# My thoughts on the Londinium R



## Fez (Dec 31, 2018)

I feel like I should start off by saying this is not a review. Rather just my thoughts on the machine and what I think the pros and cons are. And a little bit about my journey to this point.

**I realised after writing this that I do go on quite a bit, apologies in advance

A little background. I started off with a Morphy Richards machine which I found on sale for £50 brand new. It served me really well for a couple of years and when the group head gasket needed replacing I figured it would probably be best to replace the machine. From there I moved on to a gaggia classic and a bodum bistro grinder. I know the bodum grinder isnt great, but for another 2 years I was quite happy and getting some tasty cups of coffee. Results were however quite inconsistent.

I stumbled across this forum a few months ago looking for some tips on how to service the gaggia and from there things escalated, quickly!

It took me all of a week or two after joining that I had to upgrade my set up. I needed to. I was losing sleep over the lack of excellent coffe - see what I did there?









I ordered the Niche as it seemed to fit me best all round, especially considering the price point. Next it was time to find a suitable machine. Thoughts flowed and changed daily. Budgets increased over night. What seemed ridiculous one day, was reasonable the next. Regardless after many many hours trawling through this forum and the rest of the internet I convinced myself I wouldn't be happy unless I had a Londinium.

@The Systemic Kid was extremely generous and offered me the opportunity to come to his house with my grinder and some beans to try out his LR then to try his sons L1. This was something I couldn't pass up and it really helped me make my mind up.

And so it arrived. My first thoughts were damn this thing is heavy. After several hours of removing all the protective film on the panels and getting it set up, I got my first taste of Londiniums excellent customer service. The pump sounded like it was continuously pulling air after several hours of turning it on for a few seconds then off for 30 minutes(as per instructions), nothing seemed to be happening. So I emailed Reiss asking when would be a good time to call. Within a couple of minutes we were on a WhatsApp video call with him talking me through how to go about diagnose and fix the issue. Which turned out to be just some air trapped in one of the pipes and it was sorted in a few minutes with Reiss giving me instructions.

Being 10pm at this point, caffeine was not a great idea but I just couldn't resist. Ground up some beans pulled the lever and the coffee came gushing out. This happened on the next shot too. Third shot came out near enough perfect! A beautiful pour from the bottomless portafilter and steaming milk was far far easier than on the gaggia. I shared the flat white with my wife and she enjoyed it too. Always a bonus when the boss approves









It's been a month since that first shot. Since then about two flat whites a day have been made on it. It's been and still is and absolute pleasure to use every day. That feeling of specialness hasn't gone away and I don't think it ever will. The panels so beautifully made and the wooden accents just ooze luxury. To me there is nothing quite like the sound of the coffee dripping into the cup during a pull with no noisy pump. The pump does come on during pre-infusion, but it's quick and quiet. A great improvement over the pump used in the L1.

I am far from capable of describing how the coffee tastes. It's not my strong point. What I will say though is that I've had 5 different types of beans in the last month and with the niche and Londinium 4 of them were really easy to dial in and get excellent tasting coffee after 2-3 shots. Even the first few shots from each batch of beans were far from sink shots with the grind being quite off on some of them. The 5th one I did get right eventually, but I blame my lack of experience rather than the equipment.

Build quality is what you'd expect - sturdy and strong. Nothing feels cheap or like corners have been cut. The inside of the machine is put together well, even for someone who is not very technical, I don't forsee any problems that people will face if they have to replace parts during the machines life. Along with having Reiss ever ready to help, repairs should be dead easy. Two points I'll make here is the welds on the inside of the drip tray are visible - not a big deal at all as you only see this when cleaning the drip tray. And secondly the water tank lid comprises of two parts, a metal plate on top and a black plastic cover underneath. These are held together by glue strips, mine has come apart I suspect due to heat. I haven't bothered contacting Reiss as I don't see this as an issue, a smal strip of double sided will fix the problem.

Ease of use - with a lever once you know the do's and don'ts ie when pulling the lever down don't let go till it's locked into place, it's dead easy to use. Leave it to warm up for an hour before using(smart plug is highly recommend) and off you go. No need for cooling flushes between shots, temps are rock solid. This results in consistency which is what we all strive for. Something that was close to impossible on my gaggia. The LR is surprisingly forgiving too, so the grind does not always need to be absolutely perfect to get a great shot. Channelling has also been minimal and I don't consider myself to be a great barista. The only downside to a lever like the LR is you can't stop the shot at your desired weight and there is a max that you can get out of it.I knew this going in though and it's a bit of a faff for me due to my sink being quite far away from the machine, I've since become quite good at pulling my cup away and sliding another cup in its place with minimal mess.

If you've read through all of this to hear my thoughts on the digital pre-infusion, I'm sorry to disappoint but I haven't played around with it yet. I wanted to get a feel for the machine and the grinder(which was only a couple weeks old when I got the LR) before adding in another variable.

Currently I'm working my way through a KG of Rocko mountain from foundry, which as of yesterday I nailed the recipe so I may start tweaking the pre-infusion pressure this week now that I have more than 250grams to play with. I'll update this thread in the future.

Hope my thoughts help someone out there, if not and I've told you everything you already know at least I killed some time on a quite day in the office.

The bottom line is that if you're considering the LR but are unsure just do it. I had doubts. I questioned whether it would be worth it. I sat trawling through pages and pages of forums and watching tons of reviews on most of the machines upto that price point. And if I could do it all again would I change anything? Yes I would. I would've ordered the LR months earlier and saved a lot of time debating with myself!


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## Planter (Apr 12, 2017)

Lovely upgrade you got there. Glad youre enjoying it.


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Great review Fez. Great choice too.


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## coffeechap (Apr 5, 2012)

I love reading about folk that finally getbth simplicity of levers and more so how good the LR is at simple repeatable excellent espresso


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## Fez (Dec 31, 2018)

coffeechap said:


> I love reading about folk that finally getbth simplicity of levers and more so how good the LR is at simple repeatable excellent espresso


For me the simplicity was a big selling point. I was looking for a machine that will last for many many years and due to the simplicity of the LR there's less chance of something going wrong than there is on one of these fancy pressure profiling machines - In My Opinion.

Also I still can't believe one is being given away at the lever day, some lucky soul is in for a treat!


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## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

What a treat to read how happy you are with the Londo - it's obvious you just 'get it' 

May you enjoy your lovely machine for years to come!


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## Snakehips (Jun 2, 2015)

A good happy read that, @Fez

May you continue to enjoy!


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## Lefteye (Dec 30, 2014)

A great review. The machine is beautifully simple. Built like a tank and when you have to work on it it is well laid out. The service from Reiss is second to none. Where else would you have a direct link to the designer who can simply work out the problem and direct you. As @Fez says if I had to do it all again I would.


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## PPapa (Oct 24, 2015)

Good points Lefteye and I would totally agree. One issue I had with it was a much needed grinder upgrade which wasn't planned to happen immediately.

I got my LR last November. When I glance at it, it still brings a smile to my face - something that I've been told by another member as well. It's simple, reliable and beautiful.


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## Lefteye (Dec 30, 2014)

Am intrigued to see what the handles might look like after joey has had a go


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## G.F. (Dec 21, 2015)

Well done, glad you are enjoying your beauty...


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