That's so well explained, great! Now I understand why certain things are like that. I thoroughly agree: supercrowded but beautiful inside. The body should be made of glass.
Hi Jim. I wanted to change my Cimbali m27 with one of these for my cafe. Something like Strega but with 2 or 3 headgroups. Is it worth changing it or the lever machines are generally hard to use multiple times for a barista. My main concerns are the handiness and the coffee flavor. What do you think?
The Strega is a home machine; but several manfacturers make commercial multi-group lever machines. You will need a three group lever machine to replace a two group pump machine, since lever groups have to cool off for an extra 30 to 45 seconds between shots. Baristas will need more training to use them as well. The upside is that these machines are simpler, lower cost, and make very tasty shots from light "3rd wave" roasts. So, my feeling is that if your crowd are office people wanting lattes, and in a rush; it maybe not a great idea. If your crowd are hang out, coffee people; then it may be a great idea.
Thanks for your fast reply! That was helpful! Bezzera has a one model named b2013 al. Have you heard about it? I know there are better lever machines but unfortunately, my budget is limited. Do you think this model is risky for a cafe, or should I change my budget scale? @@HBsJim
Is there anything major to worry about in an older Machine? I am picking up a 2013 machine for only $1000 AUD this weekend that is in amazong condition and has been serviced about every 18 months. A big step up from my ECM CASA V!
You're spared a typical fried connection problem of older Italian made home machines in 110V country; but it's still worth while checking the plastic connectors around the boiler for heat cracking. Routine maintenance for all these machines may require replacing pressure stats and ulka pumps. Get some food safe lube for the piston gaskets (there should eb videos on RU-vid to shw you how. A peculiar problem of the Strega (non plumb version) is the microswitch that turns on the pump whic is located at the top of the group. It doesn't need repalcing, but can get bent out of shape and not come on. Otherwise, you're good to go.
@@HBsJim Thanks for the reply. I feel pretty confident opening up machines (albeit much cheaper ones) as I have refurbished / and sold about half a dozen Breville Barista Express' plus a ECM Casa IV this year. So I'll definitely check it out.
Thanks Jim Schulmann, I'm reading your impressions of the Mara on the barista forum (I'm Pasgal there). And I arrived here, on your channel, I subscribe. Thank you.
I work in repairs for espresso machines; many of those machines we've recently repaired are Lelit. Poor ventilation, silly parts placement and poor-quality components are usually the leading cause. We always charge much more for Lelits because they are not technician friendly and take much more time to service. Some users would instead purchase a new machine, and we would strongly recommend that than fixing these. Even a complicated Slayer won't take me twice as long. You'll need to remove a lot of parts to reach some components. I believe that most users could only own these for a short time if they are faced with expensive issues all the time. You need really a lot of care and be very lucky. A basic Bezzera, VBM or Rocket could outlast this by miles. For example, the probe's placement and the long copper rod's silly design to the wand explain why the steam isn't great. Some users asked us to fix it. You can only fix it by blasting the boiler hotter and killing the other components. Nobody would want to set their boiler that hot. U place the probe in that position and measure the water for that bit more accuracy, which most users can't tell the difference. Only to put the machine at a much higher risk; this is precisely how silly. This is just one of the many examples. There's something at the back of my head telling me there's something wrong about safety, but I can't tell what it is. Some valves or electronics they use, like the safety, are cheap. The relay, which could fail quickly from heat, is placed right next to the boiler and also at a spot where water seeps in. Some components constantly fail from moisture damage due to where they place them. And not to mention the heat damage, it's ridiculously high compared to the other brands we have seen. Such damages are hard to fix as they can damage everywhere and usually don't fail alone. Meaning the technician has to waste time testing most components. Some components can't be tested quickly, and many in these lelits can't be reached easily either. That's why we said we have to charge more as it wastes more time and requires more replacements. If I could choose, I won't want to take the job. All electronic components have a longevity rating, and thermal stress reduces the lifespan. The machine is also unusually lighter than most other E61 machines; it's anyone's guess where they shaved. One guy brought a China E61 the other day, and I can see the resemblances. Full of features to show on the brochure, flimsy components tightly packed together in a tight space which is a PITA to repair. With Breville's takeover, I hope they have not used the engineering team from China on Lelit.
