Making a Cappuccino v1.0 - Lelit PL91T Victoria - ThingsFromLife

[@wonderland77777]

not criticise but to help.. u have channelling need to temp or ground finer. when u steam push the steam tube all the way up until wont move make sure the jug push up as well with it so u will have better control over your milk last i love your machine

[@ThingsFromLife]

Don't worry, it was old coffee beans. Since then, I have gotten better, and I don't get channelling any longer.

[@rickseneris]

I wished you would taken shots of the manometer readings during extraction. Nice video presentation, btw.

[@ThingsFromLife]

It is generally from 9,5-10 bar. I would like to change the setting again, to get 8,5-9 bar, but this already works quite well.

[@evil_twit]

Yer drippin on ma hardwood honeeee!

[@Baton677]

Good job, i have a question. How do you exit the steam mode ? I mean, when i want to quit the steam mode and go to expresso mode, i press the "coffee button" but nothing happens. So i turn off the machine, and when i restart it, it says "OK 95C", but water inside the tank is not 95C, but 135C (the brew temperature). I don't understand how to quit the steam mode and how the machine cool down. On my Lelit PL91T, i don't have the coutdown timer, the only thing i have is time in seconds, starting from 0s to infinite time, how can i switch to coutdown mode ? Thanks you, and bravo for the shots ;)

[@MorningNapalm]

On the Victoria, you press the steam button (second button) to turn it on, and also to turn it off again. I think the newer version of the Victoria counts up, and the older ones count down. Mine counts down, but I wish it would count up, as when it hits 0, it just stops, and I lose ability to keep timing, which I sometimes would like to have.

[@jzimmer11]

Barista rule : don't put cups with coffee on top of the machine. One day it might flow in it

[@ThingsFromLife]

I am not a barista, and I trust myself :)

[@josecarlosl2831]

Try longer pre infusion to prevent channelling

[@ThingsFromLife]

In the meantime I tamp less hard, and have adjusted my grind, and now I don't get channelling any more.

[@josecarlosl2831]

If money were not an issue, but you only do 1 or 2 espresso a day, zero milk drinks, what would you buy? Ty!

[@ThingsFromLife]

Oof, I have no idea. Every upgrade I can think of from my machine is primarily better at doing milk, not espresso. If you wanted a very pure experience, I might go for a La Pavoni or Flair lever machine, but otherwise, I don't think you will find any machines aimed specifically at making espresso, but no milk.

[@yazr1712]

Well done! I'm still trying to figure out how to perfect steaming on the Victoria... I'm pretty inconsistent. I either make it too foamy or not silky enough... this, from the looks of it at least, looks pretty great! Well done!

[@ThingsFromLife]

Thanks, but I am also not consistent yet :) I mostly get quite usable results, and I am able to make *some* kind of pattern with the milk, but I am not good at the art part yet, and every once in a while, such as today, the milk just didn't really get the right texture. There is enough power, but we need to play with the temperature to get the right amount of power for the amount of milk. At least, that is my current theory.

[@yazr1712]

@@ThingsFromLifelol - I haven't even been able to do any kind of art, so I think you're ahead of the game! I'm not sure if the temperature is a huge issue? I would assume maybe it just help with the heat up time? I don't know... I do know that I've seen videos of those steaming at 265F and it still ends up pretty silky... so I don't know. I think for me I usually let too much air in or not enough and it throws things off... anyway, I guess it's all about practice!

[@ThingsFromLife]

@@yazr1712 I think I just figured out what I have been doing wrong. I have been gently lifting the nozzle unless it made a little hissing sound. Today I aggressively lifted it and created lots more bubbles than usual, and I kept doing this until maybe 45C, and then I swirled to work it into the milk. I got a much thicker milk froth. I will try the same the next few days, and if I can reproduce it every time, I might make another video of that.

[@ThingsFromLife]

I can confirm that more aggressively adding bubbles early gets a much thicker milk. The last several days I have been getting great results. Temperature at 135C, and nozzle *just* under the surface until 40C or 45C, then swirl until 60-65C.

