Subject: Nurri Leva S.A. Four Month Review

Here is a list of sections. The purpose of this list is so you can avoid TLDR and simply skip to a section that is of more interest to you.

If you are interested in buying this machine, you will probably want to read every word. Otherwise, just “scroll and skip”.

SUMMARY
KEY SPECS
BACKGROUND
UNBOXING
FEATURES
IN THE CUP
AESTHETICS
WHAT I DON’T LIKE
WHAT I LIKE MOST
VALUE FOR MONEY
CONCLUSION
MANUFACTURERS RIGHT OF REPLY

1. SUMMARY

• From AU$7,490. Approx US$5,100, £4,200, €4650 (up to AU$9,290)
• La San Marco dual spring lever machine
• Stunningly beautiful, feature-rich, innovative piece of functional art
• Little things need improving but Nurri has nailed all the big ones

2. KEY SPECS

• 36cm W, 56cm L @ base, 78.5cm H incl. lever, 45cm H sans lever
• 37kg (+/- 1kg depending on version). 53kg with crate and accessories.
• Dual boiler
• Rotary pump
• 3-sensor PID temperature control for boiler, steamer and group head. (Note: newer machines are fitted with 3 separate PIDs and earlier machines are being upgraded.)

3. BACKGROUND

I first set my eyes on the Nurri Leva in early 2021 when searching the internet for lever machines and stumbled on the Nurri website.

It was love at first sight but unfortunately it was a prototype and Antonio Nurri directed my inquiry to Chris Natoli who owns the Melbourne-based Talk Coffee retail shop.

As I understand it, Chris was the guy who initiated the process of getting the Nurri Leva imported into Australia and teamed up with Antony De Fina at Casa Espresso (also in Melbourne) to make it all happen.

I was so struck by the looks of the Nurri Leva that as soon as I confirmed that it had dual boilers a rotary pump and the highly desirable La San Marco dual spring group head, I wanted to buy one sight unseen.

But Chris beat me away with a stick, literally refusing to take my money and explaining that until he had one on his shop bench and could verify it was everything that we both hoped for, he wasn’t taking orders.

But in late 2021 a prototype landed on Chris’s bench and on February 22, 2022, he opened for orders. I placed my order the next day.

The Nurri Leva finally arrived on my front doorstep on Monday 19th December 2022.

Merry Christmas and thank you Santa and Saint Christopher.

A well-deserved shout out

Chris Natoli is a shining example of what a quality reseller does.

Most people assume that a reseller simply orders boxes with machines in them from overseas and that those boxes come in and go out of their premises, either unopened or having been only afforded a cursory glance.

People like Chris literally take every machine out of the box and put them onto their bench and simulate espresso after espresso using a Scace device to test pressure and temperature (a modified Scace for La San Marco group heads) to make sure everything functions as close to optimal operating capability as possible.

If there are issues, they contact the manufacturer or licensed importer and get them fixed before they repack the machine and ship it to you.

Chris had my Nurri on his bench for a good week, testing it and working out how to make the pump quieter, amongst other things, before he gave it the “Talk Coffee Stamp of Approval” and shipped it to me.

Even though I was champing at the bit to get my lustful hands on the Nurri Leva, it was worth the wait.

On a similar note, I ordered a grinder from Antony de Fina at Casa Espresso in Melbourne and was surprised when a few grinds fell out of the chute as I was unpacking it.

On inquiry, it turned out that Antony, like the careful importer and reseller that he is, had the grinder on his bench and used the grinds to pour multiple shots before sending it to me. He made sure that the burrs were perfectly aligned and that everything else functioned as it should.

It’s worth a lot to me, when ordering high-end machines, to order from experienced and local professionals like Chris and Antony.

We all value post-delivery service but I’m mentioning this pre-delivery service, in the hope that you will value what your local Chris or Antony includes in the price that you pay for your espresso kit.

4. UNBOXING

The packing was top notch. The Nurri arrived literally bolted to a wooden forklift-friendly crate. That means less likelihood that the box is going to be dropped or thrown.

Thanks to the simple design, it was easy to unbolt the machine and with a bit of an effort, I hoisted the 45kg onto the reserved space on my espresso bench, alongside a Decent DE1Xl and a Strietman CT2.

