# Any Victoria users here?



## Coffeelon (12 mo ago)

Hi, any Victoria users here?

Just wondering how they've been in general day-to-day use, from a real users perspective!

After a huge amount of web research here and everywhere, I'd narrowed my choice down to Victoria (or the lesser Grace). I've familiarised myself of many of the limitations / compromises etc of single boiler and machines in this price range. But the Lelit's look really nice and suit my taste, aren't too deep on the counter (will be visible from the side), and seem to pack a decent level of features for the price. My partner would be ok with it, and would be happier with something like this in the kitchen rather than a massive chrome thingy with loads of wheels, gauges and appendages that look like they might come to life attack you if you upset it...

Anyway, I was dead set on the Victoria/Grace - but then I saw a few videos and articles saying the odd thing doesn't work correctly, or that they're a bit annoying, and I started having doubts. Actually what gave me most doubts was the notion that Lelit made the machines programmable - so they could easily update them down the line if needed - but seemingly never bothered to do so for these models in 4+ years, even when they noticed features could be improved.

There are lots of positives, but it's the negatives that could ultimately be annoying long-term. Some I've seen mentioned are:

Water tank fiddly and 'cheap' feeling, and also smelling/tasting of plastic. Water spills can trip the electric.
Noisy pump
Rattling drip tray (personally I would have preferred it shorter and not mug friendly in any case)
LCC not displaying actual boiler temp after its changes, just the set temp
Pre-infusion only on/off
Timer fixed to a countdown timer (which seems counter-intuitive of you’re weighing output).
And the Grace, beyond the extra negatives of the 57mm group (which apparently is more fiddly to secure in place), seems just not built as well.

Have I just talked myself out of it? Maybe some current owners can talk me into it?

Budget is £1K max for grinder, machine and accessories, ideally a bit less. There don't really seem to be any other options at this price range, that have PID and look good and aren't E61 type.

I could save a bit and get something like a Sage Barista Pro and at least get better results than my Moka and blade grinder, but I don't really want an all-in-one, or that brand particularly (mainly because its more disposable landfill type stuff which I'm trying to avoid).

Was originally hoping to save a bit getting used, but after missing a couple in Jan (before I knew what I really wanted), nothing’s come up, so I guess they're relatively rare.

For context I'm a bit of a coffee snob, mostly order cortados or flat whites at good coffee shops.


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## adz0rz (Nov 28, 2013)

Hi CoffeeLon, 

Was there any update from you on what you decided? I am in the exact same situation as you and am very near to pulling the trigger on the Victoria. 

I saw the rattle in the drip tray issue but seems with heavier mugs this is ok, or just holding it for a few seconds until it gets some liquid in it.


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## Coffeelon (12 mo ago)

No. Currently on the fence, as well as back looking at other brands….

Just bought a hand grinder to go with my moka pot so at least that experience should improve while I’m deciding on machine and grinder.

Not in a rush thankfully so can also keep watching for any used machines too…..


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## adz0rz (Nov 28, 2013)

Thanks for the response, out of interest what else are you considering?


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## Coffeelon (12 mo ago)

Well, I’m spoilt for coffee shops in my area of London (and when I travel), and I like hanging out at cafes too, so part of me is just exploring simple upgrades to the moka experience. Let’s face it, even with a cortado, the little bit of milk hides most sins and I was actually shocked at how disgusting the espresso base was when I tried an experiment after watching a ‘how to use a moka‘ type YouTube. It was vile, but the little milk sweetened it and then it was just for the colour and caffeine! 

But already with the hand grinder and new moka techniques I can make adjustments I can quantify and repeat to a degree. So adding milk just makes it nicer. Would I drink it as espresso? No way! But then I don’t really anyway.
so I’m evaluating if I even need a new rabbit hole to go down or would be better spending the time and money on other hobbies. After all it’s not just buying the stuff, it’s practice, cleaning, maintenance, kitchen space, etc etc.

I‘m torn with Sage machines like barista pro and dual boiler. Used or imported cheaper via Amazon EU. I just struggle to bring myself to buy the Breville brand (even if rebranded here) as let’s face it they’re a sandwich toaster maker, and it’s designed as landfill after warranty - even if a user community helps keep them going. I don’t like supporting brands like that, but equally they look nice, offer decent features for the money and suit family needs. I can see why they sell so well.

There’s little else around at that price point to be honest, even going up to over £1k of you don’t want big, chrome, E61 types. I may end up just going down the food chain a bit with used Gaggia or something. I know the pitfalls but they’re cheap and you can make a coffee. Maybe I dont need perfection, I can walk down the road and grab one if mines disgusting!

In the western world we (read ‘me’) spend a lot of time justifying things to ourselves that perhaps we don’t need. As I get older I’m trying to be more aware of this and act accordingly. Yes I can buy coffee gear, but would that money be better saved or even sent to help a charity in a war zone.…. Right now I’m only £60 in, after very nearly jumping in with a £1k spend, and am surprised by the results so will enjoy that process and learning curve for a while before going deeper.


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## gyurmaember (Aug 30, 2016)

I bought mine 2 years ago, and I stopped reading forums.
The plastic of the tank isn't cheap at all.
Tripping is possible, but i guess it's not designed to refill in place.
And it not that noisy at all. If you drink a lot of milky drinks, you should consider something else. But for espressos, and an occasional cappuccino, it's the perfect machine.


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## Elnardo (9 mo ago)

I have a Victoria since january, and am very pleased with it.
I drink mostly Espresso, and once a week a cappuccino. The form factor is perfect for me, my kictchen is already very packed.

You can solve the rattling easily with double sided tape.
Just get a small funel for the tank filling.
Start your Victoria 20 minutes before and you'll have a nice reproductibility.

A friend of mine have a la marzocco gs3 + mazzer mini, and the result in cup is not really "night and day" to my "cheap" Victoria+commandante c40 setup.

Victoria makes some veeerryyy nice shots, don't worry about it.


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## hotCUPPA (Sep 24, 2019)

Main issue with the Victoria is the fake preinfusion, so if you buy a Lelit Victoria PL91T do not use the pre-infusion feature as it's a gimmick that will ruin your espresso and you should taste it quite easily. Terrible design decision there from Lelit.

See here: Lelit Victoria PL91T - Peoples Thoughts


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## BDorgan (11 mo ago)

Hi, not sure if you’ve made a decision yet but I have owned the Victoria for about a month now and can give some first impressions. As others have said the noise is fine ones you fix the drip tray, just some rubber bumpers do the trick, and it now runs quieter than my grinder (~70dB). 

The biggest problem I have is filling the water tank is tedious, but I haven’t noticed any plasticy taste from it. Also I find it fine for making milk drinks as it reaches steam temp very quickly, the problem would be getting back to brew temp which does take a long time. If it’s just for you then that’s not a problem.

If you do want to make lots of milk drinks and play with fun pre-infusion stuff it may be worth saving for the Elizabeth. I got a reduced price for my Elizabeth but I think if I was paying full I would of preferred to pay the but extra for an Elizabeth.

hope that helps


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