Lelit PL41TEM / PL41TEMD
Verified6 reviews
- Daily
A bit disappointing – I was upgrading machines from a very old Saeco Via Venezia. I was looking for a quality machine but not too expensive. I found while the PL41temd will get you a cup of decent coffee after a bit of acclimatisation that compared to the old Via Venezia, well it was lacking a bit of sophistication. The older machine was more solid, had an inbuilt… Read more
water tank and I didn’t have to fiddle around getting the boiler reprimed after using steam. I will guarantee that the old machine didn’t deliver 9 bar pressure and that the temperature was pretty uncontrolled but it delivered a cup of coffee with an easier process that was still a nice cup of coffee. I was sorry that I didn’t spend a bit more and get a Lelit Victoria. ( PL91) In the end I thought if I really wanted a Victoria I should get one but if I was spending that kind of money a Lelit Mara was a much better option. Which is what I did. And now I am very happy. So I would not recommend a Lelit PL41tempd and would suggest the Victoria as a better option for a bit more cash. But for pure joy definitely a Mara. Yes, a bit more than twice the price of a PL41 but far more than twice the quality. My sister will be getting the PL91.
With a little practise and skill, this machine produces perfect espresso and great textured milk – This machine is small, heats quickly, has a PID & pressure gauge for precise control. It cost under $1,000. There Are compromises, the boiler it be primed manually, waiting for the boiler to boil to make steam is a drag. Is it worth paying thousands more to avoid that? Not in my book. My last machine had swizzy soft touch PCD backed controls. Heat… Read more
& Printed Circuit Boards do Not play well together. My machine has Excellent mechanical switches that cost a 20 bucks to replace. I don’t like Automatic espresso machines at all, you might as well go to Starbucks (shudder, no Don’t do that), so this is perfect for me. I don’t have more money than brains, nor am I caffe, so I won’t spend tens of thousands on an espresso machine. I want a machine that allows me to make exceptional coffee, not a status symbol. Nearly everyone who has my coffee at my place says it some of the best they’ve ever had. I have been a professional barista. I am a bit of a miserly perfectionist. This machine has a 3 way valve, so you can back flush it really easily. If you don’t clean your machine regularly and you let the oily alkaloids in coffe build up, they can build up, go rancid and make you espressos taste rotten and smell off. A clean machine is a good machine In my opinion you’d need to spend $3,000 to get a significantly better espresso machine. Build quality? It looks pretty. The boiler is Brass, yay, all the best ones are. The outside is Shiny, stainless steel. Yumm, Shiny, shiny. You have to clean it... clean machine etc. Doesn’t take up a lot of room. It’s got silicone internal piping, my material of choice, it’s cheap to replace when needed, and copper piping makes foul tasting espresso in my opinion. Th PID & pressure gauge are plastic, but they work flawlessly & I don’t care as I can buy replacement units of under $50 for both... if it really starts to bother me, metal ones can be fitted, at considerable expense... more than $50, each plus labour. Electricity frightens me... that stuff will kill ya. Taking the water tank out to fill it is a pain, but not half as much as having a plumber coming around to plumb a commercial machine in. As long as you can remember to re-prime the boiler after you steam milk & you want potentially brilliant coffee, at the $1,000 mark you can’t go wrong. Making milk coffees for a dozen people will take a while, but if it’s you and the Mrs, or Mr & maybe a couple of couples, you’re fine. I am DELIGHTED, with this machine. This is the third positive review I’ve done for anything in the last 10 years & yes I’m a picky B*****d
Makes very good coffee – Using this machine takes a little bit of getting used to as it has a number of manual procedures to go through which can take a bit of time. It is a single boiler set up so you have to froth the milk and then reload the boiler and wait for it to heat up. Usually a couple on minutes.. A good quality coffee grinder is essential so that you can… Read more
manage the density of the grind and tune it to getting about 25 mil of coffee in 25 seconds. Good to use fresh ground coffee which means throwing away the first grind which is the left over in the grinder from the previous grind. If you do it right the coffee will be much better than anything you will buy from a coffee shop. I sometimes try out different coffee shops to see how my Lelit compares and I can honestly say the Lelit does a much better job if you know how to use it properly
Lelit PL41LEM Espresso Machine – My previous machines were the lower end Brevilles which made surprisingly good coffee for the relatively low cost of the machine. I decided it was time to crank things up a notch and did some research on machines around the $800-$1000 mark. That research popped up the unknown (to me) Lelit brand espresso machines. I watched videos and read… Read more
endless reviews before pulling the trigger and purchased the PL41LEM.
