Coffee Forums banner

New Lelit Mara User

4K views 26 replies 9 participants last post by  17845 
#1 ·
Hi, dropping by to say Hi. I have recently bought a Mara PL62D paired with a Niche Zero. I'm just getting to grips with the espresso making process and maintenance and so far am enjoying the experience. It has been a few years since I had a Gaggia Classic, so this is my first experience with HX machines.

I am just starting to understand a bit more about Temperature and Flushes. I'm tending to do a short flush just prior to a brew and would would welcome any advice on how / when to flush.

My typical morning use is 30min warmup, flush, double espresso, machine remains on for 2 hours and and is used twice more in that period. My understanding is that these flushes are to drop the temparature at the group head?

Any general advice welcome, and any add ons such as thermometers recommended at this stage?

Thanks

Andrew
 
#2 ·
Just received the Deluxe version myself, I must say tha David at Bella Barista definately went the extra mile for me (most enjoyable visit).

Moving up from a Sage Duo Temp, and realised that there is alot of difference between the two (as expected).

I understand the flushes are required due to it being an HX machine.

The main accessories that I have are a decent pair of scales, distribution tool, Tamper (both Motta) and a naked portafilter.

Getting some really nice espresso's at the moment but really need to up my grinder, which will be the next purchase.
 
#4 ·
@paullamey,

Not the same setup that your thinking about but I thought I'd bring my purchases up to date.

Really enjoying the Lelit, even more so now that I have upgraded my grinder to the Eureka Mignon Specialita, I do not regret the purchase in any way.

If you can get to Wellingborough, a visit to BB is well worth it and would most probably put your mind at rest.

Stemware Barware Drinkware Art Glass
 

Attachments

#5 ·
Lovely. Thanks. I spoke to BB on the phone yesterday and they were really helpful. I saw they do a nice deal with the Mara and the Eureka Mignon Specialita - how do you find the mignon for single dosing? At the moment I weigh out my beans and don't keep them in the hopper which is why i was thinking of the niche over the mignon but debating whether it's worth the extra ££
 
#13 ·
If you can, get the Niche. You said yourself, "single-dosing", something that the Eureka Mignon is not designed for. If I were to have a Mignon again, I would use it hopper fed.

In my opinion, it's worth the extra money, but at the end of the day it depends what you want. If you want single dose, get a single dose grinder. If you want hopper fed, get a hopper fed grinder.
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi. I have owned my Mara and Mignon Specialita since the end of May. I quite happily single dose as I have 1 coffee a day and don't want to leave my beans in a hopper for a week or more. I know that in each grind there will be a small ammount of grounds from the previous day but, in my head at least, these cannot be any worse than days old beans "fresh" from the hopper.

I know a lot on here will cry out about not purging or maybe not getting exactly the same quantity out as in but I know full well I can't taste the difference and I do wonder how many actually can. Having said this I drink milk based drinks and use dark roast beans, perhaps this makes any slight imperfections un-noticeable.

My intention is to use a length of acrylic tubing to make a shortish, slim "hopper tube" to hold a few cups worth of beans, weighted down with a suitable mass, so that I can time rather than weigh my grinds - not as accurate I know but refer to previous paragraph.

I do have an issue with the Niche, I think it's far to modern looking to sit side by side with my lovely retro looking Mara, the Mignon looks much more retro.

Hope you find your perfect combination.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi, dropping by to say Hi. I have recently bought a Mara PL62D paired with a Niche Zero. I'm just getting to grips with the espresso making process and maintenance and so far am enjoying the experience. It has been a few years since I had a Gaggia Classic, so this is my first experience with HX machines.

I am just starting to understand a bit more about Temperature and Flushes. I'm tending to do a short flush just prior to a brew and would would welcome any advice on how / when to flush.

My typical morning use is 30min warmup, flush, double espresso, machine remains on for 2 hours and and is used twice more in that period. My understanding is that these flushes are to drop the temparature at the group head?

Any general advice welcome, and any add ons such as thermometers recommended at this stage?

Thanks

Andrew
I have exactly the same combination, and settled down very quickly to the HX machine.

I had heard that DaveC UK had compiled and written a guide to the use of the machine for Bella Barista. This was a great help to further understanding it, over and above the manual. Mind you, I *did* buy the Mara from BB, and so, they did send me the supplement.
 
#9 ·
I have exactly the same combination, and settled down very quickly to the HX machine.

I had heard that DaveC UK had compiled and written a guide to the use of the machine for Bella Barista. This was a great help to further understanding it, over and above the manual. Mind you, I *did* buy the Mara from BB, and so, they did send me the supplement.
A couple of months into this now and I find both the Mara and Niche Zero an excellent combination and am pleased I bought them. I did end up adding a thermometer to the Mara to give a bit more info on what temp I am brewing at. The Niche is excellent for single dosing.

I also bought from BB but I don't think they are doing the additional manual now.
 
#11 · (Edited by Moderator)
Yes I did a user guide for it back in 2017, it's at version 1.2 I wasn't sure because I don't do as much reviewing now and machine specific user guides are a ballache and an awful lot of work (that I don't get paid to do). So I stopped doing user guides except for specialist or innovative machines some time ago.

I should update it really with shot weights as I refer to shot volumes there but I really don't have the time to at the moment..It's enough to give anyone a good start though. Just ask BB they will post you a copy.
 
#19 ·
Apologies for bring this back! Loving the Mara still. Slightly annoyed the X came out a few months after purchasing but hey what can you do! It's like buying an iPhone right before they bring out the new one.

I'm so happy with the coffee that i'm producing from the Mara and the Nice. One thing i'm getting used to is the temperature fluctuations depending on time on and the cooling flushes required. I've generally found the optimum temperature seems to be after 45 minutes - I run a short cooling flush, make my wife a flat white, then myself an espresso. I'm just curious to see what the different temperatures are and how they change when you flush and after each brew (e.g. how long after making one coffee does it take to go back up). So i was thinking of getting a thermometer. I was wondering if anyone had seen / used this one?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/GB/Coffee-Sensor-E61-HX-and-Dual-Boiler-Digital-Grouphead-Thermometer/m-4258.aspx?PartnerID=22&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom&gclid=CjwKCAjwvtX0BRAFEiwAGWJyZPpKi5v6E8lypv9ZUkEatX7Dmm_8xl2v_MQJ0HmGhSs9d2jzZ6AmyRoCZS0QAvD_BwE

The only reason i haven't got one yet is that I don't really like the look of them and the machine itself is very beautiful! But I thought i could get one to learn about the temperature changes. Let me know what you think / any advice would be welcome.

Cheers,
 
#21 ·
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top