I have the same machine, have not been able to pull a shot like that. Any tips? Specifically, how do you know when the water is hot enough? Are you using the I or II heat setting? How far do you fill the reservoir? What's your technique with pumping the lever? Thanks in advance.
Hi Eric. The most important thing is make sure you're using freshly roasted coffee (roasted less than 3 weeks) and the crema will come naturally. From cold, I set it on heat setting II. Once it starts hissing, I turn the heat down to setting I. Do about 3-6 partial pumps to bring the group up to temperature. If you have a temperature strip on the group, it should be between 70-90 deg Celcius. Then, go on and pull a shot. If I need to make a milk drink, I will turn then the heat up. Reservoir is always filled to at least mid way and I aim for 80% on the sight glass. Not super important, you just want to make sure you have enough water to pull a shot. The multi-pumping is to increase the preinfusion pressure and volume, so that I can get a bigger shot. Good luck!
Mine is the 1976 model. Can you do a video showing you taking the portafilter off after the shot, how long do you wait, I saw a video of guy pumping the handle to decrease the pressure on a 1980’s model. I’m currently restoring mine hope to use it soon. COVID lockdown has slowed progress.
I no longer have the Pavoni to shoot another video unfortunately. After the shot is done and that coffee liquid has stopped flowing, you can remove the portafilter immediately with no issue. If the coffee is still flowing (indicating residual pressure is still in the group head), then just lift the handle slightly (2cm or so) and this will remove the pressure and it will be safe to remove. I wouldn't pump the handle post-extraction/shot, just to avoid pushing coffee water back into the boiler (not sure if it's possible but I don't see a reason to do that). Good luck with your restoration, they're great machines!
I have a 1975... Hence, exactly like yours. It is imperative that you upgrade your machine with a pressure gauge. When the release valve hisses is around 2.5 bar and the coffee will be burned and bitter... granted that you are able to lower the lever at that pressure (which makes the machine dangerous) I personally never pull a Espresso shot above 0.8 bars. Another must to have is a semiprofessional coffee grinder. I would suggest you also to acquire a bottomless portafilter but not only to diagnose the extraction but also because it allows you to skip the portafilter warm-up phase.
Sure, it is a 230V machine. It won't explode, there is a pressure regulating valve like any espresso machine, so the machine doesnt go above 1.2 bar. But you do need to shut it down after 30 minutes or 1 hour, otherwise the boiler might boil dry and may damage the element.
I've recently got a 2nd gen and still trying to wrap my head around this. Tons of the science technique I read makes no sense to me. There's a hole (or two) to let water and/or steam into the grouphead from the boiler that sits about 2/3's the way up. Lever down...water flows in above the piston and stays there helping the group heat up. Lever mid way...hole is blocked. Lever up...water flows into coffee area below the piston. IMO, Pumping at the top as in video simply unblocks and blocks water entry below the piston into the coffee area and neither increases total volume nor pressure. (Maybe even push a little dirty water back into the boiler before the hole is blocked). Total is limited by the cylinder volume. However a partial or even a full pull and THEN refilling the coffee area by returning the piston above the water inlet will increase total volume in coffee area and so extracted. Of course doing so will alter extraction physics and so taste/texture. Next, pressure is dependent on puck compression and "pull" force, and nothing (directly) to do with multiple pumps. Other gurus advocate multi pumping from lever down to midway as a way to expedite pre-heating. Since the inlet is above the piston with the lever down, what can that do but alternately allowing water in and pushing it back out to the boiler above the piston? Maybe it helps circulate/stir hotter water from the boiler? That's my take - all I read confuses me..even from the gurus. Keyword..I'm 'confused'.
It all boils down to pressure (no pun intended), more pressure through the puck=higher extraction=better flavor (generally). Boiler=s1. Grouphead=s2 The machine starts with a high pressure in s1, and standard pressure in s2. When the lever reaches the top, the volume of s1 and s2 equalizes. When you press down, pressure of s1 stays the same, while pressure of s2 increases from manual pressure exerted. Each time you press, you increase total pressure through the grounds. In these machines, you can’t really increase steam pressure, but you can increase pressure manually. The hard part is finding the balance between high extraction (for better sweetness, complexity, and overall taste) and lower ratio (for better vibrancy, texture, and overall flavor). That’s honestly the case for all espresso. Hope this helps!
thank you! It probably depends on the coffee and grinder too. I am using medium roast here with a conical burr grinder, both which give more persistent crema (not an indicator of taste though). The ratio was probably around 1:2 or so (limited by the piston volume), can't remember exactly now haha
@@samlaw5040 Gotcha, I was looking for the weight of coffee you used for your 1:2 ratio. I can fit a little more than 14gs in my portafilter, but I just wanted to see how much you were using.
@@markblosser4685 I see. I am pretty sure I used 12g in the basket generally on the La Pav. But have used up to 14g (especially lighter roast that are more dense) with similar ish results. You can lock in the PF and then quickly remove it to see if it hits the shower screen. I think it's ok even for the screen to kiss the puck slightly (but ideally the puck should just be a tad lower than the screen). The Pavoni levers are pretty forgiving in that sense, but getting the right temperature is another story haha
It's one of the last first gen according to francesco's site (that's what I used as a reference but you may be referring to other reference which is fine. It doesn't matter much anyway, it doesn't change they are great machines and piece of history). The grouphead is water-heated rather than steam heated, you can tell from the shape of the grouphead too.
hey man, thanks for watching but what's up with the aggressive and condescending tone? It's got a drip tray underneath to catch the drips, otherwise how else would I clean the tray area? Definitely not putting the entire machine into dishwasher lol
and just fyi in case you are puzzled, I was using a transparent plastic tray that is just short enough to fit under the grate. I posted this on HB too if you wanted to have a look. Chill down, and peace~
