La Pavoni: Review, Modifications, and History

I love diving deep into legacy machines, and this perhaps is the most legendary- hence my taking forever to make this video.
Thanks to all the groups out there making La Pavoni information accessible and widespread. Specifically, thank you to John Michael Hauck for his excellent videos on La Pavoni and the CAD files shown in this video. Check out his channel here for more nerdy details than I could fit in the video: @JohnMichaelHauck

Also, the modded out machine was provided by the incredible Tudor, who supplies a lot of these mods and will even retrofit your machine for you. He and Bong have contributed significantly to the advancement of these machines in the home context. Here is a link to his website! Highly recommend.

And here is the article discussing the modifications from Lever Fever:

TIME CUES:
0:00- Introduction
1:05- James Bond
1:49- Closed vs Open (2:20 Strietman)
3:00- Thermal Things
6:10- Differences over the Years
8:29- Pulling a Shot on Pro
9:24- Steaming Milk
10:50- Modified LP (12:50- Argos)
18:13- Pulling a Shot on Mod LP
19:57- 1963 Gen 1 LP (22:35 cremina)
25:28- Pulling a Shot on Gen 1
26:48- Fin

LINKS
__________________
Join my Patreon community at:

Find me on IG at:

Find me on Facebook at:

My SECOND Channel:
Lance Hedrick Unfiltered
__________________

[daniel.lopresti]

My parents were given a used early 90's (2nd gen) La Pavoni Professional many years ago (back when neither the original owner nor we really knew anything about espresso), and it was sitting unused for many years, until almost two years ago when I started on my coffee journey (thanks Daddy Hoff!) and I promptly reappropriated the machine, as you do!

After a good maintenance (new joints, descaling a few decades' worth of gunk, etc.), it is now the proud centerpiece of my kitchen, and never ceases to elicit curiosity if not enthusiatic interrogation!

I've since added many of the Coffee Sensor parts shown in this video (steam wand extension, fancy drip tray, temp strips, wooden handles, bottomless PF, and others), and I must say it is a real pleasure to use.

Granted, I've not known any other espresso machines (other my parents' Dedica), and while I've completely nailed the workflow for my habitual morning cappuccino, I still run into problems when making shots back to back for guests - and that's without taking into account the lack of space and concentration due to everyone wanting to crowd around and gawk at my steamed milk pouring skills ;)

[TheLever]

Thanks for the mentions Lance! La Pavoni's are such iconic machines, like most levers they can be quite forgiving but the more you learn the more they show you what they are capable of; so unless you want to upgrade for something with higher build quality or more automated controls, they won't give you that feeling of constantly having to upgrade to continue your espresso journey. It's like a relationship where you and the machine get to know better and better.

[TheTonylegrone]

My Europiccola is a 79-83 model. The airbuster and Bong isolator are massive game changers. I love the coffee I get from it.

[axelbostrom]

This is the machine that thrust me into my coffee hobby/addiction/GAS!

Got mine gifted after it had been through most of the family. Was absolutely impossible to use but eventually I figured out it was the bushings and seals that were all 30+ year old original ones so now it's in pieces whilst I swap those out.

This video really makes me want to get it back in working order ASAP!

[dvs]

Very nice video, Lance! I have had several espresso machines and now have a 2023 La Pavoni with all Coffeesensor mods. This is the nicest machine I have ever had. Love to use it every day!

[odl]

I bought mine from the factory near Milan in 2001 and have used it nearly every day since. Took years to get a good coffee from it. I modified it back in the early 2000s to have a naked portafilter, new pressure gauge, different steam tip and have since added a heat block and temp strips too.

[ondrejmitas]

As a modded pavoni pilot, this and the aspect ratio videos were such a pleasure, thanks! Besides the crucial isolator, air buster, and pressure gague, I really recommend an sworks basket as a mod to try. Combines super well with the controllability of this machine.

[jaycee]

I have a la Pavoni professional model (2003) from Coffee Sensor and it’s wonderful. Shout out to coffee sensor and Tudor who took excellent care of my machine and order, shipping to California. They did an amazing job adding all of the modifications that I requested (bong isolator, air buster, updated piston, modified for USA wall power 120V, and much more). Super professional and friendly customer service.