My experience has been different. I've been maintaing my home machines for twenty years; and I have not found the Lelits less relaible or harder to work on than my other machines. Lelits are sold by all the largest internet vendors, all of whom "fire" companies that create warranty losses or give their service departments a hard time.
Not really sure if I see the difference between 98 and 100 C for example. Mine doesn‘t even look close to your video. Bubbles way smaller and less waterflow. So not really sure if mine is boiling at 102 or higher (e.g., 106). Any more tips how I can spot the boiling temp exactly and if waterflow differentiate (maybe due to IMS shower vs Lelit standard)? From taste I feel my machine maybe has an offset of 2 C.
It's mostly that there's hissing and sputtering. So the difference is more in the sound than the look. Probably the video's sound recording is not good enough to convey that.
Thanks for the reply! I notice the change in sound at 97 degrees first, but can actually barely hear it and takes quite a lot of time. At 99 it takes a bit of time and then you can hear the sizzling sound pretty well. At 100 it starts immediately when pulling the lever. Is that perfectly calibrated?
@@tobiaspetros3231 It's how I did it. But since you can set the shot temp, it is more about it being comparable to other people's. With this calibration, when I use Scace to measure shot temperatures, it's about right. (If you want to be really persniketty -- I have my temp set at 92C and the Scace reads from 92 to 93, so using the 99 setting as the calibration would be just as accruate, and you'll have the shot a half degree lower than your setting)
I have the machine in the Version 2 and in the last 2 weeks the Temperature LED mostly doesn’t stop blinking or takes forever to stop blinking. Sometimes a backflush helps but not always. It starts blinking after every shot. What could be broken? The temperature probe at the bottom of the machine?
great video! just wondering if we need to flush out the water from the boiler regularly to prevent the limescale build up? does the brew water comes out from the boiler or the brew water source is separated?
In a heat exchanger machine (HX), like the Mara, the water for the shot flows through a tube inside the steam boiler. As it flows through, it heats up to roughly the 90C to 95C brew range. But there is a lot of variation based on the flow rate variations, and how long the machine has been sitting. The final control is done by metal of the group itself. If this is at the right temperature, it will force the brew waer to something close. This is old school, 1960s style control. The Mara X's wrinkle is that the group is controlled by a PID that varies the boiler temperature. This adds slop to the HX part, but more than compensates by the precise temperature at the group. It is good practice, roughy once a month, to fill your tank with distilled water, shut off the machine, and open up the water tap. This empties empties the steam boiler down to 1/2 ot 1/3. Turn the machine back on, and you refill with distilled water, thereby diluting the minerals and retarding scaling.
@@HBsJim Thanks Jim, it is very informative. I wondered if the water in the tube is only from the water tank or a small portion of the water in the tube is routed from the boiler in marax?
@@erihsehc2 It's a straight through heat exchanger. The thermosyphon loop that keeps the group heated by circulating boiler water through it, shares a port with the HX water fed into the group, but there is a checkvalve. People have speculated whether there is mixing, and how much, in due to the shared port. Maybe I'm not curious enough, but I've never worried about it.
It's a sore spot. I took the course and flunked .... I had a cold, I wasn't paying attention, etc. etc. Only one person in our group passed, Colleen Anunu, who is awesome. The rest of us were invited to attend the can't miss make up course.
Hi Jim. Bianca V3 arrived this a.m. FWIW, I got the Black in order to tone down the shiny kitchen objects visible from my living space. Pulled some plug-and-play shots to satisfy it works well enough to get me going tomorrow. Then the fun begins. I bought my first machine on your reccomendation--the Isomac Tea. Been through a few "very last machine" I'll ever buy since. Maybe this time I mean it.
