Not terrible, not perfect

By: Sam Curry on 5 February 2023

I've had my Lelit Victoria for almost 12 months. I purchased this machine for these criteria: - simple, well made, repairable, long lasting - fast warmup (only one person in the house drinks coffee, 1 or 2 per day) - still makes a good coffee, despite the limitations of single boiler, knowing there'd be a wait between shot and steam - temperature stability, since it has a PID - auto priming boiler + pre-infusion It does seem to be well made, is probably reliable, but often doesn't meet my expectations in some ways, for $1,750 when I compare it to my last machine, a much cheaper Breville dual boiler (BES920) which came with a decent paired grinder for $1100. The steam pressure is great, the time between shot to steam is short (only a minute or two), totally fine (as my first single boiler). You can get a good shot and milk from this machine if you let it warm up for 18 minutes before starting. However this is longer than I expected and it took almost a year to understand that I was getting bad shots from trying to use it after 10 minutes. The downsides of this machine are (in order of nitpicks to major annoyances): 1. It rattles by default - the drip tray grate rattles noisily when the pump runs, you need to try find some narrow rubber strips to stick on the tray lips to prevent the grate rattling on the tray. 2. There are some really sharp metal edges around the water tank (the lips that the tank lid sits on), you have to be careful not to catch the water tubes between the tank and those edges when you remove the tank, and you can see those edges shaving plastic off the tank if you slide it up them. Seems strange Lelit doesn't take the edge off those. This is a complete nitpick, but something I noticed straight away and was surprised about. 3. The steam wand is not insulated, it gets really hot, the rubber gripper is small, it feels like a big step back from all the other machines I've used. I guess this is what you get by spending less than 2k. 4. The steam tap feels cheap and delicate, and it is. My steam wand started dripping after a few months, even though I thought I was being super careful by not closing off the steam too hard. Upon enquiring with Jetblack and examining the state of the tap seals by removing the tap and sending photos, I was told: [quote]the only way they become like that is from being closed with more force than required[/endquote]. The internet is full of people trying to solve this issue. Seems like another design compromise on Lelit's lower-end machines. I don't think I did anything wrong myself to cause this. 5. The big problem I've had is that it warms up really hot and hits 126/127 degrees after 10 minutes. For the first 8 or so months I did not understand this behaviour. The default computer setting shows the target 93 degrees, not the actual temperature. My normal usage of the machine was having a shot as soon as the machine showed it was ready, and I was frequently getting a hot bubbly shot. I eventually recorded a solid video of this behaviour and some lengthy troubleshooting started. Jetblack let me know how to change TR setting to 1 to show the actual temperature and everyone was surprised to see it hit 126 degrees. I ended up taking it to a repair partner twice, who's technicians were also surprised to see the behaviour, they tried replacing the computer but nothing changed. In the end we just gave up and accepted that this is how this machine behaves. I have since recorded a timelapse of the warmup showing 10 mins until ready (126 degrees) and another 8 mins to cool back down to target 93. So if you accept a warmup time of 18 minutes, it's all good. However it was a mission to come to this understanding and the Jetblack website still shows 5-15 minutes as the warmup time. I wish I knew of this behaviour before and it would have saved us so much time and hassle. All in all, it's not met my expecations, but it's OK and hopefully it'll last long. Here are my recordings of the boiling shot and the warmup timelapse: - https://youtube.com/shorts/d-rbe4A0jss?feature=share - https://youtube.com/shorts/RWsb-YO1ZeQ?feature=share

(3)

Coffee Machine

By: Melissa Petherbridge on 12 July 2022

A bought my coffee machine from Jet Black it’s a Lelit Victoria. We have had it for 5 years in our home averaging 20 per day and hasn’t missed a beat.

(5)

Lelit Victoria

By: Bruce on 17 September 2021

Bought this machine a few weeks ago to replace a Rancilio Silvia that I have had for 15 years. The Victoria is similar to the Silvia but comes with the benefit of a PID. Very easy to use and produces a great shot once you have got the dosage and flow rate right. This takes some time. One issue is that it is recommended that the double filter basket is used when setting up and for making espresso. If making espresso for one you're getting a double shot and using more coffee than you would if using the single basket. Try as I may I have not been able to make a satisfactory shot using the single basket but I have wasted a lot of coffee.

(4)

Happy upgrade

By: Jay on 9 August 2021

Upgraded from manual lelit after 6 years. Great machine for its price and size!

(5)

Happy upgrade

By: Jay on 9 August 2021

Upgraded from manual lelit after 6 years. Great machine for its price and size!

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