Lever timing question, plus effect of grind/pressure/timing on a lever shot.

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Ken5
Posts: 977
Joined: 4 years ago

#1: Post by Ken5 »

Hello!

Okay... time to show my naivety again... :(

I see a there is a recommended time range for getting good shots with an electric machine, but no mention of a time range for lever machines. Actually... in the robot 'recipe' thread there is a wide range of times for the shots, as well as for the pre-infusion times. Being new to making espresso, this time range seems like an important part of the recipe to aid in getting to a starting point. Thought that once good technique was learned, once one was able to get 'consistent' results with that technique, good dose/ratio was determined, etc. that getting within that recommended time range was helpful to getting to that first shot. How does a beginner get to that first decent shot without a range? I am sure I am missing something simple.

Also... from my reading about lever machines here on HB I see that an experienced user can make adjustments to the lever/levers depending on how the extraction is going. Does that mean that if the grind is 'slightly' too fine one can press lighter, or if the grind is 'slightly' too coarse that one can press harder to get to the proper pressure and taste? If this is so, will a shot of espresso that needed to pressed harder due to grind 'taste the same' as a shot that needed a lighter push due to grind? What effect would these two shots have on timing for the shot? What effect would it have on the quantity of the shot? If a long shot tastes the same as a shorter shot due to grind I imagine that the process is a lot easier than I am currently thinking.

It will probably be a long time before I get a 'decent' shot when I get the robot. I am going to prepare myself for all the failures about to come. Any guidance to reduce these failures would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Ken

jpender
Posts: 3860
Joined: 11 years ago

#2: Post by jpender »

That recipe thread is pretty spare. There are only so many and at least one is kind of an oddball recipe. Who wants to read about the same, basic recipe fifty times?

That said, if you average the recipe times in that thread it's pretty close to a 15 second pre-infusion and 45 second shot. It's not clear when people post the shot time whether they mean post pre-infusion or the total. In any case, this is pretty much a standard sort of thing, 10-15s pre-infusion and 25-35s for the rest of the shot. It's not gospel but it's a good starting point.

Buddy3223
Posts: 10
Joined: 4 years ago

#3: Post by Buddy3223 »

Ken, I know what you are talking about. I am also fairly new to using a La Pavoni and it was quite a learning process. The advice in the previous reply was correct as a starting point. The thing that I found to help me was to work on one item at a time. Try to get the grind, pressure, time right for your taste. I made the mistake in trying to make too many changes at once and got lost in the process. Just remember that you have to produce something for your taste and it is not as long a process as you might think. Just keep plenty of milk on hand, it will cover many learning mistakes :wink: Good luck