Elektra Microcasa Leva Lever Piston Espresso Machine

The Elektra Microcasa Leva is a spring-lever piston machine: there is no pump anywhere in it. Pulling the lever compresses a spring, and the spring drives the water through the coffee in a naturally declining pressure curve, the profile lever enthusiasts argue espresso was designed around.

What you get

• Spring-lever piston group: the spring, not a pump, generates brew pressure. The pressure starts high and tapers as the shot runs, a declining profile that modern machines spend thousands of dollars of electronics recreating.
• Boiler-pressure operation: the boiler feeds the group directly. Fewer moving parts than any pump machine, and near silence when it runs.
• Steam wand on the column: proper steam for milk drinks once the boiler is up to pressure.
• Hand-finished, rebuildable construction: gaskets, springs and seals are all serviceable. These machines run for decades and get handed down.
• Three finishes: Chrome, Chrome and Brass, or Copper and Brass, all with the eagle-topped column silhouette.

Leva or Semiautomatica

The Leva is manual, physical and unhurried: the lever is the interface and the ritual is the point. The Microcasa Semiautomatica trades the lever for switch operation and a heat-exchange boiler, making it the easier daily machine. Same family, different temperament.

Best suited to

Lever enthusiasts, collectors of working machines, and anyone who wants espresso to stay a craft rather than become a button.

Available in Chrome, Chrome & Brass, or Copper & Brass. 110V. Use softened or low-mineral water: scale damage is not covered under warranty.