Hey guys

I have been wondering if some of the bigger spring levers can handle regular milk drinks? I wrote "big levers" to avoid excluding some machines, since i don't know where the commercial description begins and ends. I know that technically almost all machines that isn't open boiler is capable of steaming milk, and since they can also make espresso then milk drinks can be made. But what i'm wondering is are the drinks like those one would make on a semi auto machine?
To make proper drinks i assume that the shots need to be of a certain size. I know that the quality of the drinks are dependent on the ratio of espresso to milk not the size, but if the shots are very small then i feel like it would get annoying in the long run.
Another thing is the "thickness" of the shot. I haven't owned a bigger lever machine so i can't comment on how thick the shots from commercial lever groups are. All i know is that many lever machines have a reputation of making thinner shots with more flavor clarity. This is a interesting trait if one only drinks espresso, but i fear that the lack of thick shots would be a problem for making milk drinks. I'm hoping that someone with more experience can chime in here?

I'm not really a fan of milk drinks, but i'm asking because i would like the option of making milk drinks for family and friends. I'm thinking about something like a Strega or a vintage lever and while lack of milk drinks aren't a dealbreaker, i would like to know what a potential future machine is capable of.

I think that there is a lot of information out there which can be confusing....... my large lever makes plenty thick, high volume espresso, and stunning milk drinks to boot.

Others' experience may vary.

Any 58mm lever group machine will make shot of sufficient volume for milk drinks.

Levers have a reputation for lower body / higher clarity because they "generally" preinfuse and extract at a lower pressure than pump machines. Levers with stronger springs (pretty much all modern 58mm group levers) will make a shot with a heavy enough body for nice milk drinks.

...or 55mm Lever Groups like the Izzo. I am not sure where the idea about less body comes from, completely contrary to my experience with commercial levers!

No doubt they are very capable of 'normal' milk drinks, most people who have ever tried one of mine rave about it as one of the best coffees they have ever tasted.

Agree OP could be over thinking it a little .
Owned a L1 - made great espresso and milk drinks .
Regarding pre infusion and perceived lower body . Something like an l1p pre infuses at line pressure ( 3bar ) and could give more perceived body with a finer grind .
But not reason why you can flex your brew ratio to give a thicker shot for your milk drinks with a spring lever that's not plumbed
I've been to cafes using faemina levers and londinium and they have all knocked out great milk drinks ( then again so do pump machines )
Great coffee > good grinder > some skills and most machines can knock out great milk drinks . ...
If you want to make 12 oz buckets you may struggle to get more than 40 g out of a spring lever but at that point it's debatable what your tasting anyway ....

Small shots are typical of the Zacconi home groups (PV, Sama, Riviera spring group, etc.). They pull a shot that is the size of a classic Italian ristretto.

Commercial lever groups pull double shots. If you want to make a single shot on a commercial lever group, you have to take the cup out from under the portafilter halfway through and let the second half of the shot run out.

You should have no trouble at all making milk drinks on a commercial lever machine.

I don't know what "normal" is in this context, but I've just drunk with great pleasure my morning cappuccino, pulled from my L1. The ratio was 29g espresso combined with 3.5oz of steamed milk (which expands to fill a 5oz cup).
Matt

Seems to me as if a hone lever can make doubles like a pro lever can make singles...all by using the rigjt basket size.
As far as I'm concerned both can make cappa's following the classic 'recipe' one third espresso one third milk one third foam....the result may differ in volume but both are enjoyable, at least my usual morning commute is half the pain with a home lever made cappa.

I have to confess that I really like making cappuccinos with the MCAL (Micro casa a leva) spring lever. I also have to admit that it took some experimenting to get the technique. It also requires replacing the stock steam tip with a single hole one with a diameter close to 1.4mm. (Note the thread on the wand is M6x0.75 NOT M6x1.0) One thing that makes the MCAL good for this is the fairly high boiler pressure, usually a bit over 1.0 bar. This makes perfect foam after one develops the technique.

One also needs a correctly sized steaming pitcher, a small espresso receiving pitcher, and suitably sized serving cups. The traditional stoichiometry for cappuccinos is 1:1:1. The amount of suitable espresso determines the total volume, though one can modify slightly the milk and foam ratios to taste.

As far as I am concerned, suitable espresso for making cappuccinos is horrible as straight espresso. I like to start with about 6 grams of medium to light roasted robusta and about 11 grams of another medium roast coffee. I grind this and prepare this while the machine is warming up. I also put around 100 mL of milk in a 250-300 mL stainless pitcher. (Ideal to me is the cream pitcher from the Frieling service set.)

When the machine is warmed up I steam the milk. When the pitcher just gets to the point of being too hot to touch I stop the steaming operation. Then I set the pitcher aside.

Then I make the espresso shot, using 2 or 3 short pulls before the final pull. This makes the hideous bitter espresso that, to me, makes delicious cappuccios. (sometimes I sweeten this espresso, sometimes not.)

I dump the espresso into a china cup. (The one that I found that is the correct size is from the Lenox Liberty china set. I toured several antique shops looking for one that seemed the right size while I was setting up the system.) I then pour the milk foam into the cup off centre so that the milk mixes completely with the espresso. Then I dump the foam on top.

A normal milk drink in Italy is a 7g:30g (solo) shot plus ca 150 ml milk. A 6-oz cappuccino cup. That's why all the classic cups, NP, IPA, etc are 6oz. If you order a cappuccino in southern Italy where they still commonly use lever machines, they use a single basket. If you order two they use a double basket and split the shot. Any commercial lever should be able to do the same.

FWIW I make four 6-oz cappas every day with my home levers - I use 15g in and 30g out, plus the 150 ml milk. These are so good I couldn't justify the space or cost of a commercial lever to do the same thing. Maybe in the distant future if I have the space and cash, but even then it hardly seems worth it to heat 5 liters of water to pull a few 30 ml shots.