# My Pavoni and Ascaso i-mini



## drk (Nov 22, 2011)

What can I say about my Pavoni! If it was a woman it would be Naomi Campbell! Beautiful, stylish, temperamental and a pain in the ass quite often but probably worth the effort!


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

Is there a lot of technique involved when using a lever machine? How many full pulls do you do?

Nice ambient lighting there as well, Naomi would be proud.


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

drk said:


> View attachment 817
> 
> 
> What can I say about my Pavoni! If it was a woman it would be Naomi Campbell!


What an insult to a Pavoni! About the only similarity I can see is that they both spit at people (-the Pav if you take the portafilter off too soon, and the other if you are a policeman at London Airport). :>)))

I love my Pav, and even though my main machine is now an E-61 HX, still use her regularly. There's an amazing feeling of being connected when you pull the shot by hand, instead of by an electric pump. They are particularly unforgiving about grind and dosing. As far as technique goes, the jury's still out (after all these years) on what's best. I push the lever up with the portafilter only loosely attached (and held in place with my left hand) until it just about reaches the point where it will start to admit water, then close it up firmly and complete the upstroke. (This stops the air being pulled in through the tamped coffee and possibly disturbing it.) Leave the lever at the top for about 5 seconds then push down gently and smoothly in one full stroke. Dispenses just over 1 oz of great espresso. (I've taken the double spout off the portafilter and just dispense into one cup.)

I think that the downsides of the Pav are well known - in particular the trickery that is needed to keep it cool if you want to make repeat shots. Much as I love the Pav, it's not a machine for making loads of consecutive shots. I regard its best mode as: switch on, heat up, pull one shot, allow to cool for 30 minutes before repeating.


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## lookseehear (Jul 16, 2010)

Very pretty machine! I love my gaggia factory and will probably end up keeping it when I get a bigger pump driven machine at some point.

My technique is pretty simple. I preinfuse for around 10 seconds and do one long pull. I love that you can tell what the grind is like by feel as well as by looking at the pour.


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## drk (Nov 22, 2011)

Hmmm, the La Pavoni is relatively easy to use but difficult to master. My technique involves doing using a pretty fine grind, 12-13g of coffee and a hard tamp..... it results in 25ml (0.85 oz) of liquid (2:1 ratio). I do love that you can feel if you're gonna get a good shot or not.

I find the first shot is rarely hot enough and #2 is the best.


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## Jugglestruck (Nov 17, 2011)

Do you pull your first shot as soon as it comes up to pressure?

I wait until the pressure is reached and then give it between 8 and 10 minutes before pulling a shot - I find the temperature is good then.


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## radion_auto (Feb 2, 2012)

Pavoni machines are a work of art. Looks lovely!


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

Nice set up. Not sure a lever machine would be any good for a complete novice like me!


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## uma_bica (Mar 28, 2012)

Jugglestruck said:


> Do you pull your first shot as soon as it comes up to pressure?
> 
> I wait until the pressure is reached and then give it between 8 and 10 minutes before pulling a shot - I find the temperature is good then.


The same here. However, I always pull a blank shot (right term for just pulling water??) before to warm up the cup and clean the screen. It happens sometimes that my wife complains of it being too hot (but I think she's being picky...







).

On a side node - I absolutely love the machine


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## James Cox (Jun 23, 2012)

Very stylish.... I've never thought of an expresso maker as sexy but this comes close.


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## uma_bica (Mar 28, 2012)

I guess I went a bit "far" with the love thing







. Anyway, it's quite a cool machine given its simplicity and the results it delivers.


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