[@yazr1712]

@@ThingsFromLife Good to hear! I'll give it a shot :)

[@lindajardee]

I own a Victoria for about 2 weeks, have had this problem happen 3x since using every day. While I am steaming for only about 25 seconds (to get a thicker microfoam), the pump will turn on to add water to the boiler every approximate 10-12 seconds (which I'm told this is perfectly normal)- then......the PID went back to my brewing temp. of 202° while steaming. Steaming is at 275°. I'm hoping there isn't something wrong with this unit.

[@ThingsFromLife]

The adding of water is normal, mine does it too, but the PID switching temperature sounds like a problem. I have to switch mine manually. Maybe ask your reseller.

[@ThingsFromLife]

I am reading this again now, and seeing something I didn't notice the first time. It sounds like you are using a lot of water, for whatever reason. The boiler is quite small, so the pump will come on to fill it. If you steam for quite a long time, it will switch back to brewing mode. You need to be efficient with your time. As soon as the temperature is reached, purge the wand and start steaming.

[@Mfuao]

What is the shape of the filter holder inlet to buy a naked for example? Does it use e61 input?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Yes E61 portafilters generally fit. I use the Lelit naked portafilter with the walnut handle, which was designed for one of their E61 machines. Note that every manufacturer is slightly different, so theoretically it is possible for someone to make one which doesn't fit.

[@TheDukecalvin]

Great video, i could almost taste that beauty... are you running on factory-settings? Or did you change the settings, for example the themperature offset? I have a victoria myself and have read online about a possible 8-10 degrees themp offset. So when you set your PID to 92 degrees it acctually brews at about 85... what do you know about this?

[@ThingsFromLife]

I have read that there is an offset, and if IIRC it is 10 degrees, which makes the temperature shown on the front close to the real temperature. The temperature offset is not there to fool us, but it is to try to estimate what the temperature drop is from the boiler, where it is measured on the Victoria, to what actually shows up during the brewing. The temperature offset tries to make the displayed temperature reflect what will arrive at the coffee. In the end, it doesn't matter so much what the offset is, or if the temperature is accurate. Simply use the shown temperature to set an initial point, and after that, tune by taste, once the rest of the process is dialled in. I tend to use 91 degrees for my current medium bean. I tried 92, but I felt that the taste was a little more burned. I might try 90 degrees at some point. I do run on factory settings, other than the pressure, which I adjusted according to a video here on KZbin. I need to adjust it again, it is still 9,5-10,0 bar, which is a little higher than I would prefer.

[@sevenday7404]

Hallo...has the victoria a shoottimer? How long does it take from power on to 1 reference?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Hello Ralf, 1) Yes, the Victoria has a timer, although it unfortunately counts down, not up, and when you stop it, it is reset, so if you stop by weight, you need to look at the timer just before you stop it. You can set how much you want it to count down from, up to 50 seconds. I am hoping that Lelit will add the ability to count up, and to retain the final count when it is stopped, in a future LCC update. 2) If you just want the machine hot enough to make an espresso, then maybe 2-5 minutes at least, although I like it to warm up my cups, which takes a lot longer. I usually turn it on at least 20-30 minutes before use. If you warm your cups yourself with hot water, or some other way, you do not have to wait this long.

[@juliduffi]

Hey, nice video! Could you name me the equipment that you use (distribution tool, leveler, Tamper)?

[@ThingsFromLife]

The distribution tool is from China, but I think this one on Amazon is the same: www.amazon.de/-/en/Espresso-Coffee-Stirrer-Manipulation-Distributor/dp/B093L8C4BK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=verteilerwerkzeug+nussbaum&qid=1638043241 The leveller is from Motta: www.amazon.de/-/en/Coffee-leveling-Pianacaffè-distributor-Diameter/dp/B07S9TL176/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=motta+58+mm+nivellierung&qid=1638043327 The tamper was originally this from Motta: www.amazon.de/-/en/110-Tamper-Bubinga-Inches-Stainless/dp/B00B0WMV6I/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=tamper+motta+58mm&qid=1638043375 But I added this slightly wider base from IMS: www.amazon.de/-/en/Tamper-M10-Flat-Barista-Accessories-Diameter/dp/B07FMPH49T/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=tamper+ims+58+mm&qid=1638043415

