How could it be that after years with Elektra Microcasa a Leva, I'm suddenly getting better coffee?

#1: Post by **boren** » December 12th, 2018, 2:16 pm

Well, not exactly suddenly, as I did make a few tweaks to my (possibly poor) technique. What I didn't change is the dosage, I still grind 7 gram. I also didn't change the pull - I wait until there are a few drops of coffee, then gently release the lever. I aim for a grind that makes the lever return in about 25 seconds after the pull.

What I did change is:

- I pull the lever at 0.8 instead of 1.0. I didn't adjust the pressostat but instead manually turn the machine on or off to hit this mark before the pull.
- I flush a bit of water before from the machine before attaching the portafilter. I usually avoided it in the past because at 1.0 the coffee was already a little bit too hot and flushing/pulling in this machine makes things hotter.
- Lastly I pour boiling water from a kettle through the portafilter to heat it up before grinding the coffee.

Do any of these changes make sense? The coffee for sure is better with this technique than the more simplistic technique I was using previously.

Note: All of this is with my 2010 MCaL. I haven't received its 2018 replacement yet (see this thread as to why I ordered a new machine).

#2: Post by **larrbo** » December 13th, 2018, 8:12 am

Lever machines are funny that way; while they are mechanically simple, small little changes in one's process can make for huge changes in the cup.

It sounds like pulling cooler shots was the drastic change. While warming up the machine's metal leads for a consistent higher temperature, the truth is the thermal capacity of water hitting the coffee is going to have the larger impact on extraction. Lowering the pressure, and thus the thermal capacity of the water, seemed to help you pull cooler shots.

I'm curious to know if you were flushing water from the machine before, albeit at a lower pressure? Much like opening the steam wand, moving water through the group helps with displacing air pockets as well as temperature stability. This allows for a more even extraction as well, which could have been a factor...

December 13th, 2018, 8:32 am

I didn't use to do any flushing before pulling the lever. I just waited for the machine to reach 1.0 (usually about 12 minutes), then ground the coffee and pulled the shot. I only did extra flushing after the shot, combined with portafilter wiggle to help clean things up.

#4: Post by **redbone** » December 13th, 2018, 9:19 am

Your new technique is practically my standard technique on the Faemina and every other lever I use. Why not just adjust your P.S. to 0.8, purge boiler, flush with p.f. in to heat up group and cup then place basket in and pull shot. Found heat strip on group to be very helpful.

Took me a week of adjustments on the F.Faemina to get the temp just right, this also meant starting off with the same water level in boiler all other parameters dose and grind stayed the same. Found heat adjustment easier on the Faemina then on the L.Pavoni Pro since it was all controlled via screw adjustments on the boiler cap as opposed to flipping the machine over to access a P.stat.

December 13th, 2018, 9:54 am

Sounds like you would want to make a grouphead heat-break gasket for the MCaL.

December 13th, 2018, 9:57 am

redbone wrote:Why not just adjust your P.S. to 0.8, purge boiler, flush with p.f. in to heat up group and cup then place basket in and pull shot.

The main reason I don't adjust the pstat to 0.8 is that the machine then doesn't steam very well. I wish there was a way to easily switch between 0.8 and 1.0, but that's not an option on my machine. The screw adjustment you have on the Faemina sounds more convenient than turning over the machine and removing the bottom cover (which is what's needed on the MCaL), but it's still not something I would do regularly. It needs to be switchable with a press of a button or a flick of a switch to really be accessible.

As for heat strips, I'm sure they're useful, but if I can fine tune my technique without them it'll be fine. I'm not too keen on the aesthetics of the strips.

baldheadracing wrote:Sounds like you would want to make a grouphead heat-break gasket for the MCaL.

I'm not sure what a "grouphead heat-break gasket" is, but I sure am going to search this forum to learn more

#7: Post by **LDT** » December 13th, 2018, 10:47 am

Here's a photo of my heat break gasket cut from a thin sheet of Teflon:

#8: Post by **MCALheaven** » December 13th, 2018, 10:57 pm

I keep boiler pressure at 0.9 to get my ideal temp in the cup of 153F. I would bet having pressure at 1.0 then turning off until 0.8 has a similar result. I don't mind the steam pressure at 0.9 BP. Still get high quality foam, just a few seconds longer perhaps.