Lelit Owners - Are you happy?

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Handle9

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#289467 8-Sep-2021 02:18

I'm starting my buying process to upgrade my espresso machine. I'm currently thinking about something like the Lelit Mara X or maybe the Elizabeth or at a stretch the Bianca.

I'm not super enthusiastic about the look of the Lelits but they seem like an awful lot of machine for the money and seem to perform well.

I mostly drink espressos but do steam milk as well and my wife likes to make chai lattes.

@billgates I think you have an Elizabeth?

davidcole

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#2774150 8-Sep-2021 07:22

I'd look at parts, how easy are they to source and who will support it. After having a Nemox Napolatana for a number of years it got to the point that when it had an issue, there were no parts. That in itself drove our decision, when we replaced it, to get a rocket....which has parts and support for Africa.

The less electronics etc probably the better.

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Handle9

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#2774658 8-Sep-2021 16:48

davidcole:

I'd look at parts, how easy are they to source and who will support it. After having a Nemox Napolatana for a number of years it got to the point that when it had an issue, there were no parts. That in itself drove our decision, when we replaced it, to get a rocket....which has parts and support for Africa.

The less electronics etc probably the better.

I'm not concerned about support - Lelit are a major manufacturer and well supported. An e61 like the Mara or Bianca will have a wider range of accesories and things like gaskets but the Elizabeth is pretty widely supported.

I don't really agree about electronics. Gimmicky electronics are a waste of time but PID isn't a new thing and is very widely used. Given the whole point of an espresso machine is to deliver water at a fixed temperature and pressure it's a good technology. Even if Lelit went bust I'm pretty confident that the community would come up with a replacement for the LCC, they use it in a lot of their machines. I do quite like the fully mechanical "feel" of the Mara X though.

Electronics also opens up some interesting opportunities, I've seen some cool dashboards for the Mara X by hooking up to the UART port.

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#2774770 8-Sep-2021 18:55

I considered Lelit when we pulled the trigger last year during the 1st Level 4 lockdown. We just couldn't do plunger anymore.

We ended up going with ECM Mechanika V Slim paired with a Eureka Atom grinder. Couldn't be happier.

It doesn't have the PID or computery bits but that's good for me. I love the classic look and the build quality is exceptional.

A leak occurred the other day but to me it paid for itself with no downtime and no cost. Just took the lid off, had a bit of a look. Found the source to be the connection on the inside of the steam wand. Took it apart, Bit of food grade grease around the edge and done back up tight. All sorted.

It's so well layed out inside it's easy to access everything.

Usage wise, It's just my wife and I but her family is large and when they come around it pumps out 4 or 5 coffees no sweat.

The best thing I found for consistency is just a timer scale and a touch of OCD inspired workflow.

billgates

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#2774778 8-Sep-2021 19:12

I am very happy with my Lelit Elizabeth. It is an excellent machine for the price and features you get. It heats up in under 20 minutes from cold start to 94 degrees Celsius. It steam froths really well and very easy to clean and maintain. I hope you have or are getting a nice grinder to with your coffee machine as well. I also bought a naked portafilter and mostly use this over the Lelit supplied portafilter so that I can analyse my shots of they are good or bad.

Do whatever you want to do man.

Handle9

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#2774780 8-Sep-2021 19:15

billgates:

I am very happy with my Lelit Elizabeth. It is an excellent machine for the price and features you get. It heats up in under 20 minutes from cold start to 94 degrees Celsius. It steam froths really well and very easy to clean and maintain. I hope you have or are getting a nice grinder to with your coffee machine as well. I also bought a naked portafilter and mostly use this over the Lelit supplied portafilter so that I can analyse my shots of they are good or bad.

Thanks. I recently upgraded my grinder to a Eureka Mignon Specialita which has made a big difference.

How do you find the boiler capacity when pulling multiple shots / making a few lattes? It's my one concern over the Elizabeth (other than it's not e61, which I think is both a pro and a con).

billgates

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#2774784 8-Sep-2021 19:26

The most coffee shots I have ever pulled in one go is 4 x 8oz cups (11gm shot in each cup) and they were all at 94 degrees Celsius. For 2 cups minimum, I always use the supplied double portafilter to save time. After I made the first 2 cups, the temperature dropped by 1 degree Celsius and by the time, I had the coffee grinded, tamped and portafilter put back in the machine, it had already caught up to 94 degrees again so in a real life situation, unless you empty out the boiler completely which will be a lot of coffee cups in under 15 minutes, you are not going to have issues with temperature.

Eureka Mignon is awesome so you will not have any grind quality issues.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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Handle9

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#2774982 8-Sep-2021 22:00

billgates:
The most coffee shots I have ever pulled in one go is 4 x 8oz cups (11gm shot in each cup) and they were all at 94 degrees Celsius. For 2 cups minimum, I always use the supplied double portafilter to save time. After I made the first 2 cups, the temperature dropped by 1 degree Celsius and by the time, I had the coffee grinded, tamped and portafilter put back in the machine, it had already caught up to 94 degrees again so in a real life situation, unless you empty out the boiler completely which will be a lot of coffee cups in under 15 minutes, you are not going to have issues with temperature.

Eureka Mignon is awesome so you will not have any grind quality issues.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I think you imported yours, where did you source it from?

billgates

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#2775675 9-Sep-2021 20:34

I purchased the Elizabeth from below site in Italy. Owner is nice and you will need to use WhatsApp to get in touch with him after placing order to track delivery. Price on website includes VAT so he will send you a quote in email with VAT removed and shipping price added which is much the same as VAT amount removed IIRC. He packed the box really well. Do not place the order via the website. Contact him via email and advise you live in NZ wth your address details and that you want to place an order and wait for his email with quote.

https://lamacchinadelcaffe.com/lelit.html

Do whatever you want to do man.

Handle9

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#2811417 12-Nov-2021 08:02

I just pulled the trigger on a Bianca. I was really torn between getting the more “sensible” Elizabeth but in the end I couldn’t resist the e61 looks.

It’s definitely overkill but hopefully it’s the last espresso machine I buy. I’m super excited.

Handle9

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#2813494 15-Nov-2021 19:47

My Bianca arrived today. It is a really beautiful looking machine, far better "in the flesh" than photos do it credit. I bought it from 30.coffee. They are a Polish online retailer. The machine came via DHL on a small pallet. Including shipping it cost €1678 which was considerable cheaper than anywhere else. Delivery was 4 days from Europe to Dubai. It was immaculately packaged and in perfect condition. I'd definitely use them again as it saved me around NZD$1000 after taxes and duty compared to buying from the local agent.

I'm chuffed.

billgates

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#2813551 15-Nov-2021 21:38

Awesome. Your coffee station looks great. I will checkout 30.coffee next time as well

Do whatever you want to do man.

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Handle9

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#2813563 15-Nov-2021 22:20

billgates:

Awesome. Your coffee station looks great. I will checkout 30.coffee next time as well

Thanks. I just made my first latte - I fast until midday so only drink espresso in the morning. The extra steam power and dual boiler convenience is awesome, it makes great milk really fast. Once I get it dialled in properly then it'll be time to play with the profile paddle.