La Pavoni:
How to use a La Pavoni "Professional" Espresso Machine

Illy has a set of standards in his famous Book of Coffee for the brewing espresso.  Let's go through them before discussing how they apply to pulling a shot from a La Pavoni.

The reason that the temperature and pressure are being discussed together is because La Pavoni are single boiler machines.   The boiler pressure is solely a function of the temperature of the water in the closed system.  When you take a pressure reading as described below, remember this is the pressure generated by the boiler that we're talking about and not the pressure at the group head.  The final pressure at the group head is much greater due to the pressure exerted by the piston when you push down on the lever.

My machine came with the brew temperature set improperly so I HAD to mess with the device.  It was such that the water wouldn't go above lukewarm.  That being said, there is likely probably nothing wrong with your temperature setting so if at all possible, don't mess with thermostat.  There is a definite the risk of burning yourself badly or even electrocuting yourself so be advised that I'm not advocating that you play with the internal electrical components.  If the temperature is set properly, the pressure gauge of the La Pavoni Profession should peak out between .7 to .8 bar.  Let the machine heat up, let some steam out of the steaming wand for 5-10 seconds, wait for the pressure to build up again, and then take a reading. 

Although suggestions for the standard temperature varies from 89 to 95C (192 to 203C), mine is set to 91C or 195F as per Dr. Illy, with the boiler 3/4 full. 

Remember, I'm not suggesting that you alter the factory settings.  This is just an account of what I had to do... 

In the base of my La Pavoni Professional, there is an adjustable pressure limiter (which I initially thought was a thermostat).  The partial  pressure of water vapour in the boiler chamber increases proportionally to the increase in temperature of the water.  We use this simple fact to cut off the heating element when the set temperature/pressure is reached.  First I filled the boiler until it was 3/4 full with water.  To get to the innards, I removed the screw underneath the plastic catch tray that holds on the bottom cover.  Inside, I found a brass screw on the right-hand side of the machine which is held in place with a small setscrew.  I loosened the setscrew and turned the adjusting screw a little at a time while checking where the heating elements cuts off.  This can be accomplished by listening to the sound of the water being heated and noting where it cuts out.  Turning it left lowered the cut off point, and turning it right raised it.  I believe that the configuration is different in newer machines (see Michael Stevens' comments in the Comments/Discussion section).

There is also an issue of temperature instability.  This is my guess as to what happens.  The pressure switch is slow to react.  When the water in the boiler is used up (by pulling several shots in the same session), there is less capacity to hold the constant amount of heat generated by the heating elements.  As a result, the temperature swings are greater with less water than when the boiler is almost full.  You may end up with water that is too hot for the coffee.  I always fill my La Pavoni to about 3/4 full and only pull one or two shots at a time so this isn't a big deal with me.  However, I thought you should know...

There is no thermostat in the Europiccola. My suggestion is to follow the technique described in the Lair of the Chrome Peacock.  The steps seems reasonable and users have reported excellent results by following the instructions.

Don't underestimate how important a clean machine is.  Carefully clean EVERYTHING that comes into contact with the coffee.  Old coffee oils will make your espresso taste terrible regardless of how well you've managed all the other factors.  'Nuff said!

I used to use 100% distilled water until a couple of people suggested that I mix it with a bit of bottled mineral water.  I tried it, and you know what?  The espresso didn't taste as "flat." The shots also taste a bit sweeter  Before each session, I now mix a batch of 80% distilled water with 20% Vittel in a plastic water container.  Then, I close the lid and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds in order to aerate the water before putting it into the Pavoni.  This may sound a bit fanatical, but it works for me.  Just remember, your coffee can only be as good as your water.  Sometimes I will put the filter in and pull a shot without any coffee just to taste the water.  This way, I can tell if the water tastes OK as well as whether the equipment is clean enough.

First off, use fresh good quality coffee.   Garbage in--garbage out.  Without both fresh AND good quality coffee, you are wasting your time and the potential of the machine.  Robustas beans (coffea canephora) produce a lot of crema. These beans have been given a bad reputation due to the abundance of lower grade bean used in commercial blends in order to create blends that have a lot of crema at low cost. You may have even read here that there is no place for robusta beans in fine quality espresso. Well, I take that all back. I have found a source of great robusta beans. Now, in my blend, I use about 15% robustas to augment the arabicas. The crema is now thick, rich and brown. The robustas give you a big rich bodacious kick without any bitter aftertaste. Great stuff! 

The bottom line is this. If you are going to spend so much effort on making a fine shot of espresso, USE EXCELLENT BEANS.

Two filters are included with each machine.  My feeling is that the single shot portafilter is too small and completely useless.  I use the double shot filter exclusively.  The portafilter supplied with a La Pavoni is slightly smaller than the ones used in commercial machines.  I find that 12 grams of coffee works for me.   Falling loosely out of a grinder's doser, this amount of coffee will slightly overfilled the double portafilter by about 3 mm at the highest point.