My espresso bench, if not my life, now felt complete.

Included in the packing were two Nurri Leva embroidered baseball caps which was a nice touch. Others have been given Nurri aprons but whatever it is, the addition of Nurri merchandise is a nice surprise and I wear my Nurri Leva cap whenever I walk the dog.

Also included in the box were a double portafilter and naked portafilter, single and double baskets and a blind basket, all nicely laid out and well protected in custom cut foam.

5. FEATURES

The description of the Nurri Leva on the Nurri website does not do it justice.

This is a feature-rich machine that is thoroughly well thought out and to me, the description on the website comes more from the heart of a poet than the head of an engineer.

Still, it’s refreshing not to have the soft lit videos and OTT hyperbole that we are sometimes seduced with on more marketing-sophisticated websites.

Chances are that if you like what you see on the Nurri website, you’ll love what you get when it arrives in the flesh.

Here’s a summary of what I think are the key features which should be on the Nurri website. After the summary I’ll “unpack” some of them.

• 54mm portafilter basket
• 230V 10A 2200V (2350W maximum)
• La San Marco group
• Stainless steel boilers: brew 800ml, steam 1.8L
• Rotary pump
• 3 channel PID (water, steam, group head) and corresponding display
• Shot timer appears in the PID temperature display when lever is pulled
• Up to heat in under 15 minutes
• Very temperature stable once target temperature is reached
• Easy-access adjustable pre-infusion at rear
• Options for stainless, black or white powder coated
• Zebrano wood portafilter and lever handles and side panels
• 11 bar of pressure (grind finer!)
• Independently activated cartridge heated group head
• Twin paddles: kill shots, use the pump, flush, back flush
• Attractive manometers displaying steam and group head pressure
• 430 grade steel vs the more traditional thicker 304 steel
• Steam can be turned off for non-milk drinkers, saving power
• Dual nozzle steamer - steams like a mother
• Plumbed or internal tank water supply
• 100% stable when pulling the lever
• Nice deep drip tray tank, easily removed
• Boiler heaters not welded, easily removable if needing replacement
• Teflon washes between group and body, mitigating heat transfer
• Upgradeable firmware (no idea what this means - I guess it’s a plus?)
• Unlike others, my wife can easily pull the lever (yes, on the machine)

In contrast to some of the original single group lever machines, the Nurri is not an adaptation of a commercial, multi-group lever that was messed with to produce a machine for the home prosumer.

To me, it seems that Antonio Nurri has tapped into his decades of Italian lever experience and has selected every feature he loves about levers, put them into the one single group prosumer machine, and then added what no one else knew was lacking: most notably the paddles.

Because of this “start from scratch” approach, the Nurri Leva is rock solid when pulling the lever does not ever feel like it might tip, despite the height of the group head.

That’s not especially significant until you realize that there doesn’t appear to be any use of dead weight inside the machine to counter the pulling of the lever at the front of the machine. Perhaps that’s why its longer than many other lever machines. For whatever reason, it’s a clever design.

But back to the long list of features I mentioned above.

I don’t know of any other espresso machine that features everything that the Nurri the has packed into its frame.

Do you want all of that? Is that important to you?

Your call.

Me?

I didn’t know I wanted it all until I had it.

Now I love it.

To the best of my knowledge, some of the features in the Nurri Leva are currently only found in a Kees Van Der Western Slim Jim Idrocompresso (pressure gauge, timer, pressure release lever, group head flush lever) or La Marzocco Leva X.

And those machines, incredible that they are, are many times the price of the Nurri.

Would I prefer a Kees Van Der Western Slim Jim Idrocompresso?

Hell yes!

But I could never justify the price, whereas I can with the Nurri Leva.

Now, I’ll unpack some of the bigger features.

Servo- Assisted i.e. the paddles

The most obvious stand-out feature of the Nurri are the twin paddles that sit atop the group head.

You push the right paddle away from you to activate the pump and pull it toward you to stop it.

The paddle can therefore be used to flush the group head; there is no need to use the lever for this purpose.

It’s probably just a bit of a party trick but if you adjust the pre-infusion to say 6 bar, you can use the paddle alone to pull a shot without ever even touching the lever. Just be aware that you will get 6 bar of pre-infusion as well.

