drgary wrote:Congratulations, Julia!

Yes, the ID is something like 51mm and change. Too bad you don't get to go to the Thomas E. Cara shop in San Francisco anymore to soak up the history.

Please show us pix.

You'll want to tune it to maintain about 0.8 bar pressure. You'll use half pumps to bring the group up to temperature. And the temperature you'll measure for will be dialed in by taste because the temperature outside the group won't be the same as actual brew temperature. Don't be surprised if the outside temperature soars after you've started at the desired temperature. Also, I agree that an actual thermometer is better.

It can be annoying to press the lever down on one of these and feel it flex. This is after having the rock-solid Robot. The key here is grinding coarse enough that you won't need to do gorilla pulls.

You'll also refine technique to overcome the air pocket in the group at the start of the pull. It's been awhile since I've owned by third-gen La Pavoni lever. These days I'm mostly using my 1964 machine. But technique may be similar. I guesstimate a lower start temperature (at the outside of the group) and raise the lever for the initial pre-infusion, wait maybe 10 seconds, and if there are no drips, I re-raise the lever once or twice and pump water into the coffee. Some people call this the Fellini method after an old film segment showed a barista re-cocking an old spring lever, but it's unclear what he was doing. There are other methods to avoid spongy pulls, and I'm sure you'll find one.

People complain that these machines aren't temperature-stable. I like being able to temperature surf.

Also, if you haven't already done so, you might take an opportunity to read up on the history of the La Pavoni manual levers and the Professional on the reference website of Francesco Ceccarelli. Your browser will tell you that the site it "insecure" because he hasn't converted it from http to https. I haven't had problems with the site.

baristainzmking wrote:....Good grinders are covered with an MC4 and a Max. I am taking the La Pavoni nice and slow. I know there is a learning curve and am going to enjoy the ride. This is not the machine I will be using first thing in the morning. My Bianca is on a Wi-Fi timer and is ready to go when I am.

mdmvrockford wrote:I will be curious to hear your impression(s) on the La Pavoni after time with it. For others not aware, I am curious because OP has Lelit Bianca (which has flow control and is dual boiler pump machine) and Cafelat Robot (which is a manual lever albeit two levers).

FWIW, I had in my rotation Olympia Express Cremina and Cafelat Robot both in my home at same time for ~ 4 months. For others not aware of LaPavoni and Cremina share some key similarities that have been discussed in detail prior on HB. And prior having both I just had the Olympia Express Cremina (with mods) for ~ 6 years. It was my daily driver espresso brewer and even for (1-3 times/year) parties. Overall for my philosophy of use (<=4 espressos/day) , I greatly prefer the Robot in-the-cup.

ojt wrote:FWIW I think La Pavoni is more suitable for light roasts than dark, due to its tendency to heat "too much".