I'm such a noob when it comes to lever machines.
I just got a Gaggia Achille and man do I have a lot to learn. It's manual both ways... I guess I was expecting to either push it up or pull it down and then a spring would do the rest.... Yikes is this hard. I pulled 3 doubles this afternoon and all but one were sink-shots. I know I need to dial this grinder in, but wow so many variable.
How do you know when you are pulling 9 bar? How do you know when the grind is right or if it's really stalled?
I'd definitely need a tutorial.... I don't want to blow a seal (Please no bad jokes about that :o )
Any help would be appreciated.
OK, speaking from a personal experience with Achille:Thanks, that helps.
*Disclaimer: I’m in no way an expert on a lever or espresso in general. Steps described below is what worked the best for my personal taste. Apologies if some terminology is used incorrectly I’m trying to describe the process to the best of my abilities.
1. Warm-up 30 min.
2. Prepare your basket (grind, dose, distribute, tamp)
3. Flush the group head (usually 2 full strokes until no flush boiling) into a bowl or use the flushed water to preheat your cups
4. Load the PF
5. Lift the lever all the way up, apply steady pressure and pull about half way down (until first drop in the cup). The resistance on the lever will build up (rump up?). This is a ‘pre-infusion’ phase.
6. Lift again all the way up and apply steady pressure. The resistance of the lever will be present at the almost upper point
Now, I believe that steps 5 and 6 describe so-called ‘Fellini move’. The best shot you’ll get when in step 6 you ask yourself for 5 sec. (or even more) “Have I choked it???†and then suddenly it gives in and you are chasing the lever to keep steady flow of dark-brown-red heavy-syrupy liquid. That technique will produce about 2 oz. Forget about timing – just watch the flow. Timing is irrelevant here.
Adjust you grind finer until you experience the phenomena of a best shot described above.
I hope it should get you started in the right direction.
Did I miss something? Oh! Pressure! (Force applied on the lever). Hefty but never lean on it. Use your muscle not the body mass.
If I was starting over – I would follow Tex’s advice with dynamic pressure kit.
I do have a modified PF with a pressure gauge on it so I can judge what 9 bar feels like.
So Milob...it's been a few days now. What do you think? Is it worth the learning curve?
So Milob...it's been a few days now. What do you think? Is it worth the learning curve?
He's been uncharacteristically quiet of late. He must not have a computer connection in the dog house? ;D
So Milob...it's been a few days now. What do you think? Is it worth the learning curve?
He's been uncharacteristically quiet of late. He must not have a computer connection in the dog house? ;D
I think he is busy trying to re-acquirehisyour old Sonofresco.
:-X
Yikes is this hard.
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Optical illusion or does the Achille really flex that much when you pull a shot? I need to fire up the LP Pro and see if it's that limber.
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Optical illusion or does the Achille really flex that much when you pull a shot? I need to fire up the LP Pro and see if it's that limber.
It flexes, that's why I hold the portafilter handle.
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Optical illusion or does the Achille really flex that much when you pull a shot? I need to fire up the LP Pro and see if it's that limber.
It flexes, that's why I hold the portafilter handle.
It looked like you were exerted a lot of force to pull that shot. Maybe you should grind a tad coarser - pulling espresso isn't supposed to be anaerobic exercise. :o
Since you dropped a vid in here, figured I would shoot a quick one before heading off to the Farmers Market in a hour or so.
...
Oh, the Achille... great machine. long learning curve. I'm finally pulling some great shots.
MVI 0828 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xky8inqY0c#ws[/url])
Optical illusion or does the Achille really flex that much when you pull a shot? I need to fire up the LP Pro and see if it's that limber.
It flexes, that's why I hold the portafilter handle.
It looked like you were exerted a lot of force to pull that shot. Maybe you should grind a tad coarser - pulling espresso isn't supposed to be anaerobic exercise. :o
Isn't that called an americano?
;D
[Optical illusion or does the Achille really flex that much when you pull a shot? I need to fire up the LP Pro and see if it's that limber.
My La Pavoni only had a single shot basket and that just won't do for me. I had a heck of a time finding a double basket for my La Pavoni, but Google paid off again. After a long search I found them:
[url]http://espressocare.com/[/url] ([url]http://espressocare.com/[/url])
has them in stock.... and for a better price than espressoparts.com who has them on back order. Orphan no longer carries them.
