Londinium is an interesting company. As @Patrick says, doesn’t manufacture in house - relies on a separate company but that’s not necessarily unique and there are advantages and disadvantages to that model. L1 which debuted in 2011 was designed around a thermosyphon to ensure, quoting Londinium marketing ‘exceptional brew temp stability’ with no need for cooling shots when pulling espressos back to back - a notable drawback for levers reliant on a dipper. Londinium at the time eschewed all things PID arguing they were unnecessary in the L1 given its argued thermosyphon temp stability. But nothing stays new forever and things move on. L1’s successor LR 24 has a very quiet rotary pump instead of the original vibe one. Addition of rotary pump enables variable PI on the fly thanks to a digital module. Price of the original L1 at launch in 2011 was around £1600 but a new LR 24 is around £3700 - quite a jump.
Having owned both L1 and LR and having enjoyed both machines and the coffee produced, I was seduced by the siren upgraditis. I wanted to stick with levers as I like the tactile feel and feedback a lever provides and the low maintenance. Also had the feeling that whilst the Londiniums I owned were very capable machines, might there be more to get out of a lever than they could?
When launched in 2011, darker roasts held sway in all things espresso but that began to change with tastes and preferences beginning to include lighter roasts which pose problems for espresso as lighter roasts are inherently harder to extract than darker roasts and need higher brew temps. Therein lies Londinium’s Achilles heel IMO - inability to adjust brew temp and accurate feedback on temps set. It is argued by Londinium LR 24 can extract at higher temps via the variable PI module but I don’t understand how raising PI pressure impacts on brew temp and, if it does, by what margin and what temps.
Londinium have also continued to use the Fiorenzato group but in a single spring configuration. There was a brief time when Londinium offered the two spring configuration but did not advise Londinium owners to go down that route. Over the years I owned Londiniums, questions began to nag regarding the peak and declining pressure curve nature of the single spring set up. Some users have fitted measuring devices and shown that Londiniums peak at around 8-8.5bar and decline very rapidly. Is this ideal for lighter roasts?
I’ve had an ACS Evo on the bench for over a year. At the outset the thing that most stood out was the way it behaved with lighter roasts. Fruit note were even more forward and brighter than my experiences with my LR and without any attendant acidic unpleasantness. With my Londinium, I would be pulling shots around 35 secs and more to tame acidity with the side effect of introducing bitter over extracted bitter notes. With the Evo, extraction time sweet spot for me is 25 secs - balanced sweet fruit forward shots and no bitterness.
I think Londinium is going to face some stiff opposition in the marketplace with the arrival of machines like the Evo. Question is, what does Londinium have up its sleeve to keep competitors at bay?