The Linea Mini has flow control kits that can be added by people with DIY skills. I'm guessing these will be available for the Micra within the year. There are also cosmetic add ons -- knobs and drip trays -- for the Mini, that may get adapted to the Micra. But as of right now; I don;t think there is anyhting.
Are you a wizard or is the machine that good? So little effort to make great milk and you even made some latte art one handed. My Gaggia takes forever to make crappy milk.
Great lesson sir, even I don’t have it right now. but enjoy watching your explanation/ feel like I am fixing a vintage car or sth. like that. amazing :P but planning to have such machine , like Lelit / ECM etc. good for us to understand more from insides. lovely machine with brassssss ! 😂 thank you sir!!!!! i will consider Mara X for sure!
Thanks. If you enjoy doing your own work, the new E61 machines like the Lelit are OK, but they contain a lot of electronics; so that you'll also be working on black boxe and sensors. If you prefer old school, all mechanical; you may be better off getting pre-2K vintage machines from long standing manufacturers like Cimbali, Faema, Astroria, etc, and getting the repair parts from the espresso part suppliers.
Not 100% sure if the slow ramp up pump is a bonus. E61 already has a preinfusion feature by design, as well as vibratory pumps in general. I already get about 10sec preinfusion with a standard Ulka EX 5 pump with my ECM Classika PID, which is on the edge of being too much for dark roasted coffees. The Olab Silent green in the Lelit Mara X will extend the preinfusion even further, which is only an advantage for rly light roasts. Would strongly advice to preload the lower collector(leaving lever in 45° angle after flush) to shorten preinfusion for darker roasts. Lelit mainly went with this pump desigjn to decrease the likelyhood of channeling for espresso machine beginners and of course to lower noise level.(which is important, because of to the very thin unisolated housing of the Mara X)
@@HBsJim Sry if my comment sounds a bit harsh. No hate at all. Actually I rly like the Mara X. With the Mara X Lelit managed to deliver a package of features that are normally not seen on sub 1000$ machines.(stainless steel boiler, high quality hx, "PID light", nice thick copper main group feed pipe). Without a doubt the most innovative HX E61 machine in it's pricerange.(300$ more expensive Rocket Apartamento feels quiet old in comparison) Lelit only missed out with getting the most out of all the features they added and cheaped out a bit on build quality and reliability. For example the PID settings don't do that much, as for most coffees only the lowest setting(90-94°) rly hits the point. Of course someone can brew coffee with 96-100° hot water but that wont taste that well. (maybe they fixed that with second iteration, got the first release from 2020 for testing). Then there is the pump, that rly is great in terms of noise for a vibra. pump but not ideal in pressure build up.(also fails quiet often from what i read online which normally is a cheap repair but the Mara X pump costs 80$) And last but not least, there is a problem with failing heat sensors and the controll unit. Some Mara X reach pressures above 3bars while heating up until the safety valve starts to vent. Also quiet a costly repair needed than. Without those imperfections it would rly come close to a perfect E61 HX machine.
@@Squilliam-Fancyson I may have been lucky with my review machines. The boiler cycled fairly predictably between 0.8 bar and 2.5 bar, and I could even use a short flush to push it up for nice steaming performance. The cycling behavior, rather than settling to a midpoint, is deliberate, since the lags are so high, that using the PID in the normal way would have been futile. It would have been nice if they had developed a model based controller, but that would have required custom parts and probably blown their budget. Despite the rough and ready implementation, it was my assumption that every other manufacturer would follow suit with the HX E61s; maybe the pandemic has delayed this. I certainly like the X far more than any other HX E61 I ever tried. This includes setting up the jet and spring rates for lighter roasts.
