Robot is good, but Strietman is something very very surprisingly good. I've never used lever before today and it's soooo interesting. Save a few pennies more and go for CT2 for your next birthday gift

Cheers!

I took a look at the Strietman - it doesn't match my personality. I'm more of a "sporty Spice" vs "Posh Spice". The Strietman is too dolled up for me. I like the Robot - it's sort of quirky & retro looking. That fits better with me.

I think your DB will be fine.....it probably can't be bothered with a silly little Robot.

Get the Robot. It will show you how simple a good extraction can be. If you don't like it, resale is excellent.

I keep mine at work, for those long afternoons, paired with a Kinu M47. I think "Espresso?", and I've got an excellent shot of sweetness in 5 minutes. Can't beat that.

Bizarrely, my Robot sits next to its big brother on the counter - my Profitec Pro 800. Why two levers some may ask? I like messing about and I find the Robot works really well with some coffees and roast profiles while the 800 works better on others. Two sides of the same lever coin.

I'm actually in the opposite boat right now, I am looking to go from an all manual espresso set up, to getting a semi automatic machine to help me out. A real robot to make life easier.

Have been using the flair pro 2 with manual grinder, and the all manual morning routine at times has me thinking "this is ridiculous" haha. However, the espresso is almost always worth the sweat and convoluted routine.

It may be that the robot will give you better tasting shots most of the time when dialed in right, and it will be more fun and controllable, hands on, etc. But... you most likely will prefer the speed and convenience of the sync once the novelty of the robot wears off, and the robot will become a dusty forgotten sporty spice on the sideline. I forgot about how good the spice girls songs were, haha!

My E61 machine made good espresso. E61 w/ flow control made better espresso. Robot made even better tasing espresso than that. Got to the point where I would make espresso with the robot and only use the E61 machine to steam milk.

Then I sold the E61 machine and bought a commercial spring lever machine. I still have the robot for travel and for fun. Levers are better in my opinion.

I appreciate the variety of responses to this question. Prima Coffee sent an email and said they are expecting the Barista Models any day. Since I'm new at levers, I figured the one with the gauge would help me learn.

I'll keep you posted.

I hope prima gets them soon as well! They thought the shipment would get there in April, so I've been checking daily.

I was in the same position i.e new to levers and I found the pressure gauge really useful. It's also super easy to play around with different types of water as well if that's your thing. No need to worry about scale, changing water tanks etc....

UPDATE: I received an email from Prima Coffee that the Robot 'Barista' is NOW in stock. It's been off the ship & stuck in ? Customs or wherever. I ordered the 'Retro Green' one because it reminds me of the colors in my childhood home kitchen! I bought the 'Robot hands' for the ends of the arms also.

Update as soon as it arrives.