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La Pavoni Coffee Machine - Help!

Whaleblue

Whaleblue

Southbound
Good folk, please help me understand why I can’t make coffee with this machine.

Bought it s/h a few months ago, and haven’t achieved a decent cup yet. My suspicion is that it needs descaling. Is that likely, and if so how does one go about it?

The problem is that despite following the instructions, both the manual and online videos, all I get is weak watery coffee, or nothing at all.

Help!
 
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I’m not a mains-cable-swapping level coffee drinker but I have a couple of La Pavonis, so I’ll try...

I descale the boiler with citric acid solution, but don’t pull it through as I’m told this can damage the chrome plating inside the group (although one of mine has a scratch inside the group anyway, and it doesn’t seem do make a difference.) After that has been done I pull through some Puly Caff.

As for the coffee - are you grinding it yourself, and if so, how finely? Stuff like Illy pre-ground is hopeless IME, way too coarse. It comes out even before you pull, and tastes disgusting. When you get nothing at all is the handle not pushing down? That would be too fine a grind or tamped too heavily - but I’m sure you know that already.
 
The website says "The large boiler ensures that limescale deposits have minimal effect, meaning minimum maintenance is needed. ", which suggests that descaling may not be the issue, perhaps.

What kind of coffee are you using?
 
Whaleblue said:
Good folk, please help me understand why I can’t make coffee with this machine.

Bought it s/h a few months ago, and haven’t achieved a decent cup yet. My suspicion is that it needs descaling. Is that likely, and if so how does one go about it.

The problem is that despite following the instructions, both the manual, and online videos, all I get is weak watery coffee, or nothing at all.

Help!
Click to expand...

how finely or coarsely is your coffee ground
 
I have a Mini Gaggia that I never managed to get a decent brew out of. It's now on the shelf, I have a Nespresso that delivers great coffee every time. I realise that this is like admitting that you have stopped using an LP12 and now have a Spotify account and a Bluetooth speaker by Bose, but there you are. Sorry, coffee hobbyists.
 
I have a Europiccola, and it does take some practice. First, the coffee has to be ground very fine, ready ground tends to be way too coarse. I use 7 grams of beans (my scoop is just the right size) and I also tamp it down hard, unless I am putting in extra to make two cups. My machine is starting to leak past the seals (£30 for the seal kit; after Christmas I think), so sometimes coffee dribbles through early. Pull steadily for 20-30 seconds to get the arm all the way down; I aim for 25, but too quick is better than too slow, IME. I also use Lavazza Espresso (used to be called Nero) beans, as I can't be bothered to experiment, and it tastes OK to us. I sometimes add a few darker beans for luck, only 3 or 4.
A burr grinder is essential ( I bought a Rancilio Rocky which is adequate, but no more), as blades just chop the beans into a variable sizes. Or buy some ready ground from your favourite coffee house; apparently Starbucks will sell it, if you like their coffee. I don't.
Try reading here - http://coffee.gurus.net/pavoni/tips-on-using-a-la-pavoni-espresso-machine/
 
Two important factors a) quality coffee beans and b) a decent grinder. You'll also need a shot glass to measure the coffee delivery.

https://www.pennineteaandcoffee.co....=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=27587647687

I have found that for coffee extraction you can ignore a timer if you start with a fixed weight of coffee say 20g and pull a fixed volume say 1.5 oz and this will give you a ristretto my fave but you can pull 2 oz if you prefer. You then go by taste. If its over extracted and bitter you coarsen up the grind but keeping coffee weight and drawn volume constant. Keep repeating this until the shot tastes right. If its thin and under extracted then do the opposite by grinding a bit finer until it tastes right.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear and the same is true with coffee beans. If you only have the supermarkets then Taylors sell a Colombian and a Brazilian at around £4.50 per 227g and although more expensive than the rest on display do produce a decent cup that betters what you'll drink in the chain coffee shops.

Cheers,

DV
 
I have made a discovery over the years of purchasing various coffee machines from booties, charity etc, none of which worked.

People buy them new, use them, then one day they stop working, they put them in a cupboard for a while then give them to charity or flog them at a bootie.
 
Aha! Thanks chaps. From what you’ve all said, I think the problem is the coarseness of the grinding. We used to have a Jura bean-to-cup, but downsized to this when my coffee drinking son bought his own place and household consumption dropped to a few cups a week, tops. We chucked the Illy beans straight into the Jura, but bought a cheap little grinder to prepare the coffee for the Pavoni.

So, can you recommend me a grinder?
 
The Rancilio ones above are £230 a pop, which is a bit eye-watering for a few cups a week.

I second getting the grind size right, I once tried putting cafetiere grind coffee in the Gaggia, it was utterly disgusting.
 
A Rancilio would be great, but you can get a Krups or Melitta burr grinder for about GBP 40. These would be adequate and should grind fine enough.
 
If you don’t drink vast amounts of coffee a high quality hand grinder is more than adequate (bonus - it goes in a draw when you are not using it.) I use a Made by Knock Feldgrind, which is small but will grind enough for two Pavoni double baskets (ie 30g.) Sadly they are now discontinued but MBK make two others in the same price range (£90-£100.)

Warning - dealing with MBK directly can be a frustrating experience (they are uncommunicative to an extreme) if ultimately satisfying. Some prefer going via one of their resellers.
 
Marchbanks said:
If you don’t drink vast amounts of coffee a high quality hand grinder is more than adequate (bonus - it goes in a draw when you are not using it.) I use a Made by Knock Feldgrind, which is small but will grind enough for two Pavoni double baskets (ie 30g.) Sadly they are now discontinued but MBK make two others in the same price range (£90-£100.)

Warning - dealing with MBK directly can be a frustrating experience (they are uncommunicative to an extreme) if ultimately satisfying. Some prefer going via one of their resellers.
Click to expand...

I’ve ordered a Feldgrind 2. £100 for a hand grinder is not what I was expecting, but I’m assuming it will last a lifetime!

Hopefully this will sort my issues. I look forward to a decent coffee.

Thanks everyone.
 
Whaleblue said:
I’ve ordered a Feldgrind 2. £100 for a hand grinder is not what I was expecting, but I’m assuming it will last a lifetime!

Hopefully this will sort my issues. I look forward to a decent coffee.

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Right. OK. That was unexpected...

If it is anything like my Feldgrind it will be solidly made and a pleasure to use. You will get into a routine - fill the Pavoni, switch it on, fill the Feldgrind, grind beans whilst staring out of the window pondering the iniquities of the world for 30 seconds, fill the basket and tamp just as the Pavoni starts hissing...

I warned you about MBK - don’t expect little niceties like instructions. I got most of my knowledge from Coffee Forums UK, and I see they have a Feldgrind 2 thread up and running.

https://coffeeforums.co.uk/showthread.php?41057-MBK-Feld2-the-new-Feldgrind/page6

Of course if it is anything like my Feldgrind I will be happy to help you if I can (I now feel duty bound!)

You’ll enjoy it!
 
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Thanks Mb. Yes, I quite like decent quality bits of kit, and a manual grinder seems nicely in keeping with the whole experience of making a decent cup of coffee on a Sunday morning. Looks like there’ll be a three week wait for mine, so it’s tea until then. Or wine, whisky or port*. It is Christmas!

*though probably not on a Sunday morning.
 
Whaleblue said:
From the auction “Old but sturdy and solid Manuel grinder.“

Great if you like ground Spaniard, I guess.
Click to expand...

It was probably used at the Fawlty Towers hotel. Age doesn't matter Mazzer are built like a tank and spares are cheap and readily available.

Cheers,

DV
 
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