@@Squilliam-Fancyson the e61 was made for changing things like the gicleur and preinfusion spring fairly easy, so you should be able to change it out to suit your prefences for roast.
Your grouphead look pretty scratched up. My ECM Classika PID is 7 years old now, and my grouphead does not has any scratches. It should only be clean with soft microfiber cloths.(dont use papertowls or cotton cloths) Also juged by the water stains on your lower collector your water is way too calcareous. Would go with soft bottle water or filtering.
HI JIM, in one of your presentations you said it's importan to purge the machine any time it's going to be used. And I saw you doing that in the video. but later in a commentary you said that's not necessary. I'm confused. Maybe I misunderstood you.
Hi Maria, I'm replying to both your comments here. Flushing the machine serves two purposes, the easier one is cleaning, and the more complicated one is temperature management. For cleanliness, it is good practice to occasionally flush the machine after shots and wipe off the shower screen. Most home baristas do it after every shoit, but this isn't necessary. On HX machines, like the Strega, the water in the heat exchanger rises to steam boiler temperature as it idles. But most of thee machines are designed with cafe operation in mind, and the group expects water that is heated just by passing through the heat exchanger, not sitting there. So I was thinking "HX machine, must flush out the overheated water" Buit the Strega is designed as a home machine. The group is a little cool, and is heated by the water on the first shot. Then, on subsequent shots, the group i hotter, and the HX water cooler, so it all balances ... roughly (within 2C). So flushing is not strictly necessary, althoug you might get slightly more even shots if you do.. If you are in mind for more precise temperature control, a lever machine is not a good choice. You are better off with a double boiler with manual flow control, or the Decent, if you prefer setting everything up ahead of time..
Is there any reason why you start the process with the valve almost fully open and then decrease the flow for pre-infusion? Usually the videos show that the FSD is open 1/8 of a turn at the very beginning, at which point the pre-infusion occurs.
Prior to the pressure rising, the only thing that is happening is that the space above the puck is filling with water. There is very little soaking into the puck at this point. So there is no point throttling the flow and wasting time. But if you are not in a hurry; you can let the flow trickle in and it won't make a difference in the result.
@@HBsJim Thanks! I thinks, for me it's easier to start with 1/8 an not to touch the FCD until the first droplets than find the point of 2.5-3 bars (that would be much easier in a machine with pressure profiling like Flair or Crem ONE PROFILER, but, anyway, I am not in a hurry).
Hi Jim. This is very instructional. I just got a Strega and I'm wondering what size portafilter you used in this video. Mine are labelled 7g for the single and 14 g for the double, however, my understanding is that those are more traditional italian style doses. So far, not even 16g in the double has yielded a shot with the body and mouthfeel that I was expecting.
I used a an aftermarket double basket called the "microfine," which I'm not sure is still on sale. Single baskets take more skill, and I recommend the LM or IMS single with a 47mm tamper if you want to build your skills (google on these and you'll get the info). For doubles, experiment with higher doses and coarser grinds (more body, extremer taste), or lower doses and finer grinds (less body, smoother taste) to get the right tuning for each coffee. The supplied double will work well for this (the supplied single is not very good)
@@HBsJim Thanks Jim. I'm still experimenting with dosing and find it quite challenging. Another question regarding 'pre-flushing' the machine. Is this necessary? Or could it even be counter-productive as the Strega has Bezzera's proprietary heated brew group.
@@AndreasLienemann Don't flush lever machines in general; and the Strega in particular. The way they work is that the group is cooler than the inflowing water, and drops the temperature. Lever groups need to cool off between shots, not get heated with flush. The Strega uses a heat exchanger and pump, so it's a little different. But the group head heater does the work for you.
@@AndreasLienemann I was still new to levers, and was overdoing it. If there is a long interval between shots, the water in the HX in the boiler rises to well above boiling point. In pump machines with small groups, it's good to flush this out excess out. In a big lever machine, it makes almost no difference.
