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New order for an L1 guy here and have a few questions...
I just ordered an hour ago and am not expecting delivery for awhile so as money comes in, I want to get all the hardware and knowledge at the ready for when I plug it in. Here are some questions I have to prepare me for my new morning saver...
1- I keep seeing custom seals mentioned. Are these aftermarket or new seals Reiss is using?
2- I ordered the L1, an extra shower screen, and the tamper. I love my Espro tamper and have been pouring God shots every since the HG One came out with my Vivaldi. Espro doesn't make a 53.5 so I went with Reiss'. It will take some getting used to but Ill get it down. Do I want 30# of pressure?
3- I am fortunate enough to live in a country to where firearms are a lifestyle and I make my own ammunition. I weight my beans to the grain. How many grams should I begin with when using the stock naked portifilter.
4. I saw a pressurestat in the parts section. Does the L1 not come with a pstat? If not, I should probably get one correct? How many bars should I adjust to. I think I saw 1.2 bars as the best chance for a God shot.
5. My Vivaldi required a portafilter to group change every 3 months but I keep it on 24x7. My L1 will be on a timer to get the most out of my seals. How often are you guys changing your portafilter seal?
6. Does anyone have a link to someone with a lathe that can make all the handles to my voice of wood, stain, and profile?
7. Does anyone have a link to a video that demonstrates the perfect procedure to operating the L1 from tamping to removing the cup from the tray? I am pretty sure I will be able to produce the perfect micro foam after a gallon or 2 of whole milk.
8. Is there anyone in the Midwest, particularly central Indiana that has one of these bad boys?
I am so happy I didn't pony up for the Vesuvius and can't wait to see this shiny beast sitting on my coffee bar...
3 days ago after about 500 usd in repairs. I am no latte artist but it tasted like a Hershy bar
Last night after replacing the group triac. $50 part and 4 hours labor with my big hands. Yep thats steam coming out of the group. The repair was a waste of time. It is the 3 way solenoid to blame. Probably $100 part. I am done with this thing. Its going to the dump.
1- I keep seeing custom seals mentioned. Are these aftermarket or new seals Reiss is using?
2- I ordered the L1, an extra shower screen, and the tamper. I love my Espro tamper and have been pouring God shots every since the HG One came out with my Vivaldi. Espro doesn't make a 53.5 so I went with Reiss'. It will take some getting used to but Ill get it down. Do I want 30# of pressure?
3- I am fortunate enough to live in a country to where firearms are a lifestyle and I make my own ammunition. I weight my beans to the grain. How many grams should I begin with when using the stock naked portifilter.
4. I saw a pressurestat in the parts section. Does the L1 not come with a pstat? If not, I should probably get one correct? How many bars should I adjust to. I think I saw 1.2 bars as the best chance for a God shot.
5. My Vivaldi required a portafilter to group change every 3 months but I keep it on 24x7. My L1 will be on a timer to get the most out of my seals. How often are you guys changing your portafilter seal?
6. Does anyone have a link to someone with a lathe that can make all the handles to my voice of wood, stain, and profile?
7. Does anyone have a link to a video that demonstrates the perfect procedure to operating the L1 from tamping to removing the cup from the tray? I am pretty sure I will be able to produce the perfect micro foam after a gallon or 2 of whole milk.
8. Is there anyone in the Midwest, particularly central Indiana that has one of these bad boys?
I am so happy I didn't pony up for the Vesuvius and can't wait to see this shiny beast sitting on my coffee bar...
3 days ago after about 500 usd in repairs. I am no latte artist but it tasted like a Hershy bar
Last night after replacing the group triac. $50 part and 4 hours labor with my big hands. Yep thats steam coming out of the group. The repair was a waste of time. It is the 3 way solenoid to blame. Probably $100 part. I am done with this thing. Its going to the dump.
Comments
1. the custom/high performance seals you see referred to here are my creation and your L1 will come with them fitted
2. i wouldn't worry too much about 30lbs of tamp pressure, or any other number as it varies depending on how fine you are grinding - shots & lots of them are the way to go. it sounds as though you are experienced with 12 years of espresso machine ownership behind you so i think you'll be absolutely fine
3. 15.8 grams seems to work as a starting point with the standard basket and a medium roast. if you are using a lighter roast grind finer and step the dose up to 17 or even 17.5g
4. you're all good, i'll include a pressure switch with your L1
5. once a year should be fine for you - i think i may have mentioned this in answering a previous post of yours
6. the kafatek grinder guy (denis baseric) has a good range of wood turning, check out his website - he's in Seattle
7. search frans goddijn's posts on this forum - i think you'll find his videos helpful
8. i think so - they will pipe up in due course i expect
kind regards
reiss.
the pressure gauges on the machines all have off white dial cards now, not black
best
reiss.