My La Pavoni only had a single shot basket and that just won't do for me. I had a heck of a time finding a double basket for my La Pavoni, but Google paid off again. After a long search I found them:
[url]http://espressocare.com/[/url] ([url]http://espressocare.com/[/url])
has them in stock.... and for a better price than espressoparts.com who has them on back order. Orphan no longer carries them.
Sorry, I wasn't paying attention - I have a few of the 51mm baskets.
I've been getting great shots with the Gaggia Factory using 16 grams in the 51 mm double basket. Just great.shots this morning were 15 grams... I'll try 16.
Lever land is pretty fun.
...
I've decided that bottomless is essential for a small lever. The tamp is less forgiving than on a 58 mm portafilter. . .
Thanks!
Great set-up.
I find the Cremina extremely forgiving. I have both the naked portafilter and standard PF -- both work fine; 49.4 mm baskets. I have adjusted my tamp to a needle stir, thumping it with my Cafelat, x3. Then I polish more than tamp.
...
I plan to bring both of these to SCAA as well as plenty of towels for the gushers ;D
Looks like fun.
What kind of steam tip do you have on the La Pavoni. Mine came with a drilled out acorn nut (Brooklynshot style) single hole tip that seems pretty easy to use. I've heard that the stock tip can be harder.
I might have a spare tip on one of my pump toys that I could send you, or OE has a slim steam tip in stainless and brass that's a little classier.
You may not want to try too hard to clean the plugged hole... I've heard of people breaking off toothpicks in their tips to plug up the extras so that they'll make a three hole into a single... YMMV. Let us know the results either way.I ordered 6 brass acorn nuts from the UK today. I plan to make 3 tips with various hole sizes and a few with multiple holes to see if I can find a good tip design. I read on Home barista where someone used a single 1/16" hole. I might start with a slightly smaller one and work up from there. I also plan try a 2 and 3 hole design or two. Worse case I'm out $15 for the nuts.
Take comfort in the fact that I found steaming on the La Pavoni (even though I still need work on it) to be much easier than the Bellman stovetop steamer. It is known to be a bit tricky, though, but I think the right tip (or plugged holes) helps.
What did you think of 16 grams on the La Pavoni? What dose does the Export like?
Milo, I wonder if we have different basket sizes... 16 grams seems to fit just great in my Millennium. My baskets are shown in the second photo below, top row 45 mm La Peppina, next is an oddball 49 mm basket I bought for a project, then the 51 mm Millennium, finally the 53 mm Mypressi Twist setup.
Tex is on to something there... I've got the pressure dialed down for good temp management which means the steaming power takes a hit.
I think the pressurestat on my Millennium Gaggia Factory G106 (Pro) is set to 0.8 bar. This makes it really easy to maintain stable temps, even with a bottomless portafilter cooled with water between shots.
The pressurestat on my Pro keeps the brew temp rock solid, but it's a PITA to fine tune. The real advantage of the PID though, will be to let me set the steam temp high enough to get decent pressure for creating microfoam.
The fan shaped hole in the steam wand tip on my HX seems to make better microfoam with less attention to detail. It doesn't do much for a non frou-frou guy like me, but it may be useful for the moreeffeminateeffete barista? ;D
The pressurestat on my Pro keeps the brew temp rock solid, but it's a PITA to fine tune. The real advantage of the PID though, will be to let me set the steam temp high enough to get decent pressure for creating microfoam.
The fan shaped hole in the steam wand tip on my HX seems to make better microfoam with less attention to detail. It doesn't do much for a non frou-frou guy like me, but it may be useful for the moreeffeminateeffete barista? ;D
I must be going blind ... I could swear that I read that Robert is creating micro foam for frou frou!
:o
And just because I have a frou-frou capable machine doesn't mean I use it for that. My car s capable of 140 MPH according to the speedometer; do you think I drive that fast?
I have to say, of the 3 levers I have I like the Achille the best. I'm not sure why I seem to pull better shots with it... could it be I like the 58mm portafilter and the non-spring combo.... thoughts? And it steams very very well.
