Non Lever for Cremina lover

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jmarcus
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#1: Post by jmarcus »

For those of you who have multiple machines, what non lever machine do you love and why?

I'm thinking of a second machine for a summer house and I might want something thats less daunting to the rest of the people in the house.

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redbone
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#2: Post by redbone »

Not a solution but found a spring lever with p-stat or similar PID with group thermosyphon to be the easiest machine to pull shots and live with. No group overheating, less parts easy to maintain. Less than <1min in-between shots eliminates all pf sneeze.
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sosha
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#3: Post by sosha »

I have a Caravel that pulls very sweet shots. But I also use an E61 HX machine (Salvatore Club). It's compact, but flushing the group is a PITA.

If you want something really simple, why not look at a Decent machine? Heats up fast, and you can work with each family member to get the coffee the way they want. I bet you could find a profile to imitate the Cremina.
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drgary
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#4: Post by drgary »

If you love a Cremina, why not get an Olympia Express Maximatic/Coffex/Pasquini Livietta?
Gary
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nk
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#5: Post by nk »

I'll second Dr. Gary's recommendation of a Coffex/Maximatic/Livietta and maybe even a Caffarex NT if you can find one. Nearly the same footprint as a Cremina except the larger Caffarex which is Olympia Club sized.

With a little luck all can be had for well below or certainly no higher than Cremina prices, but the build quality is similar, they are easy to service, and parts availability is still pretty good.

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drgary
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#6: Post by drgary »

They are also elegantly simple and pull shots that are Cremina-like. With an HX like that you can temperature surf and steaming power is excellent.
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jwCrema
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#7: Post by jwCrema »

There are times when I write a post then close the web page without posting it. I wrote that I'd give the Maximatic strong consideration.

I bought a 2010 Maxi used on this website and converted its grouphead from the new 54mm group head back to the original 49mm, which is the same as the Cremina. That let me share portafilters/tampers/baskets.

The build quality of a Maximatic is extremely high. It's basically a chunk of steel that weighs far more than you'd think it would. The water tank is made of metal, not plastic. Everything is easy to clean The wiring on the machine is as flexible today as it was on day one.

I recently traded it for services with a friend. We argue who got the better deal. When they started they were 100% newbies. I gave them three steps. 1) Hit the button for a quick flush, no more than I do with the Club. 2) Rack in the portafilter and run it for 35 seconds. 3) Watch Chris Baca's foam video.

The father of the household was suspicious that taste in espresso was detectable. He gets it now. They've had guests from Portland who understand Starbucks is not your destiny tell them, "this is the best latte I have ever had".

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drgary
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#8: Post by drgary »

The older Maximatics have a plastic water reservoir, but otherwise these are very solid, just like Creminas.
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doubleOsoul
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#9: Post by doubleOsoul »

I agree with the Maximatic comments as well. I love mine and tend to use it when I want to roll off back to back shots. In fact I sold my Salvatore to buy it and glad I did. I had a lot of HX machines in my very early espresso days and they never performed as solid or consistent as the Maxi.

cpreston
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#10: Post by cpreston »

I was in the same situation, and have a Cremina as my main machine. I looked into this a while back, and suggest you might consider also the Decent DE-1. Similar small size, and you can choose a very simple interface, but very accurate and consistent. And makes larger sized drinks because of the 58mm group. And tailorable if you want use its advanced features later. Maybe someone who has one could comment on your basic usage situation.

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