Here is my routine in a nutshell:
Activate steam for a few seconds so that the pressure stat activates the heating element. Count off 6 seconds, pull lever down, and preinfuse 10 to 15 seconds. Lift handle and shot begins. When you have pulled the volume/weight you want, slide the cup over. I slide a second cup over to catch the excess. Wait a bit to take off the portafilter.
Steaming is great. I like the 4 hole tip. I bought the 2 hole tip, but not enough steam power. I usually steam about 4-5 oz milk.
I'm in Milwaukee area, probable a bit too far away.
Rob
This is a big change from pump machines.
Also, I don't typically do a flush between shots....maybe I should....any advise on this Reiss?
Also, I use a Pullman tamper, sized for a VST basket, but it fits the stock Londinium basket perfectly.
Rob
without wishing to upset people i am concerned that people think lever machines are slower than pump machines
there is an optimal method to extract any given roast; the coffee doesnt know whether it is in a pump machine or a lever machine
the super high end pump machines are trying to mimic with electronics the low pressure pre-infusion, variable flow, and declining temperature and pressure profile that an analogue spring lever machine has built in, so i can't see that they wont have identical extraction times
if you are extracting a ristretto you will want to cut the shot short, if you are using a dark roast (which extract more easily than a light roast) you will grind more coarsely and run a shorter extraction time
yes, if you are running a light roast then you will typically want to grind fine and wring every last drop out, which is where the long extraction times come from
our L1-P/2/3 run 3-4 second pre-infusion times with 18-20g dose and beyond when set up with sufficient line pressure, so there is a massive improvement over boiler pre-infusion right there (a shorter pre-infusion also preserves the clarity of the shot in my view - excessively long pre-infusion times give you a slightly stewed murky taste (relative to the same roast extracted with a shorter pre-infusion time) i think)
sooo, you see, it depends. i certainly reject the view that seems to circulate that lever machines are in some way at a handicap to pump machines. the facts simply dont support the assertion
I (and many others) don't consider these long leisurely shots a handicap at all....they are a benefit of the lever. You could never get these slow beautiful shots with most conventional pump machines! Jim Schulman is one of the most respected people on HB. I'm really loving the espresso from my L1. I think it's important to let people that are new to levers know that they can get amazing espresso with shots that are longer. Of course you can always grind coarser and get shots in the 25 second range. So, the lever gives you a lot of flexibility that you could never get from a conventional pump machine.
Rob
That's the type of shot I enjoy the most! 45 sec of warm-honey-like stream pouring out of the spout (I use single spouted PF)
And I agree, no pump machine is capable of pulling that out...
While we are on the subject of shot times, do you guys find that you get a different taste profile if you grind course, tamp hard, and pour a faster shot as opposed to grinding finer, tamping lighter, and taking more time to pour the shot?
I can't wait to get my L1. I have been wanting to make the switch for years, and my fix - break - repeat on the Vivaldi has given me that reason. The guys at Chris Coffee feel so bad for me that they now just give me the parts. I'm awaiting a temp sensor for the group head right now.
I'm by no means a lever expert. I've had my L1 for a few months, and for the 20+ years before that I had pump machines including a LM GS3. One of my local friends has a Faema Lumbro, and taught me how to use a lever. He likes the long slow shots, so that's what I have been pulling. I'll have to try coarser grinds pulling in 25 seconds and see how they turn out. I'll let you know. Currently I am using 15.8 to 16 grams of beans, pulled in 40-45 sec, with a weight of about 20 grams. I got a Acaia Lunar scale, so I have been able to time and weigh the shots.
Rob
I think that by you getting rid of a GS3 to get a Londinium is a huge relief. For the past year I have been juggling in my mind of what to get. I almost got their new Linea. The Vesuvius was high on the list. My gut feeling the whole time was an L1 or a Salvatore. Reiss' immediate responses to me and everyone here on the forums made that decision easy. I am just surprised that for the cost of my decent Vivaldi 2, I can have no fuss, easy to use, and fix old school lever that obviously meets the demands of people with exquisite taste.
