I have been a member of HB since 2009. First real espresso machine was vibratory pump E61 SBDU and I was extremely happy with it. Then I kept seeing lever machines at HB get-togethers and it really interested me. Reading the lever forum further fueled the interest. Eventually I got to analysis paralysis w.r.t. which machine to get. Finally, I just made a choice to buy a used 1990 Olympia Cremina from fellow HB member. I remember him telling me I probably won't use my E61 much more thereafter. I doubted it at the time purchase made. Two years later I think I have used my vibe pump E61 for espresso <10 times (excluding when have guests over for multiple espressos).

pootoogoo wrote:I had this work ongoing for more than a year... grabbing machine pieces from here and there.
It started with the group, then Pascal (zeb member) offered most of the boiler, body, pipes and valves. I got the missing side panel and switch from Holger (sansibar99 member) and finally the precious help of Thomas (bidoowee member) who made me the front panel last week. (Details of the restoration can be found on the french forum).
So here is the result of this collective work (not the best picture that I have but it's winter and that's the only one showing it complete):
And a great thanks to all those kind members who helped me, I'm particularly proud to have their name attached to this project. It make the coffee taste even better.

Looks great! Kudos for persistence.
How is the water dispersion from the showerscreen?
Cheers, TY

Thanks turboyeast.
I don't have any problem with shower screen water dispersion. Maybe I don't have a so high line pressure and, as mentioned in the dedicated thread, I put a large stainless steel ball on the input line (at the back of the group) to restrict the flow. I verified it the other day with the piston removed, the water enters the chamber with a very moderate force on mine.

My first lever was a La Pavoni Professional, which I bought in the 1990s and used for several years. My results were limited by my skills at the time, and especially the grinders I was using. My attempts to upgrade brought me away from levers for at least 15 years: first a Wega MiniNova (HX), then a LaSpaziale Vivaldi 2 (DB). Both had rotary pumps and were plumbed in. I used a Mazzer Mini for most of that time, after giving up on a couple of cheaper units early on.

The upgrade bug started to hit again in the fall of 2016. After re-registering on HB (apparently I was away too long) and doing some reading it became clear to me that the Mazzer Mini was my weak link. I settled on the Mahlkönig K30, which made such a huge difference I couldn't resist considering that corresponding next step in an espresso machine. Features I noticed on the better machines included PID temperature controllers and pressure profiling. ("Pressure profiling?") The explanations pointed me right back in the direction of lever machines, so I decided to see what that was all about.

It didn't take long to find the obvious candidates: Profitec 800, Strega and Londinium 1. These all looked excellent but after exploring their design philosophies I selected the Londinium 1. During these past few month, the combination of this machine and the K30 grinder has been transformational. My interest has been rekindled in a strong way, my wife appreciates the improved quality in the cup, and I am no longer limited to milk-based drinks.

Never again will I stray. Long live lever lovers!

Gary Dahl
"g3dahl"

Nice Gary! I know where to get latte art lessons

Why isn't this thread sticky anymore? It took me forever to find it!
PC

I've constantly used my e61 ECM Giotto for the last 12 ish years daily, and learned to stop worrying and loved my Hx as Brother Dan preached from the Arabica Pulpit. Finally at a point where I could entertain an upgrade for a more peaceful, quiet, if not potentially violent, way of making coffee. I love interesting machines - had a 87 Rx7 turbo (Wankel rotary), my old Citizen Eco-Drive (solar) watch, a popcorn maker become coffee roaster

Read enough of the enough of the Pro800 and plumed in silence and pulled the lever. Looking forward to learning more of the lever world!

So, I finally took the plunge!

I have been wanting a lever machine for a while now and last night got a La Pavoni Gran Romantica as a birthday gift from my wife, complete with a naked portafilter.

I am hoping to add a Pharos from OE as soon as I can get my hands on one. Right now the plan is to recalibrate my Baratza Encore (although I was able to pull a couple of decent shots today with nice crema!).

Here are the pictures:

Andrés congratulations.

Great looking machine.

Enjoy the shots !!

]My story: I impulsively purchased a 1987 Cremina in 2009 with not the slightest idea what to do with it. At the time my coffee was pre-ground Peet's brewed in a Technivorm (decent taste, nothing extraordinary). To conceal my guilt of the Cremina indulgence from my fiancee (anything more than $50 for coffee equipment is crazy according to her) I let it sit in a box in a closet for the next 5 years.

Finally in 2014 I mustered up the courage to take it out and flaunt my indulgence to my wife. The machine operated fine for a few months but I certainly was nowhere near maximizing the potential of the Cremina as I had no clue what I was doing beyond the Cremina manual I had downloaded as a PDF file. I had no grinder, so all the coffee was pre-ground, and likely well past its prime. Eventually the machine started leaking from the sight-glass. The leak coincided with the birth of my first child, so I stashed the Cremina in the garage and kind of forgot about it.

In the 2 years following the birth of my first kid, I became more and more interested in coffee, and bought a grinder (Baratza Virtuoso) and Aeropress. I was buying freshly roasted coffee from a nearby Blue Bottle and the difference between this and my previous coffee making attempts was profound. Even my wife had to admit that the grinder was worthy expense. This revelation in coffee inspired me to get the Cremina working again...this of course coincided with the birth of my second kid, so everything took longer that I planned.

I foolishly had stored the Cremina wet (doh!), so there was a significant bloom of mold and mildew, and quite a bit of rust where the paint was damaged on the steel frame and case. So began a full tear down and rebuild. With help from the Orphan Espresso YouTube channel and the various Cremina rebuild threads on HB, I had no trouble with the restoring the machine to full operation over the next 6 months. In addition to descaling and replacing all the seals, I also rewired the machine and had the frame and case stripped and powder coated. The only hiccup was that I made the stupid mistake of descaling the chrome parts in citric acid and damaged the finish (doh!). But aside from that, the machine was working beautifully, albeit paired with a Baratza Virtuoso grinder, did not give the results I wanted.

By the time 2017 came around my espresso know-how had reached the point where I knew that my Baratza Virtuoso was not going to serve for an espresso grinder, so I bought a cheap, used Nuova Simonelli MDX (which ended up being a nightmare to get functioning). And now, finally....8 years since the original Cremina purchase, I am finally making passable espresso