It seems that in the V3 this has changed a bit. The offset is now added while brewing to temporarily lower or higher the setpoint instead of all the time it seems. Setting my temperature to 98 and offset to 5 behaves different than 103 degrees Celsius and 0 offset. After switching the lelit is heating up and shows 98 as a process value. But when 103 is reached and stable, starting to brew doesn't immediately start heating the boiler. This happens only with a positive offset. The machine now seems to compensate the cool water flowing into the boiler when brewing when this value is used
Thanks for the clarification. Does it make a difference when trying to find the temperature drop between the boiler and group, so that the panel reading is identical to the shot temperature?
@@HBsJim i did bot bother any further with it so far. I will check my temperature drop throughout a shot and adjust for that. I will try to set the offset in my head when adjusting the setpoint.
Like setting 95 when i want 92 and the offset is 3, I should be good. But maybe the actual offset is now a fixed value in the background? Biancas shouldnt be too Different...
@@pastagandalf Ah. If you can measure the shot temperature in real time; this video is of no use to you. It is a way of determining the offset without using a thermometer for any DB, not just the Bianca.
@@HBsJim I can't. But to my understanding, this value is now a temporary offset to make boiler water temperature more consistent throughout the brew. So I guess if the displayed process value in the PID drops 5 degrees over a typical brew, you set it to 5 and it will be at the starting temperature if the brew is complete. In the past this was the offset between actual water temp in the basket and boiler temperature.
Awesome explanation many thanks I really enjoyed this! This question has to be: Would you today buy an Elizabeth or a Mara X considering both are the same price and why? Really looking forward for your reply! Best wishes
I have not used the Elizabeth, so it's hard for me to comment. However, there are two things that stand out which would personally incline me towards the X. First, the E61 is generally a more forgiving group than the integrated boiler/group style the Elizabeth uses; moreover, the X is tuned for a long preinfusion that makes it easy to do third wave roasts. Also the smaller steam boiler will make streaming multiple cappas or large lattes more of a chore. On the Elizabeth's side -- that style group is more finely adjustable for brew temperature. If you are more quantitative than qualitative, the Elizabeth could be a better fit.
@@HBsJim thank you very much! I'm holding me back from buying the X because I always think that it would be a mistake considering ease of use, controllability, energy consumption etc while at the same time I can't get it out of my mind. Your answer confirms that I don't have to be that concerned and that x would be a great choice.
Yes. Orthodox 6 t0 8 gram singles require very fine grinds. If the single is done in 25 seconds, a double at the same grind will take around 35 to 40 seconds (same brew ratio). For the shot in the film, I was using the IMS singles, which I find the easiest to use. The dose was 7.5 grams. The Atom 75 grinder review that goes with the video is on home-barista.com
This machine heats up fast, since the group has its own little heater. The moment the boiler is up to pressure, the group is hot too -- about 20 minutes. The design is friendly for turning it on only when you want to pull a shot. Conventional lever machines like the Profitech are designed to be left on all day. The downside of this home use friendly design is that the Strega is a modern hybrid, whereas machines like the Profitech are purist old school levers.
Hello, Thank you for all your great videos. I would like to ask you a question. I have been using a lelit mara x for 3 weeks on which I have installed a probe thermometer on the group, I do not use the eco mode which caused the temperature to fluctuate too much. Since yesterday I have a big temperature problem, on the temperature range "0" so 90 to 92 ° C my machine does not go below 96 ° C during the extraction. Normally the machine remains stable whatever the time it remains on at 89 to 90°C (group temperature) and 91 to 92°C extraction temperature. I use always filtered water and it is backflushed. I hope I was clear enough and that the translation is not too bad. I contacted customer service for my machine but any help would be appreciated. If you have an idea, thank you in advance.
Hi Cedric. I'm sorry, but I don't know of anything more you can do. The temperature sensor in the thermosyphon may need to be cleaned, replaced, or recalibrated. The machines are easy to service if you are handy. But you'll need to contact the service people from your vendor, and they'll coach you over the phone, or link you to the shop video if there is one.