The left paddle is pulled toward you to release the pressure in the group head and cut the shot. Built up steam pressure and a little clean water exits through the vent just above the drip tray. No brown coffee-infused water is discharged.

I guess that this is because somehow there is no upward pressure on the puck when the paddle is pulled, and the valve is opened.

To cut the shot, I simply pull the left paddle when my scales show 5 grams before my target pour weight. For example, if I am going for 40 grams out in the cup, I’ll pull the left paddle at around 31 grams.

The portafilter can then be immediately removed without fear of the dreaded lever sneeze*.

I can see a day when this pressure release feature comes standard on every lever machine; it’s totally addictive, not to mention safer.

(* For those who have not used a lever, the “sneeze” I’m referring to is the explosion of coffee grinds and near boiling water that covered the ceiling, the walls, my face and most of the La Pavoni I was using, the very first time I removed a portafilter without waiting for the pressure inside the group head to ease. Such fun. No one had warned me and no, of course I hadn’t read the manual. Who does that?)

Activating the left paddle also stops the shot timer.

When the lever is pulled down a microswitch activates the pump and that switch replaces in the traditional mechanical valve at the rear of the group, simplifying maintenance and potentially improving durability.

Pop a blind basket into the portafilter and the paddles can be used to backflush the group, as the pressure can be vented. As I understand it, at time of writing this cannot be done with other traditional lever machines.

The timber handles, paddles and panels set the black or white powder coasting off beautifully and it’s almost a relief for me to see a lever manufacturer getting away from the Model T Ford type approach to the finish: “any color you want so long as it’s stainless”.

The choice of 430 steel instead of the thicker and more traditional 304 steel is controversial. The latter is used on commercial machines and because more single group levers were adaptions of multi-group commercial levers, they have typically been made from the thicker and heavier 304 steel. I prefer the 430 though. It feels and looks trimmer and 304 steel is complete overkill for a prosumer machine. It’s a bit like building a car out of the steel used in a truck. 304 steel will be more appealing to some but for me it adds unnecessary weight and contributes to an every so slightly bulkier appearance. To me, the choice of 430 steel is another sign that Antonio Nurri was thinking outside of the traditional box when he designed the Nurri Leva as a prosumer machine from the ground up.

With my past levers, I ground a lot coarser than for my Decent or E61 machines. But with the Nurri Leva packing 11 bar of pressure I grind much finer and very close to the same setting as on my other non-lever machines.

The theory is that grinding finer allows the extraction of more flavor. I have not tested that, but I can assure you that the espresso from the Nurri Leva is every bit as delicious as it is from any other machine.

But is it better? I’ll let you know about that in the next section.

The Nurri features one PID with three independently controllable sensors. Is this better or worse than three separate PIDs? The answer to that is above my pay grade but I’m sure Antonio knows and hopefully he’ll spill the beans (pun intended).

PID controlled cartridge heater in group head

By default, the Nurri came set at 93 degrees at the boiler and 95 at the group head. That makes sense because at 93 degrees the water is likely to lose 2 degrees as it hits the puck. So if you have 95 passing through the group head you get closer to 93 in the puck. Smart.

6. IN THE CUP

All other things being equal (bean, roast, grinder prep), the Nurri Leva produces espresso that is as full bodied and tasty as any machine that I’ve ever tried. I’ve pulled hundreds of pours on the Nurri Leva, using multiple grinders and beans including medium, medium/dark or dark roasts.

I’ve only just started playing with lighter roasted beans and whilst I have poured them using the Nurri Leva, and they tasted fine, I’m really not qualified to say if its ideal for light roasts or if there machines more fit-for-purpose when it comes to light roasts.

I think that it’s important for me to be clear that I’m not stating that the Nurri Leva produces espresso that is better than I could extract on say the Decent DE1Xl or a Slayer or a GS3 and so on.

But I would go so far as to say that for my preferred full-flavored City (Medium/Light) or Medium roast Kenyan AA bean espresso, it would be challenging to do better.

This next part is for those not familiar with sprung versus direct levers

It’s important to understand that there are “sprung” lever machines and “direct” lever machines.

A Nurri Leva or the La Marzocco Leva X are examples of sprung lever machines.

The Flair series or the Strietman CT2 are examples of direct lever machines.

