I tried a HasBean espresso on one of these at the Caffe Culture exhibition in Earl’s Court this week
It was perfectly extracted, with excellent definition (i.e. the taste of the espresso was complex, which I think is an essential element for an espresso)
Mechanically I found the Conti very interesting as the lever mechanism is completely different to any other lever machine that is still in production – I’d never seen anything quite like it before
So if you are considering your options in lever machines you should go and try a Conti
If I’d been thinking I would have thought to grab an image of the espresso