Thanks for all you guys that have responded and eased my mind that I made the right choice. I can't wait for that first shot.
The GS3 was great but after about 5 years it started acting up and I decided to simplify. I got a Salvatore Semi-auto. Nice simple machine. When I got the opportunity to get one of the first batch Monoliths, I jumped at it and figured I'd have no prob selling my Versalab....wrong! Everyone wants a Monolith! So, I moved the Salvatore and Versalab to our vacation home, and got the L1 for home and paired it with the Monolith. Both should be low maintenance machines that should last for years.
Rob
Sounds like we both went through the same decision process. I wanted a machine that was easy to service at home. Having owned a Cimbali Casa the ability to remove all 4 sides and have easy access to major components without disturbing other parts proved beneficial on several occasions when i needed to replace the p-stat, service the rotary pump and replace the boiler relief valve. I owned a GS3 for a couple of weeks. But after taking a peak inside and seeing the complexity of the internal architecture convinced me I would not have an easy time servicing the unit, so I sold it.
Considered the Vesuvius, LM Linea 1 gp and Slayer, but I always thought a lever was the right option for a home user. Even some professionals think so. There is a busy coffee shop in Dallas that is primarily a bean roaster. They have a variety of machines available (I assume to test their beans) including a Speedster but rely on a 3 group Bosco to service their customers. This says a lot to me.
I ordered my L1-P a week ago and eagerly await its arrival. I'm pairing it with a Mythos Clima Pro I found on Craigslist but may get a Monolith Flat which is more home friendly or a Compak PKE8 (depending on the reviews) when its released later this year or early next.
Thanks for your input. I will keep an eye out on the reviews of the new Compak. Something tells me my wife will switch over to espresso from her Keurig once she tastes the difference a great machine can produce. She wants nothing to do with the HG One though. The only thing I didn't like about the Linea was the 1 second pre-infusion. I imagine it would cut into the GS3 sales had the pre-infusion been selectable. The Monoloth Flat looks incredible but the price tag is out of the question at this time. I like how it has a low speed to not heat the beans. It's a work of art. Besides being motorized, I don't believe it would bring much more to the cup than the HG1 unless I was using a light roast which I never see myself using.
My googlefu is high and I am not lazy by coming here and just chucking out questions. I have also viewed many videos including Franz's. I wish he would do one from start to finish and explain what and why he is doing it. That's probably asking too much.
Anyways,
When I initially hold the level down is that pre-infusion, or is that just building brew pressure. I think Reiss said 6-7 seconds yet I see other say 10-11. Should I be looking at my pressure gauge before I push the lever up for extraction? I've read I want at least 1.2 bar. By holding the lever down longer, will that raise the pressure giving me a different taste profile?
I apologize for these newbie questions and really appreciate all your guys answers. Is there a PDF file somewhere that explains what each step does and how to achieve that step properly? That way you won't have to put up with my remedial lever questions.
I just made cappuccinos for my wife and me...delicious!
Here is my routine. I open steam till red ight goes on. Lock in portafilter. When the light goes out I count to 6 and then pull the lever all the way down. Now you are starting pre-infusion. I pre-infuse for 10-12 sec. Then, lift up lever and brew espresso. I use 15.8 to 16 grams, and end up with about 20 grams of espresso.
Rob
You have pre-infusion with boiler pressure so if you keep the lever down longer, the pressure won't increase unless the boiler pressure increases significantly during that time which is not likely.
Releasing the lever, you start with the pressure from the compressed spring, and as the coffee flows out and the spring expands, the pressure gets lower. That's the 'pressure profile' that many super high end electronic machines try to copy, mostly in steps whereas the spring naturally delivers a fine stepless pressure profile.
I'm not sure what you mean with 'taste profile'. The taste of the first drops is different from the taste of the last drops and in between there's a gradual change, but in the cup it becomes one beautiful complex taste.
Thank you for explaining to me what is going on with each step. I would have never thought to leave the portafilter out.
Also, your videos are amazing Franz. You must have high end gear as your bokeh is beautiful. When I referred to taste profile, I just mean that if a longer pre-infusion will make the beans taste different. You answered that question by letting me know that holding the lever down is indeed pre-infusion so of course it's going to change the taste profile. It will just take many shots to find how long to hold that lever down to get the the taste I am looking for. I think you all have given me the knowledge to get started and it's my job to master it as everyone looks for a different taste out of their beans and I just need to practice the steps to find my vision of the perfect cup.