[@alinashevchenko7633]

Hi! I’ve just bought this coffee machine and can’t I can't froth milk. It’s not making the foam absolutely. What can I do wrong?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Hi, congratulations on the machine. It takes a while to get good with it, but have hope! Is the steam temperature high enough (>130C) and do you let it warm up completely? Start close to the surface and make some large bubbles, then slowly lower it a little lower, and make sure that there is a good spin in the milk, so that all the bubbles get sucked into the steam and made smaller. Once the milk reaches 50-60C stop, and knock the jug a couple of times on the table to pop the largest bubbles. There are many good videos for learning it, here is one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3aTnKWjhtlog7s

[@zachwarner7164]

@@ThingsFromLife I'll respond on her behalf, thank you for the time and effort.

[@lindajardee]

I'm thinking of buying a Victoria, but heard from at least two reviewers that the water reservoir is very tight in the machine & very hard to get out without cutting oneself on the sharp metal surrounding the tank. Do you agree with that? Also, how do you know when the water is getting low if you can't see the tank? Thanks.

[@lesherjan]

I don't have that problem. I am using a little funnel.

[@ThingsFromLife]

I think that is a little exaggerated. It is a little narrow, but not actually tight. The edges are not smooth, but I have never cut myself either, and I wouldn't describe them as sharp. At the moment I use an 8cm silicone funnel which just stays in place, so I never really take out the tank any more.

[@207512386]

I own a Victoria. The design around the water tank is poor in my opinion. But it's not difficult to take out and put back in. I've not cut myself yet. Regarding knowing if it needs to be refilled. I just open the top and check it every other day and refill often. Just a habit you have to develop. Would be great if it had an indicator

[@rolandlickert2904]

The difference between the Grace and Victoris is the filter size 57 mm or 58mm only how long is the time to brew the espresso /how long to wait until you can do the steaming?

[@MorningNapalm]

It is not only the filter size, but also the amount of metal in the mount, which is much larger with the 58mm machine, thus giving more temperature stability. It takes less than a minute to go from coffee to steaming, but longer the other way around, since cooling down is hard to speed up. The amount of time to brew the espresso is up to you. I run it for 40 seconds, about 30 seconds of which is with flowing coffee. Before that is just pressure building and the water coming through the coffee.

[@rolandlickert2904]

@@MorningNapalm Thanks for your reply and I will get the Elisabeth

[@ggivensjr]

Looks like you had a little channeling in beginning.

[@ThingsFromLife]

Yes, the beans were getting just a touch old and dry. I have fresh ones on the way.

[@ElJefe42]

1:30 channeling detected

[@jadesierra7691]

Awesome video! I'm looking into getting one of these machines myself. A few questions: do you have to wait any time at all between turning the machine on and pulling a shot? And in regards to temperature, do you manually change the temperature when you go to froth your milk?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Thank you so much. I really need to update it as I do a few things differently now. To answer your question, yes you have to wait for the machine to heat up the water, but it is very quick, just takes less than 5 minutes. If you want a warm cup, you need to leave it much longer, but if you are in a hurry, you can just run some hot tap water into your cup to heat it up. The machine has two stored temperatures, one for the brew mode, which you can set, and another for the steam mode, which you can also set separately. When you press the first button, it uses the brew temperature. When you press the second button, it heats the water to the second temperature, which also doesn't take long. Then you must flush any water in the steam line, and then you are ready to steam.

[@jadesierra7691]

@@ThingsFromLife wow, thanks so much for responding! I appreciate the insight. A follow up/update video would be super helpful! :) One more question - not sure if you've tried this, but after pulling a shot and steaming your milk, does it take a while for the temperature to go back to an appropriate shot-pulling temperature? I'll mostly be making milk drinks and I'm wonderinf if it being a single boiler will be much of an issue. Thanks again!

