I don't have a Strietman but I am using the 18g basket in my Cremina. Some users in EAF informed me they were getting some bypass with the 49.5mm bplus screen and another had a custom size made from Aliexpress. I did the same and ordered 49.8 and it's been working out great for this basket and the newer Cremina double. I prefer it over using aeropress paper top filters I've punched using a 2" circle punch.

Very few differences, no in the cup difference.

When I ordered, I considered getting another tamper "some time later" after the machine arrived, but after using it the first few times I felt so at home with it there was no reason for me to change.

I feel the size of the tamper and the length of the handle is very good for the way you use it, with the filter basket standing by itself on a tamp mat. Wouter advises light tamping and to be careful with getting it level. Tamping power is more than enough if you use your fingers stabilising and pushing down on the tamper. This way it is very easy to feel with your finger tips that tamping is level, and that the edge of the filter basket and the top of the tamper disk align.

The methods used with 58 mm portafilters and heavy conical-top tampers and heavy tamping are just not necessary on the Strietman.

After a couple of years still using the Strietman tamper. I've been looking at other tampers for over 2 years now but can't justify buyng one as the stock one is perfect for me. Guiding it with your fingers is really easy and having the top of the base just below the rm of the filterbasket is the perfect amount of coffee for the normal filterbasket. So it's just a perfect fit and I think with writing this it's done with thinking I'll ever upgrade it .

I'm sitting here, and maybe it's covid insanity but ... How much better than a La Pav are these machine for coffee and living with for espresso.

I had a La Pav type machine for a year or so a few years back, and between the small baskets, the timing and hope temp management and maybe the running it in parallel to a 58mm hx machine I just never got it right.

Are these machines "just" museum worthy open boiler manual levers that still require as deft a hand and careful care as the machine I could not get on with, or are they fundamentally better built device that is more fit for purpose in guiding a user to passable/great espresso?

The machines look amazing, so appealing. But, is that just me being allured by looks and the "vibe" of such a pretty and elegant manual machine??

Suggest you read Erik82's comments under CT1.

Over the past 4 years I think I have read those threads top to bottom, and they are comprehensive.
The Temp control seems amazingly simple and robust. The build quality seems generational.
The shots it can pull reasonably cover the scope of espresso ranges I like.

The feeling I get with a lot of capable machines is in the end they fade into the background and they become another tool to make good coffee. My day to day use of the Vesuvius is that. There are lots of variables I can use when I need to, but 3-4 times a day I grind, tamp load and pull a really good espresso. If there is a poor shot, that's my fault, not the machines. If I change a variable it is changed in a repeatable way. There is no wrestling with my machine.

I guess my question is, for the folks who this was their first manual lever, or for those who were burned by early failures with other manual levers, was this machine worth the outlay?

EDIT: Actually, there is one question I either missed or forgot the answer to. What are the differences in the brew groups between the CT1 and CT2?

This is my second manual lever after a Cremina, which I still own but use much less often.

Temperature management is easier but you still need to pay attention. I can get shots that make me happy with my purchase from both but the CT2 is just more consistent and easier to use. For me it is the more counter-worthy but that is a matter of opinion.

I thought long and hard before buying it since I didn't "need" it. I read posts by others that loved their CT1/2 and even posts about Cremina owners that liked their CT2 better. Yet I procrastinated. I think it was about a year later that I finally got my CT2 and after 1 shot I was mad at myself for waiting so long. No science or scientific method to back any of this up, but you did ask for other's experiences and that was mine. I hope that helps.

Your experience is genuine, and contextualised. One cannot ask for more in any hobbiest forum

Thanks for taking the time to reply, and being open about your procrastination and comparisons. It really helps.

Steveholt wrote:I'm sitting here, and maybe it's covid insanity but ... How much better than a La Pav are these machine for coffee and living with for espresso.

I had a La Pav type machine for a year or so a few years back, and between the small baskets, the timing and hope temp management and maybe the running it in parallel to a 58mm hx machine I just never got it right.

Are these machines "just" museum worthy open boiler manual levers that still require as deft a hand and careful care as the machine I could not get on with, or are they fundamentally better built device that is more fit for purpose in guiding a user to passable/great espresso?

The machines look amazing, so appealing. But, is that just me being allured by looks and the "vibe" of such a pretty and elegant manual machine??

Very easy. The Pavoni is a reasonable machine and like E61 quality shots. The Strietman is more like Slayer, KvdW, LM etc quality shots. It's in a different league and much more convenient then a Pavoni is pulling multiple shots, ease of use, temperature management, shot volume and much more.