Izzo Alex Leva

[Gavisconi007]

Plus one for the LSM group head.

[Dr_Dave]

Hi Richard,
The Alex Leva is quieter, smoother and more convenient than my Duetto 2 so no issue there
Also the percentage of great shots is much higher
Overall no contest in my view and I have previously owned a San Marco 95 E, a VBM and Duetto 2
Regards
Dave

Thanks folks

For me it's coming down to the romance of a leva or the convenience of a semi. My searching misery is coming to an end (I hope!)

[Sink_cut]

Hi guys,
I have had this running for a week now and am having a great time with it. I love it! So much fun to use and I love the quality of the finish. I have had many great shots but am still learning to get the most out of it.

A few more questions:
- Boiler refill... Can be a bit annoying as it seems to happen to me after about 4 back to back shots ( with small flushes in between) - do you guys then wait while the boiler comes up to temp? Or do you just keep pulling shots relying on the group holding the temp? I am sure if the refill was more often it would not make a difference to the temp. 1 Liter of cold water is a lot to absorb.

-Doughnut extractions: I seem to be getting a lot of these... Shots still taste ok but not as good as when I get the occasional full equal extraction. I never had this issue on other machines, is this a lever thing?... My levelling technique has had to change as the grounds sit well below the lip of the basket - I can't cut the top off. ( I am using 18-20 gms with WDT. Have tried nutating tamp with no joy. My best shots have come by trying to shape a concave in the top of grinds with stirrer before tamping - but this is hard to repeat with any accuracy).

- Naked PF exploding off. This has happened 3 times, but not in the last few days. - coffee on the roof - broken cup - but pretty funny too. Once it did it while I was trying to enjoy my ristretto and leaving the lever to finish off by itself! I am guessing this is because it is new and shiney. Is it worth using some sand paper to roughen up the bottom of the PF lugs?

[Dr_Dave]

Hi Sink,
Glad you are enjoying the machine - they are great and I enjoy mine every day.

In answer to your questions:
I wait until temp is back to my set temp (123 for mine), but I don't flush in between shots so don't really have an issue
Not sure about the doughnut shots - where I am is very humid and I get clumping with the M4D so I use a dosing funnel and a small whisk on grinds and get great shots. I also tried nutating technique but it didn't work for me. I know others have said "you dont need a whisk, just do this...." I tried lots of things and am happy with my technique. Different strokes
My PF flew off a couple of times early on. The early machines had a generic naked PF which was too tall and this occurred a bit. Chris at Talk Coffee sorted mine- his engineer used a lathe and took off 1 mm, but I also used a file to shape the lugs into a wedge rather than square shape. Speak to Chris as I think the new PF's have sorted the problem. Note you do have to really lock in pf
Hope that helps
Dave

[RichardC]

Hi Richard,
The Alex Leva is quieter, smoother and more convenient than my Duetto 2 so no issue there
Also the percentage of great shots is much higher
Overall no contest in my view and I have previously owned a San Marco 95 E, a VBM and Duetto 2
Regards
Dave

Thanks Dave

Just a question on double shot performance.....

My Monday to Friday routine is to make 2 x flat whites at a time, sometimes twice per day for me and the CFO. We run a home office so extra is required when visitors invade. Weekends the volume increases..

Presently I'm running 2 x single shots on the 6910 as this offers a decent shot per cup as opposed to 2 cups under a double shot basket which offers a weaker taste. The manual describes both single and double baskets as "standard filter baskets" for a commercial size group head & group handle.

In addition, this little, but punchy machine can only texture enough milk for 2 x of the smaller espresso

My preference is to run a double shot into 2 cups to save time but I do not want to compromise full flavour. I also appreciate this is dependent on the actual grams in the basket (CFO recently purchased a digital scales for baking so I will commandeer and start weighing grinds for a little more accuracy). But ultimately I want to limit my time on coffee duties so I'm trying to streamline as much of the process as possible.

