Lever espresso
The piston machine that first produced crema: a lever compresses a spring or is pulled by hand so that a piston pushes water through the coffee. Pressure naturally declines through the shot, which many drinkers prefer to a flat pump profile.
Espresso3 published standards
- Ratio
- 1:1.7to 1:2.5
- Temperature
- 86–94°C
- Time
- 20–40 s
- Grind
- Fine
How it works
Cut away, step by step0:20
It declines as the spring relaxes
Parameters
Working ranges- Ratio, coffee to water
- 1:1.7 to 1:2.5400–600 g per litre
- Dose
- 7–18 g
- Water
- 25–50 ml
- Water temperature
- 86–94 °C187–201 °F
- Contact time
- 20–40 s
- Grind
- Fine
- Pressure
- 8 bar
- Filter
- Metal basket
Ranges are this atlas's summary of common practice, not a standard. Published standards are listed separately below, with their sources.
Where it sits among 29 methods
Temperature 0°100°
Time 10 s25 h
Strength 0 g/L650 g/L
Pale bars are the other methods; strength is grams of coffee per litre of water.
Published standards
Numbers as facts, with their source| Body | Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WCE / World Barista Championship | espresso volume | around 30 ml, one side of a double portafilter, one continuous extraction | static1.squarespace.com |
| WCE / World Barista Championship | brew water temperature | 90.5-96 C | static1.squarespace.com |
| WCE / World Barista Championship | brew pressure | 8.5-9.5 bar | static1.squarespace.com |
Origins and brewers
Origins of the method
- Year
- 1947
- Where
- Milan, Italy
Achille Gaggia (piston lever patent; not confirmed by a primary source)
Brewers
Espresso machine manual leverEspresso machine spring lever