Thanks. I wanted to show the interior details up close; but my handheld camera technique needs a lot more practice. I didn't realize that the closer you get, the more annoying the shake.
Amazing video, thank you. I noticed my Marax (and I guess all) flush a bit of water when it is ready, from the bottom of the group. Do you know how that « auto » flush works? The lever and cam are definitely not moving, how is it tubed to allow that?
Thanks. Good question about the discharge. When the levetta (the proper word for the manual E61 actuator) is down, the three way valve is open to the exhaust. If the expansion and over pressure valves open due to the heating water, some of water will drip out of the group. I notice this happens more with the Lelit machines than with older model E61s I knew, (it may happen to all the more contemporary machines); and I'm guessing they have improved the safety valving.
@@HBsJim indeed it happens quite a bit, and I’m guessing it could be related to MaraX thermal management - ie letting a bit of extra hot water out once target temperature is reached, to stop heating and to be able to modulate more finely after. Just a supposition.
The machine does use the Olab pump, and it is slightly quieter than an Ulka. The sound on these videos is not as in person, so I should describe it. No vibe pump is as quiet as a properly mounted rotary pump, and a good deal of the noise they create in many machines is due to poor mounting transmitting vibrations to the case. This can vary from machine to machine even of the same model. The units I tested ( a neta unit and a production model) were properly mounted and on the quiet side for a vibe pump machine, but they are not game changing quiet.
Thanks for the great video. I am about to replace my Lelit Anna with a HX and probably will go with the Mara X due it's size and ease of use. It looks like the Mara X is a crossover between a PID and a None PID machine. The added 'robot' and thermostats in the right places make that happen. Your video is well made, however I would recommend a little tripod and perhaps use a screwdriver or chopstick to point out the hot pipes. not need to burn fingers -)
@@HBsJim cellphones are more than capable. It's usually the audio that requires a dedicated mic. People will most likely stop watching a video due to sound than visual especially when using headphones.
Hi Jim is me again. In regards to dialling in the beans grind size for the strega , is it the same process? 14gms in 28 gms out , in 20-30 seconds ? I'm asking because over in HB I read that the strega is very different.
Um, it's a lever machine. If you're a beginner with lever machines, or don't have it yet, pull down the lever and wait for the first drops to show. Then lift the lever and let it do its thing. The amount of coffee and time it takes will be up to it. If you have the grind right, the first drops will shot in about 7 to 15 seconds. After you lift the lever, the shot will take another 15 to 25 seconds, and you'll get about 2 ounces of liquid in the cup. If the flow is clear, remove the cup early. Don't worry too much about time and weight until you have a feel for the machine. Experience doesn't come from watching RU-vid videos.
Hi Jim! I'd just want to confirm something with you. I've read somewhere the strega takes about 6 seconds to build up to 1 bar, and after that it's 1 bar every second. So that's 14 seconds for 9 bar pressure , is that correct? 2nd question let's say I want to preinfuse at 1 bar. I'd hit the pump for 6 seconds, disengage the pump and hold the lever for the length of pre infusion ? Wouldn't there be a pocket of air inside the cylinder ?
That's about right, but maybe a second or two long. There may well be variation from pump to pump. If you use a fine grind, so the first drops take some time in appearing, the pump will go silent when it reaches 9 bar and the flow stops. If you time this on your machine, you'll have the baseline. For the first half of that time, the group is filling under low pressure, for the second half, the pressure is rising.
This is rough. and ready. Observe how longit takes for the pump to go silent (this means it has filled the cylinder). Then only run it for about 1/3 to 1/2 the time if you want lower pressure preinfusion. In my experience, the tast difference isn't large
im so torn between this and the Profitec pro800 , strega is within my price range , and the price of the pro800 hurts me , but i like how the pro 800 doesnt use the pump for brewing. that being said i am an absolute beginner with NO experience with any kind of espresso machine prosumer or appliance level.