And let’s talk about the coffee. The espresso shots out of this thing are amazing!!!! I think of La Pavoni like a fixed gear bicycle. It’s solid, it works great, it’s beautiful and it’s manual.

For those of you interested in this machine, I highly recommend it.

[jeremybarber]

Just picked up a 1984-era Europiccola this week and appreciate the overview & mods shown here. I’ve pulled 6 shots over the last 3 days and am feeling better with every one. Now to hunt down a bottomless larger portafilter and espresso cups. Cheers!

[emmanuelvanderschelden]

Maybe I stayed this long just because I like to hear you feel about coffee gear 😅 great vid again!
And it was nice meeting you in Amsterdam last week! Keep it up 👍

[nathanshelby]

Absolutely love your videos! Saving up for a La Pavoni from Coffee Sensor

[GregoryM]

I have been working in the specialty coffee industry for about 5 years now, and my boss just gave me a pre-millennial La Pavoni Professional, it was very well taken care of

[christopherguy]

Thanks Lance, I love to see these classic machines, they have an aesthetic lacking in modern machines.

I started with a Gaggia and wanted a manual lever machine to learn on. I love the look of the La Pavoni, especially the brass and copper ones.

[itsjaynguyen]

Shoutout to Doug. That dude helped me out so much during my early espresso days

[MrLerola]

I feel La Pavoni is the perfect machine for people who actually want to learn espresso. I was reading an essay about the paradox of automation, and how the more things get automated the less people know what to do when something goes wrong. With the europiccola you have to basically understand the whole process, so it's a great tool to become great at coffee.

That's why once you learn it you do great shots, because you are controlling everything from temp to pressure

[wretchedpkmn]

The Bong Isolator was my nickname in high school 😎

[fuha_edits]

What the hell, I literally just bought one of these from 1979 to restore and upgrade on Monday. And now this! So fun.

[ozespresso]

Well Done Lance! (Read until the end) This machine deserves the honor, ti is one of the most iconic "coffee makers" of all time. At first, when you pulled the Cremina, I immediately said, Hey, the first Cremina looked just like a Pavoni and was manufactured in the same factory (same as the Gaggia Factory lol) but sure enough a few moments later it showed up on the screen. Another thing worth mentioning, at least to the Bay Area residents as part of the local La Pavoni history is the La Pavoni store owned by Thomas Cara and his two sons, who sold and serviced hundreds if not thousands of these in California (They have an interesting story). 

Also, from my perspective as a tech, I appreciate a good product that can service its owner for years and years. Yes, it is not perfect but it stands tall in the test of time. 
It's like the record player of espresso machines :)

All the best! Y

[benjaminpequet]

Awesome tips. The Pre-Millenium Professional has been my daily for over 10 years. If you get a used one... obvious but 🤦check the wiring closely, mine was originally sold to me with the fuse simply bypassed (!) and after a later repair came back to me with wires too close together that eventually caused the fuse to trip all the time. A (smart) timer shutting it off after 15 minutes has saved me a few accidents through the years.

[reecemcnaughten]

The more I research on these La Pavoni machines the more I appreciate the attention to detail and addressing all of the problems that the flair pro 2 nailed.
Good materials
Analog pressure gauge right at the group Head
Portable
No electronics no elements to malfunction
Simple to replace parts
Heavy where it needs to be and yet still light enough to take in a travel case
Only one tool to disassemble, which happens to be the same tool to disassemble the flair royal grinder,
Paired with a Bellman steam gauge stove top you have a perfect set up. If something goes wrong, you can always replace a cheap $15 jug.
The whole sneezing thing doesn't need to happen because the pressure releases not down at the bottom it's at the top when you remove Flair pro 2 pressure gauge.
Maintenance is super easy Just with easily readily available Silicon gaskets.
It seems like Flair pro 2 really did nail everything. Even when compared to the pro 58. there are a lot of issues with that thing and knock it out of being portable.