[cuprajake]

Yeah its tricky.

I saw your review and actually offered that advice to a crem owners group i joind as a few had that noise also

From all the vids id seen its a quiet very clever machine.

I know a rotary isnt silent but its not a vibe pump 😂😂😂

 

[MediumRoastSteam]

La Pavoni makes no noise, you can do pressure profiling, and you can control temperature... Well.. Kind of 🙂

 

[cuprajake]

I just got off the phone to them. They are aware of the problem and so are Crem. Apparently its a known fault that Crem have developed technical kits to fix the existing machines but they haven't sent them out yet. Bella Barista sound really frustrated by it all and are losing patience fast with Crem. Something to do with a fsulty solenoid thst leads the hot water back to the res.

 

[MediumRoastSteam]

I just got off the phone to them.

What about the scratches? Do they know why and how it happened?

 

[Rainmac13]

I just got off the phone to them. They are aware of the problem and so are Crem. Apparently its a known fault that Crem have developed technical kits to fix the existing machines but they haven't sent them out yet. Bella Barista sound really frustrated by it all and are losing patience fast with Crem. Something to do with a fsulty solenoid thst leads the hot water back to the res.

Source or it didn't happen 😉

 

[muffs]

Ok so I've had the Gaggia for about 8 months and have done the usual mods bar PID.

I've pulled some decent shots but do find the machine hard to be very consistent with - and yes I'm sure s lot of that is down to the lack of real temp control from a PID.

Grinder is as good as I can realistically afford - Mignon Specialita.

I'm really intrigued at how much I would gain by stepping up to an e-61 grouphead machine.

I've got a £1k cap and am currently very tempted by the Lelit Mara X

I mainly drink espresso so appreciate a HX machine may be overkill for me but just seems the Lelit gives me the best bang for my buck!

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks!

I upgraded from the a sage DT to Mara x. I wasn't intending to spend that much more, but i couldn't see a worth while way to upgrade with a new machine by spending less. So far I am really happy with it. Been a slight learning curve in using it. BB were on hand to offer support. It certainly gets a thumbs up from me.

 

[GrahamSPhillips]

I upgraded from the a sage DT to Mara x. I wasn't intending to spend that much more, but i couldn't see a worth while way to upgrade with a new machine by spending less. So far I am really happy with it. Been a slight learning curve in using it. BB were on hand to offer support. It certainly gets a thumbs up from me.

Sage/Breville Dual Boiler? Unbeatable value at the price and you might well bag a really good second hand example (I just did)

 

[BlackCatCoffee]

@SbugIf I remember correctly you are an espresso guy? Check out the Bezzera Unica PID all the looks and build quality but single boiler so sub £1k price.

@Cuprajake

I have one only -

Although I kinda feel like you just need to go for an absolute end game machine and get a Decent!

 

[danielpugh]

Nice duetto. Mine is due to be picked up in a couple of weeks by new owner. It will be missed (but will have Vostok so will survive)..

I looked at the crem as well, before deciding on lever machine. Just before I embarked on the Vostok, was very close to getting the izzo Alex leva with @BlackCatCoffee - Basically the same case as a duetto with an LSM group. Traditional dipper so reliable, toggle/sticks with wood, 5l boiler for plenty of steam. Plus point for me was ... Totally silent when plumbed (I'm also noise sensitive). Not sure if you have plumbing, but if you have the can't get quieter than silent (no pump at all) which is pretty cool! You may be tired of levers though given as in classified...

 

[cuprajake]

Love the lever, just at its limitations

 

[danielpugh]

Love the lever, just at its limitations

I crave simplicity and reliability (at the moment at least). Sounds like maybe decent - personally couldn't get over the price (and the worry about parts failure after 4+ years), and my natural ocd nature = rabbit hole too far for me right now...

... Someone mentioned also that noisy...

 

[cuprajake]

Yeah, i wish i could plumb in.

 

[danielpugh]

Yeah, i wish i could plumb in.

I can say that the rotary on a duetto is very quiet indeed. Would also say that plumbing in was worth it - managed to get done as part of kitchen refit. The plumbing was easy, drainage is not done yet. The water purification harder (on-going refinement process)..

.. more of a pain is the on-going rabbit hole I've swapped for (grinder research).

 

[Sbug]

@SbugIf I remember correctly you are an espresso guy? Check out the Bezzera Unica PID all the looks and build quality but single boiler so sub £1k price.

@Cuprajake

I have one only -



Although I kinda feel like you just need to go for an absolute end game machine and get a Decent!

Yes you are correct i am an espresso drinker, though of course as we get back to some normality it'll be nice to make milk based drinks for people too.

Think I did look at the Bezerra but thought it wasn't an e61 group head? I need to double check that but the would put me off..

 

[BlackCatCoffee]

Yes you are correct i am an espresso drinker, though of course as we get back to some normality it'll be nice to make milk based drinks for people too.

Think I did look at the Bezerra but thought it wasn't an e61 group head? I need to double check that but the would put me off..

The Unica PID is an E61 group. They do offer some machines with their own proprietary group, it has its advantages but doesn't offer the nice tactile experience of lifting up the lever to brew and classic looks of the E61.

David

 

[Sbug]

The Unica PID is an E61 group. They do offer some machines with their own proprietary group, it has its advantages but doesn't offer the nice tactile experience of lifting up the lever to brew and classic looks of the E61.

David

Thanks David, really helpful.

I'll have a look at the Unica PID too in that case.

 

[cuprajake]

sorry to go off topic again,

but my ordeal is over, bella barista have refunded me in full for my order

i have mixed feelings, while the aftercare has been really good, olivia is worth her weight in gold, however imo the machine should never have left the door!

crem and bb know about these issues with this machine, well aware of it, it should be taken off sale till its sorted,

as a consumer, not only has it really pee'd me off, we've spent a total of 3 days stopping in waiting for various delivery and pick up, not directly related to bb but still a total waste of a week.

so i started to look for another machine, been through various e61 rotary machines, vbm do a really ugly profiling machine lol, then a used lr came up,

in the end i decided endgame and bought a new londinium lr24 - happy times

 

[danielpugh]

sorry to go off topic again,

but my ordeal is over, bella barista have refunded me in full for my order

i have mixed feelings, while the aftercare has been really good, olivia is worth her weight in gold, however imo the machine should never have left the door!

crem and bb know about these issues with this machine, well aware of it, it should be taken off sale till its sorted,

as a consumer, not only has it really pee'd me off, we've spent a total of 3 days stopping in waiting for various delivery and pick up, not directly related to bb but still a total waste of a week.

so i started to look for another machine, been through various e61 rotary machines, vbm do a really ugly profiling machine lol, then a used lr came up,

in the end i decided endgame and bought a new londinium lr24 - happy times

Nice - cool! Rotary on it is very quiet.

 

[Roko]

Yes you are correct i am an espresso drinker, though of course as we get back to some normality it'll be nice to make milk based drinks for people too.

Think I did look at the Bezerra but thought it wasn't an e61 group head? I need to double check that but the would put me off..

I don't think you should be put off by some Bezzera not being E61.

Now, I don't know if the BZ group will have a solenoid valve like the Minima (but the lack of a lever makes me think so), which means less maintenance, and if it is saturated as I remember, it should heat up faster and potentially have even better temperature stability than the E61 (anecdotally).

Off the top of my mind, the only downside would be that you wouldn't be able to upgrade it with flow control paddles and all of those shenanigans.

There might be other downsides but to be honest I wouldn't discard a machine merely based on this.