Hi all,

Looks like I am #627, better than 666!) I am waiting for a new sight glass to finish my rebuild on my 1981 Cremina, fingers crossed hopefully no more leaks! Can't wait to pull a shot again, cheers! Trying to post pictures again, didn't upload last post. Enjoy.

Hey all!
A bit late to the lever game, but I'd love to be a part of this group on here. I got into coffee about 4 years ago with the aid of an aeropress. Going from drinking no coffee, I started drinking Starbucks at college as I studied. I quickly realized how much cheaper it would be if I brewed my own, having recently started brewing my own tea. What I got out of the cheapest auto-dripper was barely acceptable, and I knew I could get better. I did a quick google search and made a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond to get an aeropress! It was amazing, but all anyone could talk about was how it wasn't "real espresso." Within days a local ad for a Gaggia Carezza appeared online for 35$, so I jumped on it and bought a Vario to go with it, per the advice of HB. From there I saved and bought the Silvia and have been using that until this year. Since then I got accepted to medical school and used that setup the whole way, until interview season for residency. I wanted to have my morning espresso, so I found the Flair! Cheap, portable, and can make a fine shot with a little attention to detail. Now I use that completely manual lever most days of the week, oftentimes in preference to the Silvia. Thanks for reading!

Hello!

Something like 6 years ago I went to a coffee shop in my area and thought the coffee there was some of the best coffee I had ever experienced. The shop roasted all of its coffee in house and it was better than anything I had experienced which admittedly wasn't much beyond Folgers at home. Shortly after that, I purchased a french press and a grinder and returned to the shop to buy some of there coffee. I was blown away by the many different coffees they offered from all over the world and I felt like I needed try them all. After a couple months of going back and buying various coffee from that shop, I got the brilliant idea to try my hand at roasting. I purchased a Freshroast air roaster and started into the world of coffee roasting. I've since upgraded to a propane grill that I converted into a coffee roaster and I sell to some friends and coworkers. Along the way, I tried many different methods of brewing but had never really tried my hand at espresso -- mostly due to the high cost. About a year ago I decided to pick up the Flair and fell instantly in love with espresso. Finally, about a week ago, I got my hands on a La Pavoni Stradivari Professional and, so far, I've been loving it!

Welcome acoustichero, and congrats on the Stradivarius! It is a beauty.

hi fellow level lovers,
since the early days of starting enjoying coffee wanted a lever machine, but never had chance or, space in the tiny kitchen.
then moved place, having a bigger kitchen got a La Marzocco and plumbed it in and, without telling my wife, got a restauration project for myself, a '84 La Pavoni Europiccola.

changed sight glass and its gaskets, piston gaskets as they were cracked, had to find a solution for problematic heating element and, finally couple of days ago pulled my first ever shot on a LEVER.

it was much much better than i expected, by unfortunately, i cannot replicate it any more (read frustration here).
now thinking about doing the temp mod (i already have a thermometer attached to the group)

Hello lever aficionados,

new member of LMWDP here: I have just finished setting up my Londinium R, and I have to say I am thoroughly amazed by the quality and hands-on feel of such a machine. But let me go back in time to explain how I ended up with the LR.

My first espresso machine was a refurbished Gaggia Baby I purchased more than ten years ago, and every machine since then was a solid upgrade. I have always paired my machines with hand grinders, starting with a Hario Mini. The Gaggia was then "upgraded" to a first generation 1970s Gaggia Baby, which I paired with the OE Pharos #046 in 2011. The temperature stability of the more massive group on the old Gaggia and the big burrs in the Pharos really impressed me, and I made some very delicious shots.

I have played a bit with the Arrarex/VAM Caravel at that time, but it did not make sense to me why anyone would choose such a machine. Yes, I was a newbie and I had to learn a lot. I thought of manual lever machines as the "steam locomotives" in the digital era. I understood their historical significance, but never thought they could keep up with new machines. I needed more time to grow up and realize that proven old technologies can sometimes easily outperform new tech

In 2012 I switched to a Rocket HX/E61 machine. It was a step-up in terms of consistency and certainly look&feel, but as a straight espresso drinker it didn't really improve my best shots. The next logical update was to get a grinder with better ergonomics, so I went for the HG One, which I still have to this day.

