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Reddit Reviews
I always recommend used off marketplace. I’ve yet to purchase a lemon of any type of machine. 50% off new is such a great way purchase a machine that otherwise would be out of price range. As far as coffee goes, I’ve picked up a 1996 La Pavoni and a Profitec Pro 500 with PID, all at great bargains.
I’ve also got a smart plug on my 500, but I’ve found I get a flavor I enjoy more out of the Pavoni than the 500. The steaming and the shot size are better though on the 500. So for me, straight shots are always on the Pavoni and my cappuccinos are on the 500
You just need a second machine ;) I have a La Pavoni which heats up in about 7 minutes I use if I want an unexpected espresso late afternoon.
I have a Lelit Mara. I love it. But I was lucky enough to find a 1995 La Pavoni for 600 bucks in perfect condition. It really makes an incredible difference. The coffee is noticeably better.
I have Lilet Mara and La Pavoni 1978, Europiccola. The lever is fantastic. Love them both but the lever makes better coffee.
LaPavoni Europiccola. Mine is manufactured 1997. Every part is still available. As they are still produced, the parts will be available for a long time.
lol this thing always getting hate on here. I preordered mine as soon as I saw it mostly because of how great the Aiden has been for us. My first espresso machine was a vintage dual switch La Pavoni Europiccola. Bought it on eBay in 2018. It’s the only espresso machine I’ve ever owned. I learned how to make espresso with it. I’ve always wanted a fancy newer machine to go next to it but it’s just always worked fine and I didn’t wanna spend the money. It should be noted my wife flat out refuses to use it lol. I never had any kind of coffee machine. I just made pour overs, French press, siphon, etc. When the Aiden was first announced I did some research and I took a chance. I was really impressed watching the devs talk about how it actually worked. I read all the same garbage on Reddit about build quality or whatever from Fellow. Not only do I use it daily but my wife does too. We both love the thing. And we have never had a single problem w it after over a year now of daily use. I mean I’m not discounting the people who have problems but like, who goes on the internet and touts about how the product they bought works as expected? lol. Maybe I’m wrong for that. I thought because of how much she also loves the Aiden, maybe my wife would use the espresso series 1 machine too so I figured it was time to add it to the mix. So I’ll just be enjoying my vintage lever machine until whenever the series 1 finally makes it here. But I mean everyone’s situation is different. That’s just my story w the fellow machines. I haven’t used their grinders so I can’t speak for those either.
La pavoni europicola (used)
Not all of those things are true for all lever machines, only for the ones with no boiler... I got our first-born a La Pavoni Europiccola when they moved out and they are very happy with it. A certain amount of practice on my Elektra was of course a pre-cursor to that.
Interesting categories. I'd probably go with * Manual levers (Flair, Robot, etc.) * Semi-automatic levers (La Pavoni Europiccola, Olympia Cremina, etc.) (some call this "classic lever") * Spring levers (Profitec 800, Olympia Cremina SL, etc.) * Pseudo-levers (Decent, Wendougee) (i.e. non-levers but digital controls to simulate lever profiles) * Programmable Levers (or whatever the Meticulous is)
I came here to say this! I agonized over getting into home espresso and espresso milk drinks for 10 years, and ended up with a la pavoni europiccola from ebay (dated 1991 but clearly never used / was just counter art). I can dial in shots easily with a 1zpresso k max, total set up is less than 1k. More money for good coffee beans
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