# Berezza Strega



## CoffeeDoc (Dec 26, 2012)

I have just seen the video on the Bella Barista web site, does anyone have any thoughts, it looks much more complicated than Londinium, needing cooling flush and has a pump to fill the chamber before using the lever.

Paul


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Can you post the link?


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

I think without doubt the Londinium is the better machine - simpler design, better lever group. In some ways the Strega is a hybrid pump/lever machine.

Also I have heard rumours about reliability problems. But it does have its fans.


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## CoffeeDoc (Dec 26, 2012)

Here is the address of the video

Paul










http://blog.bellabarista.co.uk/


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

It would certainly be interesting to have these machines side by side. The Berezza really does look like they have taken a basic E61 machine and done nothing more than bolt a Lever on the front. With the Londinium the sceptic in me finds it hard to believe that you can connect a boiler directly to a group and not get scorched coffee. I would think that two shots pulled one after the other on such a machine would taste very different and that the group would tend to overheat if multiple shots were pulled. I had a Pavoni once, and much as I loved pulling shots, I love the relative stability of a heat exchanger machine much more.


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## MattL (Jan 8, 2013)

The Ponte Vecchio Lusso is basically a spring lever group hanging off a 3l boiler, and never overheats whereas the PV Export does. It's all about how you do it, I guess. The Lusso group is bolted to a frame that stands around the boiler, and is connected to the boiler by a thermosyphon, the Export directly coupled (like the La Pavoni). How is the L1 set up (I'm guessing either way the size/thermal mass of the L1 group helps hugely).


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## lespresso (Aug 29, 2008)

hi nick

not sure who showed you an L1 with the group bolted to the boiler, but it must have been a knock-off as we don't make 'em like that









it is not a dipper design (where the group bolts directly to the boiler and you have a dipper tube going into the boiler to feed the group)

it is an open thermosiphon design, similar to the faema lambro which doesn't overheat either

oh, and if you drop by i can even show you the heat exchanger in the L1 too - incredible really!

we sold an L1 to a guy in germany who already owned an idrocompresso which he paid EUR12000 for

the idro is now boxed up in his basement and he has written several times to say he can not believe the performance of the L1

he isn't a mate, we haven't paid him a dime in cash or non-cash equivalents

please don't think i am attacking you but the pricing of L1 is extremely disruptive in the industry so it is important that we at least get the basic facts about the design of the machine correct

we had to pay a lot more to obtain exactly the same group that is found on the idrocompresso, so yes, we are keen to emphasise that

i promise not to post on this thread again as it is for the Strega, which is most definitely a good espresso machine that you must go and try

if you buy an L1 retain the original packaging and if you have any doubts or reservations with your L1 in the first 30 days of ownership just send it back for a full and prompt refund

I would like to close by saying that i have observed Bella Barista for a number of years and I think highly of them and would not hesitate to send our customers there for any products that we do not offer. The Strega is their latest addition and I am sure they will sell strongly and you should most definitely go and try them for yourself. Many of our coffee customers have bought machines from Bella Barista and I have only heard good things about them.

Where the friction in 'a' US forum arose was when a number of posters tried to dismiss the L1 as nothing more than an overpriced Strega that did less. This is a very disingenuous response and fortunately the lever community saw it for what it was. So yes, I will light up in response to such comments, absolutely, and don't feel embarrassed about doing so.

That does not mean i have it in for the Strega - it very much deserves to be in your purchase decision, and it is true it is more flexible than a traditional, old school lever machine. I will say no more.

kind regards

reiss.


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

I didn't say "with the group bolted to the boiler" what I said was "connect a boiler directly to a group" and what I mean is that in the Londinium uses the group to cool the water from the boiler rather than using an HX or a boiler running at a lower temperature. This implies to me that if a large number of shots were pulled in rapid succession the group temp would rise. I appreciated that with a group as massive as that on the L1 this rise would be slow.

That said, until the L1 came along I was seriously considering a dual boiler machine, but the thought of the complexity and potential for breakdowns, once the machine got over say 5 years old, not to mention the problems of descaling a dual boiler have made me reconsider.


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## RoloD (Oct 13, 2010)

NickR said:


> I mean is that in the Londinium uses the group to cool the water from the boiler rather than using an HX or a boiler running at a lower temperature. This implies to me that if a large number of shots were pulled in rapid succession the group temp would rise. I appreciated that with a group as massive as that on the L1 this rise would be slow.


 The mass of the group does cool the water, true, but it is the thermosyphon that really maintains the group temperature. As the group temperature rises cooler water flows in to stabilise temperature. I can assure you that the group does not overheat and recovery time is very rapid.


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## espressotime (Apr 6, 2013)

I've owned a Strega for two years.It's a great machine.It needs some cooling flushing before a shot.But that's easy.And also gives an opportunity to adjust the temperature to a specific coffee.

Never had a problem in two years besides the glass of the gauge bursting.But I probably tightened that too much.Great machine with great finisah.


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## espressotime (Apr 6, 2013)

The Strega isn't a hybrid whatsoever.The pump just brings the water into the group.That's all.I've had it plumbed in .Without the pump in the machine it's as much a lever as with the pump activated.

But I haven't heard anything bad about tyhe Strega in two years.Personally I think it's a great machine.Not one issue in two years should say something about the quality of the machine.

And it produces absolutely great espresso.

I don't think the L1 is the better machine.

Don't forget the Strega has been on the market for two years now.If there had been issues with it they would be out in the open by now.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Good to hear from a now, fellow Strega owner. Had mine just a few days and am learning how to use her. No problems so far. The only issues which do not bother me, are the recovery time from pulling the glass away until the lever locks out, and the cooling flush. Not an issue to me as I rarely make more than one, and if I want two, I just load the pf a bit more and take advantage of the double pf handle and the generous amount of water in the group. I have not heard anything bad about them. They are pretty unpretentious, do not make any particular claims and just seems a pleasure to live with.

Pretty new in the UK still, but hopefully as more people buy them, more will consider them when looking to spend £1300.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Where abouts are you espressotime? Can you expand a bit more on the plumbed side. Are you saying that if you plumb it in, then line pressure fills the group when you lower the lever, thus doing away with the pump? If so, then it might make me think about the same. Bezzera have 3 models, tank only, plumber only, or the TOP which is tanked or plumbed. It seems from what I can see, that the TOP just has a nipple on the water container that lets you hook your water supply onto.....or have I got it wrong!

If you are UK, pm me and we can carry on the specifics mate


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## espressotime (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm from Holland.If you plumb it in indeed line pressure will fill the group and boiler.I bought the pump model and used it like that for about a year.I then decided to disconnect the pump .It takes about an hour to do that.Just disconnect the little Ulka and feed a flexline through the bottom of the machine and hook it up.

That's it.I can supply pictures and info on how I did that exactly if you ever need it.

Alf


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

Good to hear from a user of this machine. Hopefully BB will stock all options as it would be good to have the flexibility between tank and plumbed for the future. How are you getting on with the pressure profiling?


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Hi Alf, I will pm you my email addy. I would be most interested to see your pics on the mods you made. Nice upgrade as well!


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