In two months, you won't remember how much you spent; but if there is something about the machine you don't like, it'll be in your face every day. So always look for the machines you will like first, and then worry about the price. Never buy anything you don't like just because it is a better deal; it won't be a good deal for you. (Obviously, you also need to brutal about dropping all the stuff you don't really need, otherwise you'll bankrupt yourself)
Thanks for the truly inspiring video. Which of the 3 strega models do you have. Would you say other than need of a particular model, does one produce better or different tasting espresso than the other 2.
Good question. I used the tank only version. There is a water mains connect only version, and a your choice version (I can't recall the names they use). In terms of use, there are only two modes. In pump mode, the pump fills the group at it's set pressure, usually around 9 bar, in the mains mode, the building's water pressure, usually 2 to 3 bar, fills the group. I used to think there was a difference in favor of the pump, since you can turn the pump off mid fill and get lower preinfusion pressure too, if you want. But now I know you can also lift the lever so it pressurizes the puck more, but then hold it, so there is no flow, to raise the preinfusion pressure on a conventional sipper or mains filled lever machine. So you can vary the preinfusion pressure either way. In my tasting experience, the differences are usually small, but with very light roasts, a low pressure and long preinfusion sometimes works best.
Thanks for the great video. How does the taste of espresso produced here using flow variation compare with espresso produced by the Berrezza Straega using pressure variation? Which tastes better?
My full review, including a comparison of the Bianca and Strega, is here: www.home-barista.com/blog/lelit-bianca-review-t54489.html Brief answer: There is very little difference. The Bianca is easier to control and can do longer shots. This only makes a difference for very light roasts and very long shots.
Hi Jim! This was a really good video, thank you. I am waiting for my Bianca to arrive, so quite eager to start playing around with this. Hope I can bother you with a question related to grinder, as I understand you are fairly well versed on the subject: I am moving from a Mignon Specialita to a Lagom P64 in a couple of months as well. Being a Norwegian, most of my coffee here in Scandinavia are medium-light roast, and I also do some pourovers. This indicates that I should look to the new unimodal burrs, but I see some experiences that these burrs grinds a bit closer to zero + are faster flowing. Will this potentially make profiling shots like you demonstrated problematic? Would I be better oss with High Uniformity + maybe keep the Specialita as my pour-over grinder? Your thoughts would be very appreciated :)
I'll be interested in hearing your experience. I've played with unimodal flat burr grinders at friends' places, but never tested one thoroughly. There are now a few 64mm, SSP burr, single dose grinders out there at reasonable prices; so it would be good to get a sense of their espresso performance. Olease post your thoughts on home-barista.com when the time comes. I'll be especially intererested in how well they feed at finer grind settings, since this is where the standard espresso flat burr grinders have difficulties.
Hi Eirik, I'm using the Bianca and the Lagom P64 (with the original unimodal burrs - "unimodal v1") with light roasts for over a year now. I can tell you that these burrs grind a lot finer than standard flat burrs, however, you won't notice it when you look at the flow. Fines are practically missing which means that when you are doing longer preinfusion you will certainly grind too fine that results in uneven flow (channeling). The flow will be too fast, body is missing due to low pressure (= low extraction of lipids) and the acidity will be muted. The best practice is to do a ramp up with full or slightly reduced flow and then once the pressure is up close the paddle to a 20-30° opening. That prevents an extreme acceleration in flow and the pressure will naturally fall to perhaps 3-5 bars resulting in a flow rate between 2,5 and 3,0 ml/s. The taste will be much clearer than classic flat burr extractions and the acidity is balanced even with a short preinfusion because the grind is so fine. The unimodal burrs are great burrs if you know how to use them. The unimodal v1 are a little more extreme but still manageable. If you love pourovers I would look at nothing less than the new unimodals.
