It is not hyperbole to say that we agonise over every item of equipment that we offer for sale on this website. We are dedicated espresso roasters, but we think we have something to offer in presenting what we consider to be the finest espresso equipment on the planet. We buy and try many items that catch our imagination, but precious few make the cut. Even then we still get it wrong sometimes, and find ourselves purging product from our offering after a time.
We offer products that are unlikely to ever sell in great number, or indeed return us with the greatest margin. But without exception they are items that are built to last, are designed to be able to be repaired (rather than thrown away like almost all modern products are), and finally, they allow you to make exceptional espresso. Unfortunately we suspect this means we are perceived as elitist in some circles, but this isn’t the intention. Indeed, while the price may be significant on many of the items we sell, we think they all represent excellent value for money. Something that costs GBP100, never makes real espresso, and either breaks as a result of poor workmanship or is thrown away in frustration is hardly a good use of the planet’s scarce resources, and terrible value for money. Indeed the most significant cost element of many of the mass market goods on the worlds shelves today is the marketing budget, as opposed to the cost of the materials in the product. We think this is unsustainable and would like to see a move away from low cost goods that have proliferated in the last 30 years. The goods we sell are fit to be passed onto someone else or sold, not at junk prices, but as goods that are still capable of decades more useful service.
Anyway, the real point of this post is a public declaration of our position on the ubiquitous La Pavoni lever machine. Why? To give you an opportunity to berate us at length and accuse us of going back on our word as much as anything. Why? What underpins this masochistic declaration? Well the La Pavoni would be the item of equipment that we have agonised over selling more than any other. We cannot hide our admiration for a product that has been sold since 1957, or thereabouts, essentially unchanged. It benefits from an extensive global network of dealers, the machines are light and compact enough that you can stuff them in a bag and transport them easily in a way that is not possible with most espresso machines, the parts are readily available and easily fitted by anyone with a modicum of mechanical aptitude. They ooze romantic appeal, and have appeared in numerous movies, yet still we hesitate to sell them. Why?
We would love to sell La Pavoni on the grounds that we think it would broaden our audience, but we have owned La Pavonis in the past and have canvassed the opinions of a large number of our customers. As you would expect strong opinions are held, both for and against the La Pavoni. It is a machine that polarises opinion like no other. Those who stick with them for more than a year seem to have them forever, and whilst conceding that they have their share of ‘sink’ shots, will be quick to point out that the La Pavoni is capable of producing some wonderful espresso which is true. La Pavoni have unparalleled visual appeal to your guests who are not overly concerned with the finer points of the need for thermal stability in the production of great espresso.
Indeed many of our good friends own La Pavonis and would very much like to see them supported by Londinium Espresso.
Others tell us that we would be better off selling the Elektra Micro Casa Leva, which is another machine with tremendous romantic appeal, and is a spring lever (rather than a manual lever) which greatly assists in the delivery of consistent results. Whilst we are happy to go on record and say that we prefer a spring lever espresso machine to a manual lever machine, and do not in anyway buy into the ‘ultimate control’ argument that is proffered by some for preferring a manual lever over a spring, our pre-condition is that the spring must deliver sufficient pressure to create a really dense, rich espresso. To the best of our knowledge there is no ‘domestic’ spring lever espresso machine that does develop sufficient pressure (we include in this the Ponte Vecchio machines which we purchased in 2011 for evaluation). For this reason we offer the manual lever Olympia Cremina; it allows you to apply sufficient pressure to create as good an espresso as you will achieve from a full size commercial espresso machine.
The La Pavoni, also a manual lever machine, allows the necessary pressure to be applied to the coffee to create real espresso, albeit with considerably less consistency than the Cremina. It is the ability of the La Pavoni to deliver a great espresso now and then, coupled with its strong visual appeal that makes it a tantalising prospect to add it to our offering. I think that if you have bothered to read this far you will have a sense of the extent to which we have agonised over whether or not to sell La Pavoni espresso machines almost since we started roasting way back in 2004.
The mental anguish reached something of a crescendo this week and we were close to placing an order with La Pavoni, and then I thought this has to come to an end, a final decision has to be reached. What to do? Well I promised myself that by the end of this week I would declare our decision publicly in this blog and that anyone who read it would be free to castigate us ad nauseam in any one of the many public stocks that the internet offers (twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc, etc)
We would be offering the La Pavoni with a view to broadening our appeal and to access the vast installed base of La Pavonis in all corners of the globe. It would provide a machine at a more accessible price point. The trouble is the Bacchi. Whilst the Bacchi does not have the classical romantic appeal that the La Pavoni undeniably does, the consistency of the results from the Bacchi are an order of magnitude greater than the La Pavoni, to the extent that if you haven’t tried the Bacchi you simply won’t believe it could be possible. The Bacchi is enormously forgiving to the same extent that the La Pavoni is exacting in its demands on the user. Ah, but I hear the La Pavoni owners say, when the stars align the La Pavoni is capable of producing the most amazing shot of espresso. While this is true, as I have experienced this first hand, the uncomfortable truth is the Bacchi delivers shots as good as the La Pavoni at its mythical best about 9 times out of 10, rather than 1 out of 10.