The grind and tamping go together hand-in-hand.  The idea is that the packing of the coffee grinds provides resistance for the heated water.  This resistance causes the water to flow slowly through the grinds and extracting the components of "espresso" at the coffee-water interface.  As well, this extraction pressure causes the gases (mostly carbon dioxide formed by roasting reactions) to pass into solution...forming the elusive crema--a sign of a good "pull."

All other factors being equal, the finer the grind, the tighter the grains may be packed tighter.  Also, the harder you tamp, the tighter the grains of coffee are packed together.  These two variables together affect the amount of resistance afforded by the coffee against the heated water.

What you read about the grind from other sources is true.  It is VERY important and not to be overlooked.  Don't even try using a blade coffee chopper.  They are fine for normal drip coffee and French press but a chopper will not give you the narrow range of grain sizes for espresso.  As well, if you manage to get one good grind with a chopper, it will be almost impossible to repeat it.  At least get yourself a lower-end conical burr grinder (the La Pavoni PG are supposed to be good, and the Bodum Antigua I've used with success).  Better still, get a dedicated espresso grinder (I now use a Gaggia MDF but like the Rancilio "Rocky" as well).

For my Gaggia MDF, the perfect grind is achieved at setting 5 or 6. The description of the proper grind range from grains that resemble sand to grains slightly coarser than flour.  My feeling is that these guidelines are too vague and can mean something different to each person.  That is, you can play around with the proper grind all day, but at this stage, it may be more effective to eliminate another variable and work on the tamp.  For now, simply go to the nearest grocery store and find yourself a can of ground Illy regular roast espresso (something that should be easy to find worldwide) and you're in business!  You can always mess with the grind later.

Tamping is where I had my breakthrough.   In order to get any crema, it is amazing how hard you actually have to tamp.   I find that in order to produce an excellent shot, it was necessary to pack the 12 grams of coffee into the double portafilter with about 35 pounds of pressure. As you let off on the pressure, give the tamper a twist to polish off the top. The twisting also keeps any coffee from sticking to the bottom of your tamper. I tamp and polish twice. 

To practice, put your handle and portafilter with the coffee on top of a bathroom scale and press down.  Feel how hard this is for reference and practice, practice, practice!   With the proper amount of coffee and tamping, there should be about 3-5 mm of space between the grinds and the top of the portafilter.  If there isn't, take a bit of coffee out or the handle won't fit into the group head.  That being said, there are some La Pavoni users that grind finer and barely tamp.  After you master tamping the Illy pre-ground coffee, you can work on your own variation.

Warm up the cup and filter by running some heated water through an empty filter into the cup and discarding.  Fill and tamp the filter.  Then, wipe any stray grains of coffee off the top of the filter before placing it under the group head and tightening.

When the proper temperature is achieved, raise the handle to the "up" position.  Count 10 seconds to allow water to fill the brewing chamber and pre-infusing the coffee before pulling down on the handle.  Likely, by this point, there is some rich dark espresso dripping into your demitasse and covering the bottom.  Although I didn't expect it, the pressure required to pull the handle down is quite hard.  I haven't measured this yet, but it feels almost as hard as the pressure required for tamping.   Don't force the handle down, but rather press down with CONSTANT heavy pressure.  The espresso should be thick and start flowing straight down in a heavy stream from the spout and you should see crema forming.  The whole process from start to finish should take around 20-30 seconds.

A variation on this is to partly lift the handle (but not to the top, or you'll have water flooding your work area!) BEFORE putting your filter in. I got this idea from one of the readers that suggested this in the interactive portion of this site. The theory is that lifting the handle sucks air through the coffee that you worked so hard to tamp. This supposedly breaks up the coffee puck and messes up your pull. I've tried this and it seems to work. Play around with this yourself and see if you get better results!

What you should have is a dark and steaming perfectly extracted espresso, topped with a thick layer of crema formed from extremely fine bubbles that is tan to dark red in colour.  If you sprinkle some granules of sugar on the crema, it should be buoyed by it for a second or two before sinking.  Now, taste it!

Your drink should be rich and aromatic.   Or as my father-in-law would say, "it is like an angel pissing on your tongue" (whatever!)  If it is sour and watery, the grind may be too coarse and the heated water isn't staying in the grinds long enough.  If bitter and sour, the grind may be too fine and the coffee is being over extracted.

Good luck and most importantly, HAVE FUN with your La Pavoni.  Once you "get it", you'll wonder how it was possible that you once didn't.  If you have any questions or comments, please click here to go the the Discussion/Comment area.  I would love to hear about YOUR experiences.

Pavonily yours,

Daniel Ho

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