Can a lever espresso machine make a regular coffee as well?

[Gap]

I'm thinking of buying a La Pavoni Europiccola EL Espresso Coffee Machine 100119 for home, but can I make a regular cup of coffee on it as well. I currently use a traditional stove top percolator which serves me well for making good regular cups of coffee but I want to be able to make espresso as well. Now I know you can get a lot of automated coffee machines that will do just about anything, but I really like the idea of a proper lever action machine and I’ve got my heart set on the La Pavoni. For instance if you put not so fine grounds in it and run two lots of water through it, would this be the same as a regular filtered coffee? And if so can you get a normal sized cup under the spout or would you need to use a small cup twice and pour it into a bigger cup!

 

[CCafe]

The La Pavoni only makes espresso. How ever if you want to run more water then one pull then that is up to you. The end result probably won't be that great since you will be over extracting the espresso grinds and you will most likely get a very bitter and or sour taste to it.

If you are a perfectionist then the Pavoni is for you. Other wise I would suggest a little Rancilio Silvia or like machine. As for a percolator, ditch it! The reason coffee is no longer made in a percolator is cause it does over extract the coffee. You would get a better product if you use a drip coffee maker that can achieve water temperatures around 200+ degrees.

 

[La Crema Coffee]

coffee from shots

Well, an Americano is the closest thing to french press and cleaner tasting than drip or other methods ( IMHO).. So learn how to pull a perfect double shot, add it to your cup and fill with hot H20. Tea water form your machine could be used, however the temperature is kind hot for the coffee. But, almost all drivethrus in the NW know that tea water is way hot and we still luse it to make Americano. It's better than " coffee."

 

[javahill]

I had a LaPavoni 8 cup. Espresso. No drip coffee. Because of the pressure brewing, espresso is caffeine and proteins in solution, emulsion of oils and colloids, and coffee particles in suspension along with tiny gas bubbles. Brewed coffee, which is gravity fed, is just a suspension.

If you put coarse ground coffee in the LaPavoni, you'll get a weak suspension of particles, very little emulsion (because the oils won't extract) and also very little extraction on the caffeine and proteins so a thin solution. Why bother?

In short, I agree with LaCrema - with an espresso machine, make yourself an Americano. Do the espresso right. Add hot water to thin it.