A sprung lever uses the springs to force extraction at a consistent and pre-determined pressure. That means it can deliver a precise and repeatable shot, time after time. But they are not built with pressure variation or “pressure profiling” in mind. Of course, with the Nurri, pre-infusion pressure and duration can be varied but once you release the lever, the springs take over and in doing so for the most part you lose control over the pressure.

(Yes, you can retard the lever or do a “Fellini” technique whereby you manually pump the lever up and down but it’s not a part of the intended design of a sprung lever machine.)

John Buckman of Decent Espresso fame, called the spring lever “the death of lever machines” because they minimized the ability of the barista to determine the extraction pressure and thereby allow for variances in the depth of bean roast or other variations.

I have great respect for John and his opinions, but on this one I think he overreached.

Sprung levers were not the death of lever machines, they added another option. All of the direct lever options are still very much alive and well.

However, his statement is certainly very quotable and coming from someone who created what is arguably the world’s most advanced and flexible espresso profiling machine, it’s understandable that he would not be a supporter of “rinse and repeat” nature of sprung lever espresso machines.

That said, if you like what a sprung lever produces and you want to replicate that result with confidence, then they should become a serious option, worthy of your consideration.

By contrast, a direct lever has you, the barista, applying the pressure using your arms, and in cases of high-pressure pours, almost your entire body, to apply the pressure you want to extra the pour.

I’ve had several Flair direct levers as well as the Strietman CT2 and I have an Odyssey Argos arriving soon which I intend to use as a direct lever (uniquely, it has both sprung and direct options).

So, I’m well experienced and a fan of direct levers. There is a place for both sprung and direct levers on my bench but right now, I wouldn’t swap the Nurri’s La San Marco sprung group head for a direct lever.

I guess that’s partly because, I’m only four months in and I’m still very much enchanted by the Nurri Leva.

Will that change? “Never say never”.

But how I feel and what I think about the Nurri Leva, is similar to the Decent, and that’s the only piece of kit that’s stayed on my espresso bench for over two years.

Dozens of other machines and grinders have come and gone in a swirl around the Decent in that time.

My guess is that the same will happen with the Nurri: Decent at one end of the bench, Nurri at the other, visitors coming and going in between.

Also, I’m really like what the preset 11bar pressure delivers via the La San Marco springs. Firstly, because they deliver what I want in an espresso: thick luscious, full bodied and tasty medium and medium/light espresso.

And also, because there are plenty of other variables apart from pressure, that I can still play with, including different beans, different roast depths, different grinders, different pre-infusion pressures and durations.

My current favorite go-to shot on the Nurri

Chris Natoli passed this on to me and from memory he described it as a “ristretto but with espresso volume”. I guess I could call it a double ristretto.

I grind 23 grams of medium roast beans almost as fine as I do for the Decent, which is much finer than I have ground in the past with other levers.

I pull the lever down and for the first ten seconds I am aiming for nothing in the cup.

At 20 seconds I lift the lever to cut the pump and let the La San Marco spring take over the pour.

At this 20 second mark, I only want 2 or 3 grams in the cup.

I use the left paddle to cut the pour at the 35 gram mark and the pour stops around 5 grams later at the 40 gram mark.

Intense, full bodied, rich flavors and yet still enough clarity to satisfy my taste buds.

(For the curious: at time of writing, I’ve alternately paired the Nurri Leva with a Niche Zero and a DF64 fitted with 64mm flat Gorilla Gear burrs. Both work well with the Nurri Leva.)

7. AESTHETICS

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but as mentioned, for me it was love at first sight with the Nurri Leva.

By contrast, I know of another buyer who posted on a forum that he “peppered Antonio Nurri with a million questions” before he placed an order.

I couldn’t think of a starker contrast in buying approaches between that person and myself. I guess I’m just a sucker for a pretty face.

But my oh my, what a looker.

And fortunately for me, the Nurri Leva is not just a pretty face; as outlined above, it’s breadth of features matches its depth of beauty.

What we value is what we pay for.

And yes, I value the in-the-cup result but frankly, for me, a big chuck of what I paid for in the Nurri Leva is the elegance and beauty of the white powder coated top and front panels, trimmed with the Zebrano timber side panels and finished off with the more Zebrano in the lever and portafilter handles and paddles.

