Hey guys

I'm thinking about buying a used mini gaggia. I like the looks of it and I tell myself that If it's made by Gaggia then the quality has to be decent at least, but is this true? Is it a decent lever or just a toy?

The mini will not fulfill your commercial lever wants. It can make a decent shot, and can easily control temperature but the piston design is such that it isn't that easy to use. They are pretty cheap, so you can try one for yourself but it might be better to save the money for a Strega or similar and survive with the Pavoni a while.

Don't worry peacecup, i'm not expecting it to perform anywhere close to something like the Strega. I'm planning on getting myself a commercial machine in the future, but i also like trying different smaller and more affordable lever machines. I'm waiting for a Zerowatt CA708 to arrive that i found on ebay and i expect to buy other small machines. It seems to me that the older machines are rather price stable, so if i buy some in a less than good condition, restore it, use it for a bit and then sell it again i don't expect to lose too much money.
As i wrote in my other post the Strega dream is a bit further into the future. I'm moving in a couple of months and i want to be sure that my new place have room for a bigger machine, before i make a big purchase.

And luckily, my Riviera is working again, which i like a lot more than the Pavoni. Don't know what it is about spring levers but once i got used to the shots they make all others shots are kind of "bland". Although my only home experience with non spring levers have been Pavoni and a Gaggia Classic, so i probably shouldn't judge yet.

I like spring levers too. To make a shot on a manual lever like a springed one, after pre-infusing, gradually ease off the lever while maintaining flow rate. The coffee doesn't know the difference whether you are doing this manually or relying on a spring.