Moon wrote:
And spill the beans on the flavour of your coffees not suiting everyone?
Thats easy - sometimes with my experimenting with roasting I get a few misses, rather than hits ???
Moon wrote:
ash .. how does the coffee between the 2 machines compare? Seeing you've had both .. you're in a position to give us info on the difference between a budget machine .. and an elite one.
To start with, the Londinium has a way larger footprint. On a par with the QM Achilles and the Strega I think. The PV Lusso can fit under cupboards that are installed above benches. With the big levers, you have to find a space for them to fit, both footprint and lever wise. Mine is placed so that the lever is in between the hinges of a couple of cupboard doors. You've already mentioned build quality. The Londinium is built very well, as you would expect at its price point. Mine is one of the first production machines, and there have been changes to the way they are made now. I think they have extra bracing and the panels are easier to pop on and off. The Lusso isn't built badly and is certainly a very solid little machine, but the fit and finish isn't the same. It could be made to be the same, but you would find that the price would go up as well. That's the difference between a $1500 machine and a $3000 machine. 58mm group head compared to the 43mm (?) group on the PV. If you're like me and you buy bits and pieces for your toys, its way easier to find stuff for a 58mm group than anything else. Flavour wise I find that I can easily tell the difference between a flat burr and conical bur grinder with the same coffee. I couldn't do that with the Lusso very well, if at all. Some coffees I roast work better for my taste with my Macap, others work better with the Pharos. With the Lusso, I put the Pharos away for a while as I couldn't taste the difference to see what the fuss about conical burrs was all about. Remember, I'm home roasting single origin beans, not buying or roasting blends, so your mileage may vary! And some other little differences, the lever locks in the down position. This allows me to get a cup ready or get the steamer ready or any other number of things done while the preinfusion is happening. Toggle switches for steam and water and a drip tray that is a nice size that actually works!
