BillyG As deduced above by dfk41, my previous lever was an R24. Without being able to have as much control with that machine, I found my best espresso with a prefinfusion at 5bar.
You are going to find this machine is in a different league to the LR24.
- Pressure profiles are very different with the pressure not dropping off massively in the later portions of the shot
- You actually know what pressures and when, you can see it
- Temperature management is not only excellent, but visible , very controllable and consistent
Things are not hidden from you, independent heaters ensure each system is separate and steaming/brewing donāt affect each other. No thermosyphon locks, fast warmup etc..
One of the biggest things though is preinfusion. Itās all Londinium had, so they gave it mythical properties:
- It massively changes the flavour of the shot - how?
- you can change the temperature of a shot - how??? and if it was possible which itās not, what to from what?
A lot of the issues around preinfusion was because Londiniums profile loses so much pressure so quickly during the shot. Anything above 3 bar, really isnāt preinfusion and if itās flavour you want, the LSM lever profile and group gives you that in spades. In fact Reiss and his supporters created many myths about the machine.
To me itās a mystery why a machine like the LR24 costs as much as an Evo2, when it has a significantly lower build cost. Even the lever group used costs around 50% of what the ACS group costs.
So to extend the car analogy, you were driving a family hatchback offroad in wet weather and had to drive it a certain way. Now you have a proper 4Ć4 and can drive where and as you should be able to. Lower your PI down to 2 bar, try and work from around 2-3 bar for best results. Use the temperature capabilities to begin to bring life to your shots and trust the excellent profile and deeper pucks of the LSM clone groups..