Stevebcoffee wrote:That's the figure I've seen when running through coffee for the L1, 7bar down to 4bar. When I tried to mimic my L1 profile on my Vesuvius, using the same grind that I use for the L1, I needed to go to 7 bar and down to 4 as well to get a shot in the same time. Preinfusion time on the V was a little longer as the pump takes longer to get the water to the puck vs almost instantaneous on the lever. Overall the shots were similar but the Vesuvius can't mimic declining temp.

The Vesuvius E61 machine, indeed cannot mimic a declining temp, it has a very flat temperature profile. The Vesuvius Evo can be set up for a declining temp with quite a wide range of options. I don't use the test bed like that as I prefer the flatter temp profile...but I believe people with production machines are experimenting with declining temps, some even with rising temps.

Pardon me if I've missed it, but what is the pricing on these machines, and where are folks in the US ordering from?

Pricing depends on when you order, as they are offered at a discounted price to build a reputation. But, the ballpark is ~$4k USD. You can get a quote by emailing the company directly <info@elcor.it>
Here is their website for your reference: http://www.elcor.it/home-en/ (Hard to find if you're only searching for ACS)

Thanks @GregoryJ

From what I understood after emailing Paolo is that there will eventually be at least one US vendor to carry them. No word on exactly when.

After a few months of ownership how is the Evo Leva performing?

I was in the first batch of machines sent out in June. Like many, the packaging on my machine was damaged by the courier. The common theme seems to be the 4 feet that are nailed to the pallet become knocked away. Due to the excellent standards of packaging, this does not damage the machine. I decided to keep mine standard, using the supplied baskets and shower screen. All I have done, since I drink medium to medium plus beans is adjust the heater cartridge and new brew boiler settings to reflect.
My routine is to use the built in timer to switch on the heater cartridges and brew boiler for my morning americano. Around 11am I knock the steam boiler on and this takes about 12 minutes to come to temp, long enough to prepare for my one milk based drink of the day. If I am expecting company, I will turn both boilers on then knock the steam boiler off until needed. I did this today and when I switched it back on it took around 4 minutes to come back up to temperature.
The first thing to get used to, is the smaller pf and basket are much deeper resulting in the basket with an 18 gm dose, once tamped not being more than half full. There is a lot of information available to you as you pull the shot. My pre-infusion is generally around the 2 bar mark and once I cock the lever, it reached 11 to 11.5 bar. I do the trick that @DavecUK does of forgetting the scales and killing the shot by removing the cup at approximately 7 bar. I fully accept that this is not scientific but it produces a ball park drink, which satisfies the excuse that I have for taste buds!
Others more curious than I, have taken the lever out to compare it to previous machines they have owned and I think over on CFUK, @The Systemic Kid is doing a video tomorrow showing how easy it is to remove the lever and grease. Another CFUK member @Norvin has made a tool that makes removing the piston a doddle
https://coffeeforums.co.uk/topic/55415- ... ent=854402
Onto coffee now, I was slightly concerned about the extra grunt needed to pull the lever. First off, the machine comes supplied with 2 sets of pads for the feet. One is felt and the other rubber. By putting felt on the back and rubber on the front, the machine is rock steady and does not move on the bench top. The lever requires a bit more grunt to handle the dual spring but once momentum happens, you do not have to increase the pull levels, unlike on my l! which I find to bring the lever through its cycle requires increasing force. You will have tour own thoughts on how to pull the shot, but I generally once dialled in, wait for the first couple if drips to appear before raising the lever. Again, some may not agree but I am not concerned about how long the shot takes to pull. Obviously I am aiming for normal shot limits ie about 2:1 ratio in 25 to 35 seconds, but as long as the shot tastes ok and they generally do, then I do not worry! It is a very forgiving process!
If anyone has any specifics, please ask and I and others who keep an eye of your forum will try and answer them

pizzaman383 wrote:After a few months of ownership how is the Evo Leva performing?

Been running the Evo since beginning of June. Short answer - it delivers. Had become accustomed on my previous lever to pulling shots in excess of 40-45 secs to tame under-extraction issues with lighter roasts which often led to getting some bitter over-extracted notes. Not so with the Evo. Can pull shots in the 25-30 sec range, including a 10-12sec PI, which produces fruit forward shots without mouth puckering acidity. Pushing extraction time to 35-40 secs mutes the acidity without introducing bitter over-extracted notes. The key, for me, is the ability to fine tune extraction temp using a combination of tweaks to brew boiler and group heater temps. As both are PID controlled, it's easy to fine tune to personal preference. At the moment, am running brew boiler at 102c and group heaters at 94c. Haven't bothered playing around with PI pressure which is running at 1.5bar.

Really awesome. It seems that the Evo is living up to expectations. Has ACS posted prices or options on the machine?

You have to contact Paolo at ACS for prices and options. Those who backed the project early have paid around $3,333 including delivery but it's unlikely that price will hold indefinitely.