I Helped Someone With Their La Pavoni

#1: Post by **IamOiman** » January 1st, 2019, 10:36 am

Hi HB,

I don't know where else to post this, but I am feeling pretty great right now after this just happened.

A family friend purchased a La Pavoni Professional and Jolly Grinder 4 Months ago, and has been asking me for assistance on how to use their equipment. Today I finally was able to go, and I could not believe how much fun I had parting my knowledge to others! He was very excited and listened to every piece of advice I could think of and even wrote some of it down.

Before I even came I asked him if he had a proper tamper, and he only had the default plastic 52mm/49mm tamper that was included with the machine. I promptly had him order a cheap 12 euro 51mm tamper on Amazon.it to replace the plastic one.

Once he received the tamper, I started with dialing in the shot on the grinder, as prior to this his grind was way too course (as in it would start immediately coming out of the portafilter with no preinfusion). Since he was using a stepped grinder I emphasized adjusting the weight more once the shot is dialed rather than the fineness. I pulled 3-4 shots while dialing it in and showed him how a proper tamper and shot would 'feel' while pulling down.

He started on his own with my supervision and it took about 2-3 tries before he pulled a shot of 16.5g in 23 seconds that was not bad at all. His shock in the taste difference cannot be understated, and thought what he was pulling before was the best it got.

I also demonstrated the steam wand for him using a 35cl pitcher, but he was more focused on the shot itself but noted meh shots could be used with milk drinks. We probably pulled 30 shots between us while letting the machine cool in between shots (the thermals are much better than my 1991 model I must say).

He seemed satisfied with his equipment and told me he has no plans to upgrade after this demonstration. As I said this was a very fun experience, and I hope I can help others in the future with potential espresso problems.

Has anyone else here experienced similar situations?

#2: Post by **EddyQ** » January 2nd, 2019, 5:52 pm

Nice! Unfortunately, I don't know anyone close to owning a La Pavoni.

However, over the holidays I helped two friends brew better coffee. I started by going over another dimension that they didn't realize existed. Extraction. They both thought that if a coffee was weak it needed more coffee and strong, less coffee. Neither had a decent grinder. One used a refillable POD for a Keurig and the other bought a Aeropress and inexpensive burr grinder for Christmas.

After testing the Keurig, I found it had a consistent 193F water temp. I informed them 200-205F is better, but it may work ok for darker roasts. But then I found it produced a very poor 12% EY. But with a few changes to grind, drilling another hole in the POD and on lowest 6oz setting was able to get 17-19%EY. Not fantastic, but much improved from what they were getting and they learned a bit.

The Aeropress testing went better. Simply adjusting their grinder resulted in ok coffee. We walked through a process including tasting brews. They got a beginners taste of underextraction and went home with ideas of what to tweak.

#3: Post by **Chert** » January 2nd, 2019, 6:18 pm

IamOiman wrote:Hi HB,

I don't know where else to post this, but I am feeling pretty great right now after this just happened...

Has anyone else here experienced similar situations?

It is always fun to make a seemingly routine beverage become something special for someone.

Are you doing head to head comparison, Europiccola and Sorrento yet? That is another kind of enjoyment. (sorry about off topic query)

January 3rd, 2019, 2:50 am

Chert wrote:It is always fun to make a seemingly routine beverage become something special for someone.

Are you doing head to head comparison, Europiccola and Sorrento yet? That is another kind of enjoyment. (sorry about off topic query)

Unfortunately that comparison will not be conducted until August at the earliest. I have my Bosco now, but it is not going to be opened up while I am still in Italy

However, I like to make comparisons to my Elektra and commercial Italian lever machines like the La San Marco.

I can pull similar shots on my MCAL and Pavoni, but it requires less effort and is more consistent with the former. The thing I search for most in espresso is taste followed by the body. Here, I (personally) can pull more full-bodied shots on my Pavoni by far. This may be due to lack of practice on my Elektra, but I may improve on that at some point. For taste, I can sometimes pull better shots on my Elektra than my Pavoni, but this is more due to my inconsistency that can crop up when using a full manual lever.

The La San Marco Group is a special type of grouphead that is used also by Izzo/MyWay for the Pompei and a few others Like the Fiorenzato. It is a hunk of brass that weights in excess of 15+ lbs after holding one. It is a double spring that requires me to almost pull with 25 lbs of force just to cock the lever. It produces some of the heaviest bodied shots I have ever tasted, and if I did not have my Bosco I would probably buy this in lieu of one. It can chug out shot after shot like a caffeinated madman, taking only 45-60 seconds for full lock, extraction, and puck dumping. After my practice at the bar, this machine is one to be respected, as it can injure you if you are not paying attention from lever snap up or hot surfaces. The steam wand is the most powerful one I've used, and feels like a rocket when I hold the pitcher!