what.. no WDT, no leveling, no 5-10sec pre-infusion time...??
just grind, tamp, flush, and pull the shot?

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=30475 ... ZAUkGgoE5Q

am i doing too much?

my workflow:
measure 19g bean, grind with NZ.. tap tap to get full 19g out, WDT, tap tap side of PF, remove funnel, use leveler, tap a bit to settle the grind stuck on the inner wall of the PF (my leveler is not 54.5mm, only 53mm ), then tamp (heavy tamper 54.5mm), lock in PF, pull, wait for 10sec or when i see espresso bead up in the bottomless PF, then release. steam/ froth milk, pull latte art, clean out PF, flush GH, sit down and enjoy my cup.

don't get me wrong, i enjoy the process of making the espresso and definitely it's different from running a shop, but would like to find ways to improved my workflow though. thoughts?

Your workflow seems modest.

Espresso_Monkey wrote:Your workflow seems modest.

i figured i have to do all these steps to make sure when i look peep upwards from underneath the bottomless PF gazing at the silky extraction that i don't get channeling or get coffee squirted in my face... ok.. somehow that didn't sound right...

I'd be really curious to see how these shots looks like with a bottomless.

"home barista" with a GS3

I'm sure the milky drinks are good.

silkypull wrote:i figured i have to do all these steps to make sure when i look peep upwards from underneath the bottomless PF gazing at the silky extraction that i don't get channeling or get coffee squirted in my face... ok.. somehow that didn't sound right...

Now that you have the leva, are you getting good results or is the learning curve steep? How does it compare to your previous experiences?

hi dustin, yea there's a learning curve, but for me it's more of getting the temp setting to way i like it; which i'm still playing around. i drink medium roast and mostly latte (trying to learn more different type of latte art patterns), but my thought has been if the espresso doesn't taste good, then the milk drink probably wouldn't be that great either. so about 6 months ago with my BBE, i started to find the perfected espresso shot and taste. but now that i have the leva, i noticed it's easy to get the notes from the espresso and the espresso itself is much better to taste as is compared to the espresso from my BBE.

the leva is my first lever machine, so honestly i don't have experience comparing it to other lever, but when comparing to my BBE even when using NZ to grind, i still prefer the leva any day. plus it's a good work out with dual spring setup.

I'm glad to hear that. In a few years down the road I'm considering a big spring lever and trying to decide which would be best. The Izzo checks all the boxes but one thing holds me back... I've read everyone's account of how easy it is to lubricate the seals and remove the piston from the bottom (big plus!), but it also seemed like getting the piston off the first time was highly challenging. I'm not that great mechanically, and I don't have tons of vices and other tools I can use. Perhaps those accounts were for previously used machines that had never been serviced.. I don't know. Aside from that hurdle, I think I'd be sold. Have you tried that yet?
It's either the leva or a profiling machine like a GS3.

drH wrote: I'm glad to hear that. In a few years down the road I'm considering a big spring lever and trying to decide which would be best. The Izzo checks all the boxes but one thing holds me back... I've read everyone's account of how easy it is to lubricate the seals and remove the piston from the bottom (big plus!), but it also seemed like getting the piston off the first time was highly challenging. I'm not that great mechanically, and I don't have tons of vices and other tools I can use. Perhaps those accounts were for previously used machines that had never been serviced.. I don't know. Aside from that hurdle, I think I'd be sold. Have you tried that yet?
It's either the leva or a profiling machine like a GS3.

well my machine is about a month old, so i haven't removed the GH yet. i ordered the c-clip plier and the locknut for the chevy which i saw from another thread was the one to get, but will need to be filed down to fit the groove. i've downloaded the pompei service video and watched it so figure it should be ok, just need to watch more carefully again in the video on how he use the flat head to push down (compress) the spring before removing the lock nut. might only have to do that if i plan on removing the inner spring, but not sure if removing that is needed when you replace the seals or not.

as for vice, you can find one easily for cheap at harbor freight. i picked up my vice about 20yrs ago when my dad and i went to local flea market and saw a massive one for $10.

for me the only thing that held me back on the izzo when i was looking was that it's plumbed in only. i have a limited counters space, so going with a Pro800, LR24 or Strega would've been good as i can use the reservoir. but then prices went up for the LR24 beyond my reach, as if i had that type of dough, i would wait it out for the Cremina SL. my cycling buddy pulled the trigger on the strega, and while we had the same BBE machine before; which was fun as we can check each other's shot, process, etc. but for lever, i wanted a different machine... one that doesn't have a pump, dead quiet, so i can enjoy a cup before sneaking out for a morning ride without waking up my kiddos. oh and plus the LSM exposed spring is sexy as hell to stare at. so that's pretty much Pro800 and Leva. Pro800 came highly on my selection list as it allows me to use reservoir and relatively quiet from youtube vids. also it's 58mm PF which means a lot more accessories to find vs. izzo's 55mm or technically 54.7mm PF. but the depth of the massive machine ad the location where i can put it was the gating factor for me. plus many HB members mentioned about izzo producing a much better tasting shot and i chatted with the guy from espressotv on youtube where he did a review on the Pro800 and another on izzo... he preferred the izzo more. then i found out my close friend's hubby in Taiwan's coffee shop is also using Izzo and i after long chat with him... i went with izzo.

now wifey and my only complaint is NZ is noisy..

if you have funds for GS3, go for it. for me, it was clear i didn't have that type of dough and i wanted a sexy spring lever.

Wow, that guy is definitely a pro. Some things to keep in mind though: you can do a fast workflow like that when you have a dosing grinder with a full hopper, and spouts on your portafilter. Distribution is probably decent straight out of the grinder, but if there was minor channeling we would never know because of the spouts. And there is something to be said for that approach... And of course minor flaws go unnoticed when you add lots of milk. So, absolutely admire the guys skill, but don't let it make you feel bad about your own OCD approach

well luckily i still have plenty of time to practice my workflow. since with covid, we won't have any a guest over, so i can take my time. but later on, it'll be interesting if we have guest over and need to pull multiple shots.