In terms of the taste of the espresso issued forth, there is no contest, the Bacchi delivers expresso equal to the La Pavoni at its best, and does so with monotonous regularity. So what does the La Pavoni do better? To my eye at least, I think the La Pavoni has much greater visual appeal, it is the model steam engine that our fathers had as childhood toys, yet it does more, it makes espresso! You have to acknowledge that the La Pavoni also allows milk to be steamed.
Many of our customers with the Bacchi have purchased the Bialleti tutti crema milk frothing jug and this does a magnificent job of texturing the milk that has to be experienced to be believed. Trust me it is nothing like those daft battery powered whisks that have sold in their millions around the globe, but only froth the milk into a bubble bath mix, rather than texturing the milk with micro foam. The Bialettis tutti crema milk frothing jug produces real micro foam with an ease that has to be experienced to be believed.
What else? Well the La Pavoni is electric powered, with some users are going to prefer to a stove top. While it is true that the Bacchi produces 2 double shots and then you have to start from cold again, it is also true that you don’t get many shots from the La Pavoni before it over heats and you find yourself giving the group a bath with a cold wet cloth to cool it down. Whilst the Olympia Cremina provides a distinct advantage in that it can stay on 24/7 and not overheat, and the same for drawing multiple shots, the La Pavoni cannot claim this advantage over the Bacchi.
The Bacchi consistently delivers espresso that is as good, if not better, than the La Pavoni at its best. Secondly, the Bacchi is at least half the price of the La Pavoni, depending on which model of the La Pavoni you buy. I concede the Bacchi may not have the same visual appeal. Into the bargain you can take the Bacchi camping with you.
We have to recognise that machines like the La Pavoni were taken into consideration by the talented Andrea Bacchi when he conceived his espresso machine. The Bacchi was only made because it was significantly better than anything else on offer at anything like the same price point, and indeed quite a lot above as it turned out. Those of you who have read our blog for some time will know that the Bacchi is the only stove top espresso machine we know of that produces real espresso. The La Pavoni has been a global sales phenomenon for more than 50 years, but I think tonight I have to commit my thoughts in writing and concede that the Bacchi is a significantly superior espresso machine, assuming your primary concern is the quality of the espresso in your cup as opposed to its visual appeal.
Again and again prospective customers can not believe that any stovetop is capable of consistently delivering real espresso, so we have to demonstrate it to prove the point. It is worth remembering that Andrea Bacchi has toured Europe with his Bacchi espresso machine and has won barista competitions with it, competing against full size commercial espresso machines. This achievement is nothing short of astounding as it has not received the recognition it deserves as it belongs in the bin labelled ‘uncomfortable truths’ for manufacturers of full size commercial espresso machines costing 20 times as much as the Bacchi.
So there it is, we have finally made a decision on whether Londinium Espresso will offer the La Pavoni, and placed the decision in the public arena in the hope that we will look back to this post from time to time and it will prevent us from changing our mind.
Whilst I have been writing this post a thought has occurred to me. In order to underline to you just how convinced we are about the Bacchi we will offer a second purchase option costing GBP10 more for UK buyers. What we will do is courier you our demonstration Bacchi that has had years of enthusiastic use so you can see for yourself that it continues to perform in its old age. You can then play with our demonstration Bacchi for say a week. If you want to proceed with the purchase we will send a courier to collect out demo machine from you and as soon as it arrives back with us we will send you out your brand new Bacchi. The GBP10 premium on this service is simply to contribute towards the cost of getting our demo machine out to you an back to base. If on the other hand you decide the Bacchi is not for you, just return the demo Bacchi as described above and we will refund you all but the GBP10.
We hope this offer conveys the extent of our confidence in the Bacchi. Oh, and if you are a dyed in the wool La Pavoni owner we really think you owe it to yourself to try out the Bacchi. It is half the price of a replacement for your ageing La Pavoni and we guarantee that you will get better espresso, and with almost clockwork regularity.
Oh, and we almost forgot to mention; the engineering in the Bacchi is pure simplicity. The design has been subject to several refinements since the first Bacchi rolled off the line, most notably the introduction of a thicker aluminium casting for the base as a result of the original base distorting a little too easily. There is now a stainless steel spring, replacing the zinc plated one that was never very well plated and tended to corrode over time. Another improvement has been the removal of the screw that used to go right through the crown of the piston, and presented an opportunity for pressure to escape through. Lastly the quality of the machining of the castings, especially on critical areas like the fit of the piston in the cylinder bore that it runs in, are a much better fit and finish that they were on the early batches, which ensures the piston is able to move freely along its entire distance of travel and not bind – this is critical if your Bacchi is to perform optimally.
The Bacchi will produce espresso for you that is easily as good as machines at the GBP1500 level and beyond in some cases. Those of you who know how much we agonise over product selection will know that we do not make this assertion lightly. If you haven’t got a Bacchi you are missing out, it really is that simple. Order yours now and bring consistent espresso excellence to wherever you may be.
Note: the Bacchi will not work on an induction hob as the base is aluminium, a non-ferrous metal.