My EVO Leva arrived and it's lovely, but the safety system doesn't engage. The lever just comes up very hard and fast and makes a loud bang at the top. The shower screen has the screw in it... Am I missing a setup step? Matt

A new Eureka Mignon or used Super Jolly would fit your needs and budget pretty perfectly. You'll also enjoy the purring quiet

A family member already has the Micra. Is it to vain to want something else? Haha Like when going to restaurants I make sure no one else ordered the same dish

Probably should stay under $700. I'm not overly concerned about retention unless we're talking about 5+ grams. The first dose in the morning doesn't need to be perfect

I'm very certain that this isn't very challenging or even difficult for a good design engineer with decent tools to analyze the system. It boggles my mind why a truly temperature stable machine isn't available. PIDs and computing isn't expensive these days. IMO controlling temperature of a group that holds enough water for a single shot should

2nd hand Mahlkonig K30 Vario might be a reasonable choice. Be aware that most hopper feed grinders will have at least some retention

Is the OP interested in direct plumbing & draining of their machine? How about installing dedicated 120vac & 240vac circuits to service this setup? What about a grinder? Probably a LM Micra might be the next logical step at this point in their travels, providing funds are available

I agree with others, stale coffee is most likely explanation here. Freshly roasted coffee directly from the roaster, whether local or by mail, is 100% a worthwhile investment!

Budget range?

Good, it is. Perfectly consistent, it is not. Others have observed this back to back effect with the Zero here. Not saying it is the culprit, just that it is worth checking and confirming first