[@ThingsFromLife]

@@jadesierra7691 Yes it takes quite a while. If you want to make two milk drinks and splitting the coffee from a single pull is not enough, then maybe make the two shots first, and then the milk for both. When you are done with the milk mode, you should press the steam button again to go back to coffee mode. If you leave milk mode and need to speed up the cooling down, then you can just run some water in coffee mode.

[@lindajardee]

I've watched videos on the Victoria where it seems like it takes a very long time for the water to be purged out of the steam tube. With my Gaggia Classic, I just had to purge the steam tube for maybe 2 seconds, then it was pure steam coming out. One comment why someone was having a difficult time make silky froth (again that made me nervous because I like the creamy microfoam that I was able to achieve easily with the Classic): I think it's because both water and steam are delivered through the wand instead of having separate hot water spout. When watch his demonstration you see even on steam the water never completely stops. If water keeps on coming out of steam wand, I will never achieve the creamy microfoam as I did with my Classic.

[@ThingsFromLife]

It is a little slow, but it works well in the end. It took me two months to get really good at it though.

[@officialdislikebutton728]

Hey, great video! I just got myself one of these but for the life of me I can't seem to get good milk texture. Have you found a trick? My unit seems to have a pretty wet steam and when the pump activates it becomes an even wetter steam and I'm wondering if that's an issue. Any tips?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Hi, yes this is really tricky. In general, dual boilers are easier to do milk with. I have my steam temperature set to the max, 140, now. I also have the KD in the advanced settings set to 20, which I think is the default. With this, I am able to get a nice texture, but getting fine enough control to make nice latte art is still difficult. I generally quite like milk foam like in a more traditional cappuccino, so I am not really trying for latte art any more. To get the foam nice, it is necessary to have very many very tiny bubbles, so do not keep the wand tip too close to the milk surface, or you will get very large bubbles. If you keep it just under the surface, maybe a 30 degree angle from the vertical, then you will hear a fine hissing sound, and this should be enough to get tiny bubbles. I use a thermometer in my milk, and generally I keep the tip just under the surface until about 40-50 degrees, then I dip it deeper and try to keep the milk swirling as much as possible to work the bubbles into the milk. I stop around 60-65 degrees, as after that at some point the milk burns. When you are done with this, then let it stand briefly to let the large bubbles rise to the surface, then grab the jug and tap it gently but sharply against the counter, or a rubber mat, to pop the large bubbles. Then swirl it around until you get a uniform look to the milk, then pour. I will try to update my video at some point soon, since I have meanwhile changed a number of things in my workflow, including switching from hand-grinding to a Niche Zero, and using distribution tools.

[@ThingsFromLife]

Actually, you can see several of these steps already in this video.

[@ThingsFromLife]

Btw, do you purge the steam wand before starting? Once the temperature has been reached, point the wand at the overflow tray or an empty container, and run it until the water is gone and steam starts to come out.

[@BlubbieFirglan]

Du hast dein Milchkännchen und die Milch im Kühlschrank. Bringt das was? Ich nehme eigentlich sogar die Milch morgens beim Aufheizen der Maschine schon aus dem Kühlschrank. Allerdings bin ich auch erst seit ein paar Tagen ein "Home Barista" 🙂 Und mit meinem Milchschaum (Hafer) nicht wirklich glücklich. Bei mir entsteht beim Einblasen des Dampfes in die Milch ein extrem lautes und unangenehmes Geräusch 😞

[@ThingsFromLife]

Hallo, und danke für dein Beitrag. 1) Ich hatte am Anfang Probleme mit genügend Zeit fürs Schäumen, und habe die extra paar Grad geholt, sprich ein paar Sekunden mehr, indem ich meine Kanne im Kühlschrank gestellt habe :) Jetzt mache ich das aus Gewohnheit. Ich weiß nicht ob es besser ist, aber es funktioniert gut. 2) Unterschiedliche Milchsorten reagieren anders beim Schäumen, also probier einfach eine andere Variante. Ich benutze im Moment H-Milch 3,5% von Mark Brandenburg. Falls du Veganer Milch benutzen möchtest habe ich leider kein Tipp für dich, aber probier mal unterschiedliche Sorten. 3) Das Geräusch ist vermutlich ein lautes Fiepen? Wenn du die Spitze von der Lanze kurz höher hältst, direkt unter der Oberfläche, dann sollte es aufhören.

