Lever plus Another

#1: Post by **Iconicred** » April 27th, 2022, 11:50 pm

Hi Fellas,
I wonder how many of you here have a lever (manual or spring or whatever else in between) plus another non-lever machine?
I am interested in your opinions and thought processes about how you ended up with the machines you ended up with.

For context, I have a Rocket Appartamento and I am happy with the milk drinks it produces and I am getting better at dialing in straight espressos. No complaints. I use a Faustino grinder (50mm flats by Eureka) and I have a WW Key about to arrive. I recognize the grinder as very important. I am now thinking about widening my experience and adding a Lever. I have considered machines like CT2 and Cremina to Argos to Flair.

What did you get first, how did you decide what to upgrade to if indeed you did, or did you nail it with just 2 purchases?
Thanks!
Justin

#2: Post by **Kaffee Bitte** » April 28th, 2022, 10:24 am

I work as a barista so I use commercial machines at work all the time. At the time I bought my first machin and grinder it was a serious stretch to get the funds together for the e61s. About the same time I fell into the lever forum and not long after bought a La Pavoni and a Macap m4. The manual lever was so different from the commercials I was using it just looked like a blast. And I was not wrong. So much better than pressing buttons. You feel everything as feedback through the lever. Sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste. Big time sensory experience. The learning curve was high but once past it I could make better shots at home than I could pull with work machines.

That was 15 years ago. Recently bought a second pavoni and am loving having two groups. Have thought a few times of getting a pump machine but not going to I think. IF I do get another machine it will be a spring lever as I prefer the flavor profile better and any of the flow control machines are basically just emulating spring levers anyway. Why not go with the actual lever?

That said I do enjoy making espresso at work as well. It is just not quite as fun as pulling levers. I am still sad that levers aren't common in shops in the US. In 25 years as a barista I have only managed to work in three shops with levers.

As far as upgraditis I feel like I nailed it with the Macap and the LP. I do plan to add to the collection mostly a 64mm stepless grinder to sit next to the stepped Macap so I can run two coffees at once. Totally keeping the Macap for as long as she runs since it is decent for french press and moka pot and simple to switch between methods. My eventual goal is a home spring lever as well, either Elektra mcal or possibly a ponte vecchio club.

#3: Post by **bgn** » April 28th, 2022, 10:30 am

I owned a Cimbali Junior pump machine for years and jumped at the chance to trade it for a Cimbali M20 spring lever. I'm now waiting for an Argos. I've thought about adding a nice rotary pump machine, but can't really think of a good reason to do so. Once you come over to the lever side your espresso universe tilts permanently!

#4: Post by **zrieser** » April 28th, 2022, 8:28 pm

I have a Rocket Cellini Evo 2 and love it for milk drinks and often have people over and pull 5+ lattes back to back. I have just added a Zacconi Riviera for my own use. I love refurbishing a 40 year old machine and the fullness of the shots I get from the lever is so different from the e61 Rocket.

I can't see myself not having both on my bench since I use them for very different experiences.

#5: Post by **drgary** » April 29th, 2022, 10:23 am

I have an Olympia Express Maximatic (rebranded as Coffex) that I use for milk drinks and can use for espresso. All of my other machines are levers. The Maximatic is a perfect small-footprint machine for milk drinks. It's a heat exchanger, so I can easily temperature surf to pull coffees at different roast levels in the same session. But my real collectibles are my lever machines, which I rotate, except for the two that are very rare. For instance, I also have on my counter a first-version Arrarex Caravel connected to a PID and enjoy that for making small shots of different coffees with perfect temperature control, and I love its vintage looks. It's collectible, but not rare, so I can enjoy it without overworrying wear and tear. My best shot-making machine is my Conti Prestina commercial spring lever, which I'll use if I want to perfectly dial in a wonderful coffee. It also has PID temperature control. I use it occasionally as part of my rotation because I don't want to use the energy to heat that much water as a regular routine.

#6: Post by **Andrewwood14** » April 29th, 2022, 1:25 pm

So I have a decent DE1-Pro and a modded-out post-mill LaPavoni, and I just added an order for the Argos (about 20 minutes ago haha)

My rationale behind having the decent and the levers are the differences in workflows. Sometimes I prefer to take it slow and use the lever for a bit, while others I need the fast workflow and use the decent (normally on a level profile because I love the taste).

In terms of a good lever to pair with your appartamento, I had the same machine a bit ago and paired my la Pavoni with it. It was honestly the thing that got me to move on from that machine as the shots I could get from the lever was so more consistent than the Appartamento (I disliked the machine a lot so I am biased). I think the Argos offers something very unique compared to all the other levers on the marker, the ability to both be manual and a spring lever. This was the main reason why I went with the Argos instead of a CT2 (new that is, still on the prowl for a used CT2). If they can deliver on 2/3rds of their promises I will be very happy with the purchase.

If you want fun with levers, get a Pavoni used for around 200bucks and fool around with it before making the jump.

This was a lot of rambling, I hope a little of it was helpful.