So my question is, with the leva, with a double shot basket, can you add enough grams to the double basket to ensure 2 strong single shots? I know "strong" is related to taste but you know what I mean.

Cheers
Richard

PS, It's great hearing from someone who's taken the plunge and happy to elaborate on experience.

[TC]

Hi Richard,

You will find you can dose at anything up to 25g in the "double"

Chris

[Bazooka]

Hi Richard,

a smaller cup may be an option for 'stronger' coffee.

I use two cup sizes (170 and 190 ml acme cups) and have no trouble splitting a double shot into two cups for a satisfying coffee experience using an izzo alex leva.

[RichardC]

Hi Richard,

You will find you can dose at anything up to 25g in the "double"

Chris

Thanks Chris

This should pan out fine given a good single requires circa 10gms

Hi Richard,

a smaller cup may be an option for 'stronger' coffee.

I use two cup sizes (170 and 190 ml acme cups) and have no trouble splitting a double shot into two cups for a satisfying coffee experience using an izzo alex leva.

Thanks Bazooka

We have both sizes also but only tend to use the smaller for strength. The larger cups allow for brew to become too weak and milky "a la starbucks"

[Bazooka]

I may be biased, i think izzo alex leva declining extraction pressure profile is more forgiving for longer shots (time and volume) which is great for stronger cup ... dont quote me though

[Sink_cut]

Here is a pic of my one up and running at breakfast time.

Very happy with this so far . Great machine.

[artman]

Looks good enough to eat!

Cheers

[MrJack]

Thanks Chris

This now leads me to a question you've probably answered several times here but with the exception of the 6mm, what's the difference in performance or otherwise between a 55mm and 61mm group?

It seems logical to me the 61mm would be wide and shallow and the 55mm would be narrow and deep, presume both are designed to hold the same weight in coffee grounds? In theory would this mean the infusion process of a 55mm carries a stronger depth of flavour or am I way off the mark?

Or is a 55mm native to a leva and 61mm to a semi?

Thanks
Richard

Speaking purely hypothetically here, but from a hydraulic point of view, the larger diameter would mean that variations in dose weight (all else being equal) would have less impact on the flowrate (and thus the extraction). Would also possibly allow a finer grind (can anyone confirm if this is the case?)

Based on the assumption that extraction rate is dependent on concentration and flowrate, and that resistance to flow is proportional to area and puck depth, I have a theory that if your only objective was consistency between extractions, the variable which should be changed between a double and a single shot is not depth/grind, but area.

But it's just a theory

[TomC]

Has anyone written about pulling the smaller second spring out of their Leva and assess the results? I tried searching, but it's not a search-friendy phrase.

I'm toying around with the idea of doing this. Not specifically on any chase to improve shots (but would welcome any improvement), but I'd also like to ease the strength required to use it. I'm a bit jealous of the single spring group owners who can nonchalantly roll their levers down without a lot of bracing.

[TC]

Has anyone written about pulling the smaller second spring out of their Leva and assess the results? I tried searching, but it's not a search-friendy phrase.

I'm toying around with the idea of doing this. Not specifically on any chase to improve shots (but would welcome any improvement), but I'd also like to ease the strength required to use it. I'm a bit jealous of the single spring group owners who can nonchalantly roll their levers down without a lot of bracing.

Tried it on a CMA group. We needed a spacer to achieve 9Bar. The overall effect in the cup was less sweets. On a leva with a declining pressure profile. my opinion is that you will lose rather than gain...

[simonko]

Has anyone written about pulling the smaller second spring out of their Leva and assess the results? I tried searching, but it's not a search-friendy phrase.

I'm toying around with the idea of doing this. Not specifically on any chase to improve shots (but would welcome any improvement), but I'd also like to ease the strength required to use it. I'm a bit jealous of the single spring group owners who can nonchalantly roll their levers down without a lot of bracing.

Could also go a longer lever handle (or piece of iron pipe over the top of the existing lever .