[@Smellslikegelfling]

That took an entire minute to steam the milk. Seems like a pretty long time compared to many others I've seen take ~20-30 seconds.

[@ThingsFromLife]

The temperature and the pressure are tied together, so I could raise the temperature to speed it up. I am still learning though, so I have recently actually lowered the temperature to 135 to slow things down :) Which machines take 20-30 seconds?

[@ThingsFromLife]

I am now also faster, I raised the temperature to 140 again.

[@JeffMendoza]

What pressure are you getting on the gauge during a normal shot? Have you needed to adjust the OPV? Thanks.

[@MorningNapalm]

I was getting 10-11 bar and have adjusted it down to 9 bar. I still often get 9.5-10 bar, so I will probably adjust it down a bit more.

[@gSMoker78]

@@MorningNapalm would you mind explaining how to adjust it ? Is it a hard fix ? I'm seeing a lot of people with high 11/12 bars shots but mine seem to run at 9 bars, flowing really fast though so I might be to coarse.

[@ThingsFromLife]

@@gSMoker78 Observing the pressure during an extraction which hasn't yet been tuned right doesn't give meaningful results. First tune the grinding settings to get a 1:2 extraction in 25-30 seconds, then look at the pressure. I followed this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYfXoaCFhrilgLM

[@207512386]

@@ThingsFromLife the pressure affects the extraction speed. I found I had to recalibrate my grind etc after adjusting the OPV. The 9bars is the recommended pressure, since the lower pressure is more accommodating to poor puck preparation and resulting channeling. I've improved my puck prep as well as lowered the pressure and I'm starting to get some good results.

[@ThingsFromLife]

@@207512386 ​ Yeah, the higher pressures definitely provokes channelling. I also run about 9 bar, although I have heard that 8 bar can taste even nicer, so I will likely try it at some point.

[@Abagcendol]

Hey i want to buy this machine. Care to share some though how the machine doing this 2 years? Does it easy to maintain? And they said the pump and vibration is too noisy. Is that true?

[@ThingsFromLife]

I have been very happy with it, but there are a couple of things to know. First of all, the prices of Lelit VIP machines is highly competitive, given their advanced features and reasonable prices. However, the Achilles heel is that the assembly is sometimes not as good as it could be, even though the components are high quality, and there is very little plastic used. What this means in practice is that it is not unusual to have to take it in to have something adjusted, replaced or tightened, once early on in the lifetime. After that though, they run well for a long time. The standard pump is a bit noisy, not horribly so, but I chose to buy the pump used in the Elizabeth and Mara X, which is more silent, and install it myself. This adds to the price, of course. Maintenance is easy, cleaning is easy. The machines are very straight forward, and even opening up and maintaining the internals, after the warranty runs out, is within reach of anyone handy with standard tools. The vibration noise comes down to two things, both of which cam be fixed. One is tray rattle, which can be fixed by adding 4-5mm silicone dots to the four locations on the drip tray. The other noise is the water filter vibrating against the water reservoir, which can be fixed or improved by adding a rubber band around it, dampening the noise.

[@toxicosam]

i have one and yes its a noisy machine

[@akent46]

SKX007 shout out! How's the Lelit been after 2 years sir??

[@ThingsFromLife]

ThingsFromLife Great! Still making great espresso, and good steam. The only thing I would really wish for is better steam, but this would require a dual boiler, and this machine is really very good already. I run a Facebook group for VIP Line owners where we help each other with problems and give tips and tricks for making better coffee, as well as discuss accessories etc., and we are nearing 2000 members. When we hit that, I will update my video with my latest procedure.

[@ThingsFromLife]

I forgot to shout you out for the SKX :D I have two, a black one from Japan, and a blue one from Indonesia or somesuch. I absolutely love the watch.

[@Azurech]

Hi, kann man bei der Victoria die Pre-Infusion Zeit einstellen?

[@MorningNapalm]

Soweit ich weiß geht das nur bei der Elizabeth.

