I notice that some of the contributors to this forum have a pump machine as well as a lever. When do they prefer using one rather than the other?

Matt

Accident of geography. One machine at each house we have currently. But when we consolidate to one, we'll sell the pump machine and go lever only. And we're expecting a newborn Robot in October to be the Bosco's baby brother.

We just love the simplicity and wonderfulness of levers so much, and have evolved beyond pump machines. Admittedly, though, if we had the Bosco and a Slayer, we'd be tempted to outfit a spare room for the latter.

mathof wrote:I notice that some of the contributors to this forum have a pump machine as well as a lever. When do they prefer using one rather than the other?

Matt

I have a modified Linea Mini and am a few weeks into owning a Strietman CT1. I think that manual lever and pump machine espresso shots taste different, and I like both. With pump machines I get a heap of body and mouth feel. The manual lever, to me, provides flavour clarity but does sacrifice some viscosity.

My Slayer 1G, which replaced my then Londinium LI (which replaced a 12-year old Pasquini Livia 90) is my daily driver. For camp and mobile use I have a 2002 (with the new style 2016 group) Cremina and an EspressoForge v2.1 (which replaced a Ponte Vecchio Export). Although for impromptu afternoon shots I will often use the EF at home because its so quick to espresso in the cup. And, I can coach sweeter shots from medium to darker roasts from the EF without thinking much about it. Whereas, for this casual (self-trained) barista, using the Slayer for darker roasts requires much more thought on my part to get similar results (and changing machine settings from my typical preference for light roasts).

When I'm pushing out back-to-back shots there is nothing, that I have owned/used anyway, I like the Slayer for putting out identical shots as quick as I can swap in spent baskets for freshly loaded baskets so we get to drink together .

For consistency and the best shots I enjoy my Conti Prestina with a PID. It's set up on a timer to be warmed up in the morning. For dark roasts my easiest machine is a vintage Olympia Express Maximatic. It's a dragon HX, and I pull dark roasts at lower temperature, so a cooling flush provides consistent results. I can't pull at such low temperature with a lever machine because there isn't enough pressure to fill the group. The Maximatic is also good for a small breakfast gathering because water can be replenished into the pourover tank, it can temperature surf different coffees, and it's good for microfoaming milk drinks.

Of course I have and collect multiple vintage levers and like to rotate through those that aren't museum pieces (i.e., 1961 Europiccola, 1960 Lady Duchessa) to remain familiar with them. I like the ability to tail off the pressure with a lever to avoid overextraction, and that I can dose and pull shots without weighing and can compensate flow rate with the lever. The home levers warm up much faster than the Prestina, which I'm not always using as a daily driver.

Im a fan of the lever as it allows quick changes on the fly and it the only exercise i get these days..

Why have a lever and a pump espresso machine? To know the difference.

Levers are things of beauty for their elegant simplicity and infinite profiling capabilities.
The E61 is also a thing of beauty for its superb design, effectiveness, consistency, and repeatability.

There's something other than levers?

Lever as daily mon-fri driver.

Good pump machine for parties and weekend experiments with darker roasts.

I enjoy alternating between my Sorrento & Speedster. During the week only one is on each day but on the weekends I usually run both. Each machine produces a somewhat different shot with the same coffees. Similar to using a good flat burr grinder or good conical grinder with the same beans/blends.