Suddenly a few months ago I started wondering whether I should upgrade my E61. For a while, I was looking at Linea Mini and even the GS3. They were quite expensive, yes, but offered even more temp stability, or even pressure profiling. Fortunately I also made a realization that I had some of my best shots on my old Gaggia Baby, and some local cafes that had spring levers (Andytown in SF, or the old Barefoot roastery bar which I believe had a VA Athena Leva?)

I started down the rabbit hole of levers vs. pump machines, and it all clicked. The machines that try to control many variables could actually confuse and distract from the main goal: pulling a delicious shot. Who cares if the temperature isn't kept exactly at a precise temperature, if the espresso tastes delicious? It suddenly made sense that a falling temp/pressure profile would lead to a different flavor profile, and might be more forgiving even. A whole new world opened up, and I no longer was convinced that lever machines are just an outdated old design that we replaced with pumps to improve the shot quality.

So I just ordered the Londinium R on a whim and now I am ready to explore the world of lever espresso. The ordering experience was extremely smooth, delivery was quick, and the machine has such a solid feel to it, I am amazed. My first espresso was OK, ended up pulling 6 more to play with the grinder settings / dose / PI pressure. What I didn't expect is that the machine is extremely forgiving. I have adjusted my HG One at least six settings away from the previous point, and each shot extracted perfectly. I think we'll be good friends.

Is the LR one of the ultimate machines? Only time will tell! I am trying to take good care of it, and explore the world of lever espresso!

cheers!

Hi Everyone!,

Have been into coffee for quite a while. Been drinking hand drip coffee at home as I thought espresso was hard to achieve on a budget. However, from lurking these forums heard about the Flair Signature Pro and managed to get one! Was hooked on how fun a manual lever was and decided to get a La Pavoni Euro 1st get from Franceso's site. Still exploring and learning how to make good espresso especially on these lever machines!

Greetings All!

Thanks to this site, I've had a fun and educated start to this fascinating hobby. After reading dozens of posts, I started with a Breville Dual Boiler and a Eureka Mignon Silenzio. I like the adjustability of the BDB and the grinder really is low noise. Being in the Bay Area, it is not hard to find a good roaster and I tried as many as I could over the last six months. Then I found my favorite post, "Italian vs. American dosing" and started wondering if that might be the direction I wanted to go. It wasn't until a trip to Italy that I found what I was searching for, as far as espresso is concerned.

I now have a Profitec Pro 800 and got the Pro T64 grinder to match. I went ahead and put in the SSP redspeed burrs. It really is fun to pull that lever several times a day and know that even small mistakes still make an amazing espresso. I'll show some pics of my setup in another post, but for now I just want to say thank you to everyone here for a great forum!

I started in the lever world last year with the purchase of a La Pavoni Europiccola millennium I found for a good price on Facebook Marketplace. I played with it for a few weeks but just couldn't get the quality of shots from it that I wanted and it just wasn't a good fit for me. I have an Isomac Amica, which I really like, and decided to stick with that and sold the La Pavoni. Ever since then I have had sellers remorse and felt the call to give a lever machine another chance. I kept my eye on Craigslist and Marketplace for another deal.....

I found a vague local Craigslist post for a La Pavoni with no pics. After a couple of emails trying to explain to the seller how to add a picture to an email, I received a blurry pic which I thought was a copper and brass Europiccola. I met with the seller and was surprised to find an all brass pre-millennium. The seller had been stationed in Italy and bought the machine while there but she said she only used it a few times and it had mostly been a decoration in her kitchen for many years. My best guess is that it's from the 80's. It must have been dropped at some point and the steam knob was bent but that didn't appear to affect performance. She turned it on and it heated up quickly with no leaks and lots of water flow when the lever was raised. The heater coil was clean with no buildup. I bought it and brought it home. I decided I didn't like the shiny brass lacquered finish so I stripped it off. I am hoping it will naturally tarnish into a nice antique brass finish. I also cut the portafilter to make it bottomless. Still need to clean up a few small areas but I am very pleased with it so far.

I have now had it for two weeks and have fallen in love with her. Because I will be keeping her, I have named her: Mona Lisa. Does anyone else on here name your espresso machines? My Amica is named 'Betty'.

I have done more research and more testing and have worked into a routine which is giving me consistently excellent shots and some of the best espresso I have ever had. I realized that I needed to grind significantly finer on a lever machine than what is best for an E61 and tamp a little less firmly. Still perfecting things but that is part of the fun. I have a new gasket kit and pressure gauge heading my way.

I don't collect machines so I will be selling Betty and keeping Mona Lisa...