21 grams, ~2 oz. in a 6 oz cup... but you'd think 1 1/2 oz with 15 grams in the Sama would be just as good.I have to say, of the 3 levers I have I like the Achille the best. I'm not sure why I seem to pull better shots with it... could it be I like the 58mm portafilter and the non-spring combo.... thoughts? And it steams very very well.
Maybe you are just in tune with that 58mm vibe.
What kind of shot volume does it deliver?
I have to say, of the 3 levers I have I like the Achille the best. I'm not sure why I seem to pull better shots with it... could it be I like the 58mm portafilter and the non-spring combo.... thoughts? And it steams very very well.
The 58mm portafilter could be the reason you pull better shots with it.
I have to say, of the 3 levers I have I like the Achille the best. I'm not sure why I seem to pull better shots with it... could it be I like the 58mm portafilter and the non-spring combo.... thoughts? And it steams very very well.
My thoughts?
You need to post a video of the Achille in action!
Nice pour Milo. I'm a little jealous.I use a 14 oz pitcher to steam 3 - 4 oz of milk... no problem. Or use the small pitcher and pour more slowly.
I was reading a thread on Home-Barista on Motta pitchers which veered into the technique of steaming in a smaller pitcher then transferring the milk to a larger pitcher for the pour. Some advantage to the larger pitcher letting you tilt down more before the milk comes out.
Sounds like too much fiddling.
I was also thinking of wiping the steam wand with a thin coat of olive oil to make it easier to clean. Thoughts?
Tex,
The solution is to chop the portafilter and start taking pictures of the espresso porn you produce.
Question for PV Lusso owners: Has anyone found a substitute for the cast spout portafilters that come with these? They're not ugly, but they're not as attractive as the PFs with threaded spouts.
Question for PV Lusso owners: Has anyone found a substitute for the cast spout portafilters that come with these? They're not ugly, but they're not as attractive as the PFs with threaded spouts.
Yup..... bottomless... that is what you neeeeeeed for a lever
([url]http://www.home-barista.com/forums/userpix/8101_5669933706_6e19d64999_z.jpg[/url])
So Robert ... did the lover affair end?
[url]http://houston.craigslist.org/app/3564055809.html[/url] ([url]http://houston.craigslist.org/app/3564055809.html[/url])
???
So Robert ... did the lover affair end?
[url]http://houston.craigslist.org/app/3564055809.html[/url] ([url]http://houston.craigslist.org/app/3564055809.html[/url])
???
Maybe, maybe not?? It's a great machine, but the small filters and other very picky issues may keep it from being my daily go-to machine. Actually, the problem is I've gotten used to the power and control of commercial machines. Once you go pro most folks can never go back to prosumer.
But, it's a great machine and dead simple to use, so I may keep it?? Or not, but maybe - who knows?? Did that answer your question?
... feeling like a ...
;D
She's thinking about buying it, but like most bleepin' noobs, she's balking at the cost of a quality grinder.
([url]http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/fighting/beating-head-against-the-wall.gif[/url])
Heck! She'd have 3 already and one on the way via FedEx.
She loves the slightly under extracted coffee and low volume steam output.
For all of you with PV or Sama machines, my hat's off to you - they're great machines.
For all of you with PV or Sama machines, my hat's off to you - they're great machines.
I can't quite get my mind around you not loving the Lusso enough to keep it, but then again it's not a SAMA, and maybe that makes all the difference.
Maybe you will like your next one better....
Susan
The coffee was great, but I've got other machines that make great coffee with fewer aggravating factors.
Leverheads, with OE changing their business model, might be a good time to grab some spare parts. They haven't said how much inventory they will retain on a continuing basis:
[url]http://www.orphanespresso.com/LEVER-MACHINE-GASKETS-SEALS-PARTS_c_195.html[/url] ([url]http://www.orphanespresso.com/LEVER-MACHINE-GASKETS-SEALS-PARTS_c_195.html[/url])
...
Wow, mine are already gone...suddenly I feel panic. :-[
Leverheads, with OE changing their business model, might be a good time to grab some spare parts. They haven't said how much inventory they will retain on a continuing basis:
[url]http://www.orphanespresso.com/LEVER-MACHINE-GASKETS-SEALS-PARTS_c_195.html[/url] ([url]http://www.orphanespresso.com/LEVER-MACHINE-GASKETS-SEALS-PARTS_c_195.html[/url])