The lever espresso machine started with Rosetta Scorza’s patent which she sold to Giovanni Achille Gaggia in the late thirties. Rosetta’s patent was for a screw piston — you literally twisted a handle and the piston screwed down onto the coffee. Once Gaggia had control of the piston concept, he then added the spring and patented it in 1947. His Classica machine came out in 1948 and interestingly it was fabricated by FAEMA, who had been specializing in the production of hair dryers up to that point.
Lever machines are becoming more popular for home use where more control of the pressure and extraction really pays off.
Home lever models such as the Olympia cremina lever, LaPavoni Euro piccola lever, Bezzera Strega lever, Nurri Leva, ACS Vesuvius, Profitec pro 800, Marzocco Leva X 1, Fracino Retro, Londoninium, Ponte Vecchio Lusso Lever 1 Group, Quick Mill Achille, Izzo Alex Leva are becoming ever more popular in the home. Commercial lever machines such as Bosco, Astoria Core 600, Izzo Pompeii, ACS Vostok, and Victoria Arduino 358 White Eagle Leva, Vibiemme REPLICA Manuale PISTONE are all used in busy environments.
While they don't require a lot of maintenance - you cannot neglect changing the pistons gaskets or shower screens.Cafelat piston lever gasket x 1 and Cafelat Lever Gasket cover most modern lever pistons - a little Molykote 111 grease 6gis needed to ensure smooth operation. Most modern levers now use the E61 shower screens IMS Competition Nano Shower Screen E61200NT is a popular choice as it requires almost no cleaning.
Spring Lever Machines uses a group head spring to achieve the required pressure while modern machine uses pumps. There are no push buttons to make an espresso as there is no pump. When a barista pulls a shot, this literally means they pull down the lever(roughly approx 10kg of pressure) it loads a spring by elevating a piston into the cocking position. This allows water to enter the brew chamber to pre-infuse the ground at either boiler or line pressure. When the Barista releases the lever, the tensioned spring then pushes the piston down, forcing water through the coffee bed at high pressure which then decreases gradually to zero pressure.
All these contribute to a fuller body more velvety mouth feel and an easier drinking cup with single-origin arabica or blends.
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