Visually stunning.

8. WHAT I DON’T LIKE

Having waxed lyrical about the Nurri Leva’s features and its beauty, you should brace yourself for what you may find to be a surprisingly long list of what I don’t like.

Had I been aware pre-purchase, that I would be listing so many things I want changed, I’d still have bought without hesitation.

That’s because my dislikes are, without exception, either minor issues or early-edition issues that are being rectified.

None of which would prevent me from recommending the Nurri Leva to you if you have a soft spot for beauty and functionality along with an slightly indulgent budget.

Here we go on my improvement wish list…

The on/off switches on the top right-hand side

These include one button for powering on the electrical circuits and the main water boiler, another button for the steam boiler and a third button for the group head heater.

The perimeter of each button is back lit by a rather nice shade of fluorescent blue.

The main boiler light blinks but the other two do.

I’ll spare you the analysis of my “light blinks, no it doesn’t, yes it does” log and simply say I have no idea why they sometimes blink, are sometimes steady and at other times off altogether.

The blinking does not appear to indicate that the temperature is in warm up mode. It’s too random for that.

I know, I know. I’m being picky. But my brain hurts when I have head scratchers like this, they just annoy me.

Antonio, please explain in the manual what the blinking lights indicate and I’ll sleep better for knowing.

The stickers/labels for those switches

The three buttons that I just mentioned each have a sticker placed above them indicating their function.

The fact that they are stickers doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but it will irritate some who would prefer laser etching.

The reason I’m not bothered is because they seem to be very high quality and are fixed in such a way as to appear to be a part of the machine. Maybe they have had some form or coating applied to them. They also blend into the aesthetics of the white power coating very nicely: still visible and easy to see and yet sitting quietly in the background as it were.

And my issue here is only with the left-hand sticker, the image of which is that of a cup of coffee with steam rising out of it.

Cup warmer, right?

Ah no, it’s not the cup warmer … it’s the group head cartridge heater.

“Say what?” I hear you exclaim.

And yes, I agree that it’s a pretty weird choice of sticker, but I guess a sticker of a “PID controlled group head cartridge heater” would be hard to come by.

Understandable choice then.

Well, at least the manual will correct any false impressions.

Right?

Ah, that would be a “no” again.

Unfortunately, the manual only added to my confusion.

In said manual, the button that controls the group head heating cartridge is labelled “Coffee Boiler”.

Lost in translation maybe?

And yes, it’s a tiny little thing that, like the blue flashing light, is probably not going to trip up seasoned users of Italian lever machines.

To alleviate any concerns you might have about the Nurri Leva, and to put my frustration into context, it may be helpful for you to know that my wife often referred to me being “anally retentive”.

In other words, normal human beings happily glide over things that trip me up.

(To give my wife her dues, ever since she saw a documentary on Autism, she’s stopped using the anally retentive label. Now, when she get frustrated with my failure to understand, she takes a deep breath and reminds herself, out loud, that I can’t help myself because I’m “on the spectrum”. A big improvement, I think, from being anally retentive because “on the spectrum” has a much nicer ring about it. I mean, it’s not a term that I would necessarily want on my tombstone, but it’s easier to live with while I’m ambling along in that general direction.)

Joins between top panel and front/rear panels and the uncovered bolts

When you look at the Nurri you’ll probably never notice the small gap between the top panel and the front panel. Especially if you are “height challenged”.

The design and small protruding bolts are not especially noticeable until you look closer and on the plus side, they make it incredibly simple, easy and fast, to access the inner reaches of the Nurri Leva.

It really is well designed in that regard.

Still, I’d have preferred a different fit, so the joins appeared seamless. I’ve no idea how to do that of course; it’s well above my pay grade. And I’d like to see the stainless steel bolts capped with a white dome or the use of hex key bolts, color matched and recessed maybe?

But I’m willing to admit that others may prefer them just the way they are.

Noisier pump and little vibration

This is arguably the thing that most people will not like about the Nurri Leva.

The pump is louder than other rotary pumps I’ve had, and the noise is added to a little, in my machine at least, by some minor vibration.

It may be an easy fix and I’m aware that Chris at Talk Coffee did some work on my machine before it was shipped to me.

