The question I have is where can I get one in the US? If not in the US, how can I get one without paying hundreds and hundreds in shipping?

1st Line is probably best place for US as they are the Lelit distributor. Patience is needed however with Lelit popularity and EU shipping problems. My guess is another month or two before anyone has any stock.

Does the MaraX have feet on the back? I can see small footers on front of the machine from photos but can't tell about the rear. My movable counter space area is only 15 3/4 deep and with the MaraX 16 inches deep hoping I could have an inch or two hang off the back and still be level.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0jdBO7Y ... p3GQ#Omaha


The MaraX does indeed have rear feet. You have a bit over an inch of overhang from the edge of the back feet to the back of the machine.

Thank you! Looks like it just might fit.

Can you rinse your portafilter under the group quickly between shots without messing with the brew temp or steam pressure? I recall reading somewhere you can't and have to clean the filter under the tap or brush the grinds out.

Also is there a conclusive answer to if the machine is actually set to 9 bar from factory (and the 10 bar reading is due to the way it's measured)? Or is the gauge accurate and if I want 9 bar I should adjust the machine? I've seen convincing arguments for both answers but surely there's factual evidence! Haha

Hi, I'm looking for my first espresso machine and considering the Lelit Mara X but interested in its performance making milk based coffees.

If I want to make 6 lattes at a time, how long would this take approximately? Would you pull 2 shots, then steam milk for 2 cups, then do the next 2 etc?

I've read that if you leave more than 5mins between shots you need to wait 15mins for the head to cool down. Does this have any impact on making multiple milk drinks or is it just of the machine is doing nothing?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

I have read that if you keep making shots within the 5 minute time window should be ok for 3-4 or if many milk drinks maybe better to flip into normal HX mode.

What I am wondering is if one makes a shot in the morning then wife comes downstairs 6 minutes later, I now have to tell her she has to wait 14 minutes. I don't see that going over too well especially with the cost of the machine and the usual morning attitude of need coffee now we both are in.

Is it possible to avoid the 15 minute wait by switching it to HX mode, doing a flush and then shot or is there a several minute wait to get into HX mode? I have been leaning towards the Mara X as first machine but this possible situation is having me reconsider.

How well does the warming top of the Mara keep a cup of espresso warm? I could make both drinks and leave one on the warmer until my wife comes down. Too much longer and the 15 min window would pass so probably not that big of a deal.

My experience of the Mara X has been pretty good. I simply treated it like a dual boiler and pulled shots whenever i wanted without any temperature management. This gave me no problems, and shot temp rebound is not an issue.

The only time I've noticed the funky internal temperature measurement is the steam pressure occasionally being lower than ideal. This is solved by purging some steam to kick the heat on, then waiting a few seconds while the pressure rises. Not as big deal in my opinion.

I have a group pressure meter, but only installed it with the coffee sensor flow profiling kit. I didn't try it with the standard setup, but don't think I've seen more than 9 bar, even with a choked shot. Most of my shots end up with a peak pressure at around 8.5 bar when using flow control.

Impressions of the Lelit MaraX

I just got my new MaraX. I was initially considering either a Bezzera BZ13 or the Profitec Pro300 for their quick heating, but Jim Piccinich at 1st Line convinced me to go for the Lelit. He argued for the flow control add-on that at was being thrown in as part of a promotion, and argued that the other units didn't really heat as quickly as believed. Since he didn't have the flow controllers in stock and encouraged me to get it even if if meant buying from a competitor (with whom he has a good relationship), which meant he didn't sell me a Bezzera, I couldn't argue against the sincerity of the recommendation.

Having the flow control installed means that I'm still struggling to pull a decent shot. But I can comment on a few issues with the unit that have been commented on by several contributors on YouTube.

1. Standby mode. As mentioned by Kyle Roswell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIwuGZgYej8), the timing of the standby mode is a bit odd. Considering that the unit takes about 25 minutes to heat up, having a standby mode that kicks in after 30 minutes means that you effectively have 5 minutes to pull your shot before it goes to sleep. Luckily, it's not as bad as it sounds. Waking the unit up after it goes into standby is simple (just run some water), and the unit is ready quite quickly if you don't wait too long after it has gone to sleep, partially due to large thermal mass of the grouphead (it stays warm to the touch for several hours after the unit is shut off). I like the idea of standby mode, and in the end it's not a big deal, but Lelit could have been more clever about this.

2. The feet. As described by Kyle Roswell and the guy from The Majestic Bean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA_YuTux3M4), the feet on the MaraX suck. When you have to drag the unit out from under a cabinet to refill it, it's a real pain. You can't get your fingers under the unit, and the rubber feet don't slide at all. Perhaps someone could come up with a third party solution.

3. The flow control. Granted I haven't practiced very long at all, but the Lelit flow control unit does not seem very well designed. The control paddle goes from fully closed to as open as possible over a maximum rotation of about 240 degrees, limited by the handle bumping into the chassis. This is in stark contrast with a unit that has been demonstrated in a number of YouTube videos, which can be rotated over about 2 full revolutions (the handle extends over the top of the chassis). My brief experience with the Lelit unit, similar to that expressed by Stephanus Goana (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-yBt8OXyLk) in his video, is that even within that short rotation the flow response is highly non-linear (i.e. most of the change happens within a very narrow part of the total rotation). This really makes it difficult to control the flow profile. I don't want to make this into a research project, so I've decided to replace the original spring in the bottom part of the grouphead (to get back the automatic preinfusion), and try to use the flow control and the grouphead pressure gauge to tune the flow more finely for a particular coffee and grind.

So far I'm happy with the unit. I may end up removing the flow control altogether, if it ends up being more trouble than it's worth.

doram wrote:This means that after warm up time (~24 minutes), you can walk up to the machine any time and brew a shot (without needing a cooling flush as with normal HX machines).

If the machine sits for a long time and I then pull two subsequent shots without doing any cooling flushes, will they both have the same temperature?