I'm considering (going down this (yet another coffee) rabbit hole and) getting a lever. Looking at the streetman ct -1. But this isn't about machine choice.

My concern really centers around my espresso time...it's pretty early and brief. My routine is 3, sometimes 4 double shots, every morning, single dosing, weighing in and out, and it takes about 20 mins to do. Then I'm out of the house, often by 5:30a, and don't drink any more coffee till next morning. Occasional Saturday's give a more leisurely approach to coffee and the morning.

Question 1. I'm not sure how much longer the lever routine will take, if any, once I get my routine down. My suspicion is that it won't be much longer. Thoughts on relative times?

Question 2. Larger concern... Does any one mix a lever with a pump machine, i.e. Pull shots from both, during the same session. My concern is dialing in the coffee grind, and how different and difficult that might be from machine to machine.

Now, since I single dose, I am used to making notes as I get a coffee dialed in, and pulling 2 or three different SO coffees, with some adjustment to the grind, on a given morning. More often, I'll use one coffee one day, and a different one the next. What I don't have a feel for, is my grind and going to be radically different from my pump (BDB, which DOES allow me to address different preinfusion times) to a new lever (with smaller basket)? If they're not too far off, I can have both while I'm learning the lever. Or, I can pull a shot on the BDB while the lever is warming up?

Obviously, if I believe the threads, once I go down the lever pathway, all non-pressure profiling pump machines will soon be inadequate, and I'll only pull shots with a lever. But is there anyone out there who'll admit to using both, perhaps even the same session, and can help with my questions?

I used both for well over a year. Then I sold my pump machine and got another lever

We're your grinds miles apart, or pretty close?

My lever grinds were decidedly finer, but I always attributed this to the longer / slower ramped preinfusion on the lever than for one being piston driven vs the other being a pump.

Thanks. Don't really care about the reasons. Just interested in your experience!

Actually, that's not quite accurate. I AM interested in the reasons. But, like you, I don't think it's the difference in the mechanism of pressure application (lever vs pump) as much as differences of pressure profile and basket depth.

I leave the door by 6am and often wake up at 5:30. Still enough time for a Caravel shot. Time for a couple if I wake up 5:10-20ish (one of them sleep cycle apps so there's a range), switch it on, and back to sleep until 5:30. Works great.

The Strietman supposedly heats up faster, so once it arrives I can't see my morning routine taking more time unless I start pulling several shots every morning. Which actually, sounds like something that's probably going to happen for a couple weeks.

It's really dependent on the specific lever you're interested in. Few months ago, I have had a dual boiler vibe pump Expobar Minore/Brewtus alongside my Brugnetti Aurora lever. It took the same grind,the same basket, and same everything - I didn't have to vary the grind. The EspressoForge needs a slightly finer grind (can be compensated by updosing since they're close, or use a basket that needs coarser grind). On the Rossa PG, it needs a coarser grind so I have to keep a mental note how far apart it is from the lever. Bottom-line is, you can work around it no matter what and it is not due to pump vs lever.

Why do you want both lever and pump at the same time though?

If time is your concern, you ought to look into the single dosing routine. It's the rate limiting step for me. Maybe look into one of the single-dosing tubes if you absolutely can't have a hoppered grinder? Using a lever machine isn't that different from a pump.

I have both, my pump machine is a BDB, with a fairly adjustable pre infusion. I can get similar shot times (using the same grind) by adjusting the pre infusion. My lever I've also added a needle valve.

This is using the same IMS basket, but if you can't adjust pre infusion on your pump machine, you may be able to swap around baskets to use similar grind.

My shots always come out better on my levers. Even when I try to tune shots to the pump machine exclusively I think I just prefer a lever profile.

The La Pavoni Europiccola machines of all three generations are capable of going from a cold machine to a cup of espresso in from six to eight minutes. The exact time depends on how much water is in the reservoir, ambient temperature, and line voltage. US standard outlet voltage is 120V, and power companies are supposed to provide power within 5% of that voltage value. (The standard outlet voltage is 120V for both the 208v 3 phase system sometimes used in apartment buildings and in the normal household split 240v system.) This morning my voltage was 126V, and I had the reservoir half filled. I actually was drinking a cup of espresso in six minutes after I turned on the power!

So my home made bike pump espresso machine seems to be the fastest - 2-3 min to boil the water, 1 min to chill down to brewing temp and about 1 min to connect the pump and pull the shot ...

But thermblock machines are faster I suppose