But you should be aware that the issue may exist in your machine, should you be fortunate enough to find a Nurri Leva on your bench.

In absence of a magic wand, I’m OK to live with it and it really doesn’t bother me and certainly not enough to want to fiddle with it.

And I am aware that Antonio Nurri is literally working on a fix for this issue during the month that I am writing this, so by the time you read this it may have already been addressed in the factory for newer machines.

Drip tray cup rack scratches paint on bottom of drip tray

This will only be an issue with the powder coated versions.

With the traditional stainless steel machines, placing a stainless steel wire cup rack inside the drip tray is fine but the stainless steel feet on my wire rack create tiny scratches in the white powder coating of the drip dray.

It’s something that I only notice when removing the drip tray for emptying and cleaning.

Rubber sleeves on the feet may address the issue perhaps?

(original version with the slimmer side panels and without the wooden paddle upgrade)

Optional extra timber paddles covers

The left and right paddles come standard in stainless steel and the Zebrano timber covers for that are an optional extra.

I have a couple of issues with these.

Firstly though, they are a really nice touch and, in my opinion, a very worthwhile addition simply for aesthetic reasons.

They are however stuck on with double sided tape and I’d love to see Antonio explore magnetic attachment. The tape just feels a little tacky (sorry, had to use that) on a machine of this quality.

Next, the timber paddles featured in every photo I saw of the Nurri Leva including the website through which I bought it.

And yet it arrived without the timber paddles, just the original steel paddles.

Apparently they were always intended as an optional upgrade but somehow the resellers were unclear about this.

A manual exists and it is helpful but basic

I can understand the need to keep costs low at the pre-production stage and to save a bit of cash by writing a manual internally.

But now that Nurri sales are flowing in, it would be very worthwhile making an investment in a professionally written manual.

What is in the manual is mostly clearly written and easy to follow but it still has “upside potential”. In addition, the range of subjects covered could be expanded significantly.

A good manual goes a long way towards helping buyers get more value from their machines and that in turn boosts brand loyalty as well as mitigating the need for customer to take up valuable customer support resource as they inquire about issues that could have been addressed in the manual.

In short, a better manual is better for both the manufacturer and the end user.

The finish of the Zebrano timber

The timber is gorgeous, but my personal preference could have been for a smoother finish and slightly larger handles and thicker panels.

I have seen photos of newer machines and both of these wishes appear to have been granted, without any input from me. To be clear, there is no defect or lack of quality, these are purely aesthetic preferences.

And whilst I’m on the subject of preference, the thickness of the side panels is adequate but I bought the optional extra thicker set because the size of the machine lends itself to them and I like the look of them better.

Naturally, they don’t serve any functional purpose but it you are “on the spectrum” like me then you may want to upgrade the panels from the get-go.
They are a bit of an “ouch” though at around AU$500.

The lever glitch

Pulling the lever down is meant to activate the rotary pump and releasing it should stop the pump.

Mine did that for the first few pulls and then the pump stopped activating when the lever was pulled down.

Fortunately, the Nurri features the paddles so I simply resorted to using the right paddle to start and stop the pump.

As a temporary solution, a 3D printed part was shipped to me that was easy to attach and that fixed half the problem in that the pump now activates when the lever is pulled down, but I still need to use the right paddle to deactivate the pump when I raise the lever.

Antonio Nurri has announced that a new “cylinder” is being made and will be shipped out to early edition buyers as soon as possible.

Again, not a biggie and not something that will affect later buyers. It’s just one of those little things that early adopters need to be prepared to put up with, in exchange for being one of the first “enjoyers” of any new machine. I can live with it, especially knowing that Antonio is committed to rectifying any and all issues that I’ve raised.

Position of the pre-infusion adjustment valve

I would prefer that the pre infusion adjustment valve was accessible from the side, not from the rear but it’s hard to complain too long or loud about this since I’ve literally never used it.

And probably, for every one like me who would like it on the side, there is another person who, for reasons of aesthetics, would prefer it to stay at the rear of the machine.

The cup riser wire rack that mounts on the drip tray wire rack

The Nurri Leva comes with the thoughtful addition of a small wire cup riser that fits perfectly atop the wire drip tray rack and that moves smaller espresso cups closer to the shower screen. That means more espresso in the cup and less in the drip tray.