[@Azurech]

@@MorningNapalm Danke, das hatte ich auch so verstanden, war mir aber nicht sicher!

[@trailbraker4913]

which grinder are you using?

[@ThingsFromLife]

In this video I used my handgrinder, the Kanso Hiku, which is good, but I now have a Niche Zero, which is better.

[@florian2073]

Where did you buy this portafilter?

[@ThingsFromLife]

I bought mine from Moba Coffee, where I also bought the machine: www.mobacoffee.de/Lelit-bodenloser-Siebtraeger-mit-Holzgriff-fuer-Bianca-58mm

[@florian2073]

@@ThingsFromLife Nice. Thank you

[@dwiesengrund577]

Nice skx!

[@matijamatijevic2624]

Which pid setup you use?🙏🏻

[@ThingsFromLife]

I am currently using 93C for the brew and 130C for the steam, but this is dependent on the beans, the dose, and so on. In the advanced menu, I followed one list I found online, but unfortunately I don't recall where. The values are: KP 0.1 KI 0.04 kD 20.0 B 30 E 5 F01 1 F02 20

[@emirhankank6649]

warm up time?

[@ThingsFromLife]

Depends what you want to warm up. Just the machine, max 10-15 minutes until ready, possibly less, I haven't measured. If you want the cups up top to be warm too, it takes probably over 30 minutes. You can skip this just by warming them up with hot water from the tap.

[@jzimmer11]

no tamping?

[@ThingsFromLife]

I do tamp now, this video is ancient, and most my equipment changed since. I now use a Niche Zero, and an IMS basket, with a fitting tamper.

[@popares]

Which Grinder do you use?

[@ThingsFromLife]

In this video it is the Kanso Hiku, which is quite nice. I have seen negative comments of it in various forums, but never really with a lot of detail. Mine worked well. Anyway, I have now finally received my Niche Zero, and it is a step up in functionality and taste, even if the Hiku retains less grains!

[@MultiKulti]

which leveler is this?

[@ThingsFromLife]

The leveller is from Motta: www.amazon.de/-/en/Coffee-leveling-Pianacaffè-distributor-Diameter/dp/B07S9TL176/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=motta+58+mm+nivellierung&qid=1638043327

[@france4910]

Ziemlich entschleunigt da ganze hier, was für 1Life

[@ThingsFromLife]

Ja :) Ich nehme mir gerne ein bisschen Zeit für die Teile vom Leben die ich genieße.

[@bulentyalcin5810]

35 cl or 50 cl milk pot is better ?

[@ThingsFromLife]

35cl if you are making just one cappuccino. For a latte or for two drinks, definitely 50cl. The 35cl gets overwhelmed quite quickly.

[@ThingsFromLife]

For two large cappuccinos or lattes, you may even want a larger pot. My 50cl pot is pretty full when making a cappuccino for myself and a small cappuccino for my daughter.

[@chadgregory9037]

lose the "leveler" trust me

[@ThingsFromLife]

I am not sure why I would need to take someone else's word on something easily testable like this :D I have tried with and without, and get more consistent results with. You can of course do something different.

[@ggivensjr]

Where's the foam? Cappuccino is 1:1:1, espresso, milk, foam. You have no foam. It looks like flat white.

[@ThingsFromLife]

I guess what I am making is less of a traditional cappuccino and more like what you get in a café these days.

[@ThingsFromLife]

My foam has also gotten better now, that I have been able to improve my milk; see above.

[@ggivensjr]

Looks like you used (240ml 8oz) too much milk. Should've started with half that. Cappuccino has foam recipe is 1:1:1, You made a latte and wasted lots of milk.

[@ThingsFromLife]

At the moment I am using 120ml. I can't remember what I was using at that time, but yeah, I was wasting milk figuring things out. Some of the milk usually goes to my daughter though; she loves steamed milk.

[@ggivensjr]

Machine rattles!

[@ThingsFromLife]

I improved the tray a little bit by putting in some rubber pads under the edges. It is fairly quiet now. The stuff standing on top can sometimes rattle.