@@Sonus1002 Really appreciate your input Max! I ordered with the new v2 / Multipurpose burrs, so I might expect slightly more fines (?). Out of curiosity, have you experimented with RPM? I have heard that theoretically there should be a little more fines when grinding at higher RPM, but if this have any real world effect is another matter.
@@80Entreri Yes, the v2 produce more fines + can come closer together because the sharp edges are flattened to little triangles. So the pressure drop I am experiencing (3-5 bar) is probably less severe with your burrs. There will be slightly more body and less clarity. I did experiment with RPM in the beginning and stopped doing it. I always run at max RPM. I'm not completely sure how it affects taste but please feel free to experiment. However, I did a grind size analysis at a filter grind level and found that a higher RPM produced a slightly (!) more homogenous grind size distribution. The differences are marginal in contrast to other variables like grind size, temperature, flow rate, etc.
Safety valve opens way above 3 bar, in fact, it needs to steam pressure arrow bottom out at pump pressure arrow, I had this malfunction and this was happening every time I started machine in coffee mode. In service I think thermometer was replaced to fix this issue. Still, sometimes during fast heating start it reach 2.75 bar sometimes 3, sometimes it goes above 3, and then temp led stop flashing, pressure decreases and stabilises at around 0.4, 0.7 or smth.
It sounds like there are several problems, since the regular electronics should switch the heat off when the boiler reaches around 2.5 bar. You need to contact the service department of your vendor and ask them to trouble shoot the problem over the phone.
@@HBsJim I waited for two months for a first repair with an excuse of ”part took time to be delivered from Italy”, which is weird as I am not from overseas and even Ferrari could be delivered faster. Jokes aside, from lelit own explanation document they show fast heating range is up to 3 bar and during coffee delivery range could reach even 2,5 bar, and yes, few times I was able to reach that even Im not sure how. Oddly enough, this fast heatup stops either at 2.75 sometimes at 3 bar, sometimes a bit higher. Guess it may be due some air gaps forming in the system or the control board half-failure, as I do not believe in ”two in a row” thermometer failures...
I'm sorry you have had a troubles. My test unit went up to 2.5 bar; and I never had the safety valve go off. If units can go up to three bar per design during warm up, the safety valve has to to be set at least at least at 3.5, but more likely at 4 bar (regular machine steam boilers operating at one bar have a 2.5 bar safety valve, and double boiler machines, where the steam runs at 2 bar typically have 3 bar safeties). The boiler is clearly built to withstand these higher pressures, so there is probaly no safety issue. However, you may want to check what the specification on the safety valve are. Do the group and thermosyphon overheat during the warmup? That would indicate a problem with the thermometer. If they do not, then there may be no problem at all, just the usual machine to machine variance in the thermosyphon heat transport (i.e it takes a hotter boiler on you machine to get your group to the target temperature compared to my test machine)
@@HBsJim You do not need to sorry for :) I need to install group thermometer for more clear understanding whats going on. The thing I say is that there is some variance of max steam pressure from which point the temp led goes solid and pressure gradually begins to decrease and stabilise. Weirdly enough, before repair, the first time my machine blown safety valve was when I made a coffee and pressure went for a steam boost, but instead of reaching 1.5 bar it went up and up up until the steam arrow went into pump arrow range and hit the pump arrow itself. From that moment every fast heatup in coffee mode ended up with uncontrollable pressure rise, so I gave my machine to service. Traditional hx mode worked fine though and I used that mode as a temporary solution. As I understand, steam mode uses boiler (top) sensor, and coffee mode uses hx sensor?
There has been a run of problems reported on home-barista in double boiler Profitechs and Lelits with steam boilers to go over temperature. As in your case, people have tried replacing or cleaning the thermocouples, with very mixed success. I haven't noticed anyone else reporting your problem with the X on home-barista, but you may want to post there and see if there are others.