But whereas a cup fits on top of the riser perfectly, it’s too narrow for a standard scale and the result is that the scale is unstable and causes the displayed weight to fluctuate wildly and at times is therefore inaccurate.

The vast majority of today’s prosumers weigh their coffee beans prior to grinding and weigh the volume of espresso poured in the cup and we therefore need a cup riser that is wide enough to give the scale stability during the pour.

I’ve flagged the issue with Antonio, and he’s acknowledged that it’s worthy of inclusion on his list of improvements.

The cup warmer quirk

You should probably skip this bit. It’s just me demonstrating that I’m “on the spectrum”.

This strange little item doesn’t really belong in this section because it’s more something that I don’t understand as opposed to something that I don’t like.

But I don’t know where else to put it.

In my testing over multiple days, if I have the switch for the group head heater off, the temperature on the cup warmer tray doesn’t get past an underwhelming 28c even, after four hours of the machine being turned on.

But if I turn the group head heater on, the cup warming tray gets up to a more respectable 48 degrees, after about an hour or so.

This is not an issue at all. Just a quirk to be aware of.

And to be fair, I have no idea why you want to leave the group head heater off anyhow.

So just leave it on and your cups will be cozy-warm.

(Don’t blame me; I warned you to skip this bit of irrelevancy.)

9. WHAT I LIKE MOST

The looks

Hopefully the pictures speak for themselves. I haven’t seen an espresso machine that I like the look of more than the Nurri Leva.

Even water distribution through the shower screen

One thing that I regard as critically important and that seems to be often overlooked is how the water is distributed through the group head.

I’ve seen levers where the pre-infusion pressure was too strong and there was no way to adjust it. That’s fixed on the Nurri Leva with the rear-accessible pre-infusion adjustment valve.

Another lever shot jets through the shower screen in several siloed gushers as opposed to being spread more evenly across the screen. Fortunately, the Nurri has also avoided this problem by making the flow more evenly across the shower screen.

Unbeatable, proven, temperature stability

If you search YouTube you’ll find a video showing Antonio testing the Nurri Leva with a Scace device and demonstrating both temperature accuracy and stability.

And having predictable and stable water temperature is an essential ingredient in producing espresso that is commensurately predictably tasty.

One degree out it no big deal but three degrees out and you have a different espresso in your cup altogether.

The paddles

Especially the left paddle that cuts the shot. I didn’t know I needed it until I had it.

The 11 bar of pressure from the La San Marco springs

Just grind finer and enjoy more flavor and thickness. Rinse and repeatable.

Assuming quality beans and adequate puck prep, your espresso will be winner virtually every time.

10. VALUE FOR MONEY

I bought my Nurri Leva at around 75% of the current retail price but I’d buy it again at the latest prices without hesitation.

The looks are one reason and the features, currently unavailable packed into any other single machine for a similar price, is the other.

I have no doubt that there are other Lever machines that will also produce stellar espresso and are less expensive. We each get to decide what we value in a machine and what we are prepared to pay for to enjoy that value. For me, beauty is worth paying for.

As competitors are inspired by the Nurri Leva, the value comparison will change of course. But right now, it’s my leader of the pack.

11. CONCLUSION

If you are looking for a sprung lever that is a feature-rich, gorgeous piece of fully functioning art, I don’t know of a better option than the Nurri Leva.

For all the little things that I’d like to see changed, the big things have been well and truly nailed.

It’s pricey and in regard to a handful or small items, it’s a work in progress.

But buy local so you enjoy caring and professional customer support, and based on my interactions with Antonio Nurri to date, I’m confident that you’ll love the Nurri Leva experience and that it will only get better with time.

12. MANUFACTURERS RIGHT OF REPLY

Tom,

Your review is very well written, easy, and pleasant to read.

It gives a full description of the machine from the user point of view, which is the most important.

I love your review and agree with most of pro and contra aspects you have listed.

That a pity you did not get in time the knob to adjust the pump’s pressure by hand and not by screw, you can see on the back of this red Ferrari L-Type, it in the attached picture. The good news is it is easily retro fit.

                                                                                                  **_Antonio Nurri_**

New preinfusion knob installed in a special Ferrari Red Nurri Lev SA.