cappuccino to check basics. I found the commercial lever to have an even softer edge compare to my europiccola. I can probably drink a big gulp of espresso's from there. Of course this could relate to the person behind the lever.

It seems to me that most if not all commercial levers I see mentioned here in HB are of the spring lever type. Is this true?

Is the softer edge due to the pressure from a spring is lower - <9 bar? If commercial levers are mostly spring type, why then are semi-auto pumps recommended at 9 bar? I'm assuming this has been debated before, being a relative newbie I'd appreciate a link to such posts.