I know in the big scheme of things $800+ isn't a huge amount to spend on an espresso machine but it's a fair old wedge of cash to myself and I'm sure many other people. I got it home read the somewhat confusing instructions. Instructions that I suggest you read to minimise any issues in potentially damaging the boiler. I'm not going to lie in all honesty it wasn't as easy as the videos to pull a shot with sky high crema but patience, practise and some tweaking of my grinder have thankfully been rewarded! I am now pulling really great tasting shots from this little machine. It's right up there if not better than some of the coffee shops I go to and I'm in cafes a lot! I'm stoked to be honest and my initial fears of "what have I done" have now well and truly been thrown in the bin. The steamer is also very impressive and super quick unlike my previous machines which took an age to froth milk.
So if you're looking for a quality machine that doesn't take over your entire kitchen bench top and isn't going to have you taking out a second mortgage then pop the Lelit PL41LEM on your list to check out. I'm certainly not regretting my purchase and I'm sure you won't be either.
Makes good coffee, but low manufacture quality – I bought this machine to replace my Sunbeam which was on its last legs after 8 years. I was hoping for a machine that could last 15 years, but I doubt this machine will. The pressure gauge is plastic, the LED display and buttons are the cheap plastic film variety, the steam knob is flimsy and cheap, and the group head is less sturdy than the… Read more
old Sunbeam one.
Other areas of difference to the Sunbeam:
Good
-It steams milk really well. The boiler seems much more powerful. This is really good as it is a core function of a coffee machine.
-it heats up quickly, and preheats the group head well. Better temp control than Sunbeam
-it is a fair bit smaller and uses much less bench space
-stainless steel, so hopefully won't rust
Bad
-the water reservoir pulls out the top of the machine. You have to remove all the things you store on top to refill it. It will be difficult to clean inside (update: it's not too bad)
-it's too light and moves when inserting or removing the group head
-the drip tray has no level indicator
-the gap under the group head is too small and doesn't fit a large mug
-the on/off switch is on the back of the machine (stupid)
-can only steam one large or two small coffees worth of milk at a time
Not sure I would buy it if I had my time again. But at least it makes good coffee!!!
Update: I have had this machine for 20 months (a bit more than a year-and-a-half) now and it has provided trouble-free operation over this period. If it makes it to five years I'll knock it up to four stars.
Finally Died – Bought this machine in January 2015, stopped working in November 2015, would not heat up past 16 Deg, rang the retailer who couldn't help, managed to get it working again but it failed again in January 2016. Rang the retailer who agreed to have it repaired in my home state. It is now been back twice for repair with the issue still unresolved, the… Read more
repairer has been helpful but can't do much other than fix items as they fail, still waiting after nearly 3 months to get my machine back, I am going to trade it in for another brand (asked to have the whole unit replaced but this fell on deaf ears, will now be seeking redress with our local consumer affairs). This machine has been a total lemon and I would recommend people to not purchase any Lelit product.
Update : 30-04-2016 Have received repaired unit back, have been using for 8 days, so far so good. It now makes HOT coffee and is a lot hotter than it has ever run from new, suspect it may have been faulty from purchase. According to the repairer the Solid State Temperature Solenoid Relay was the problem and it appears mine maybe a "one off". Will update this review in 6 months. Big kudos to Segafredo in North Perth for their efforts :) Update : 21-01-2017 LED PID display is now not functioning correctly...... 2 years old and still not right ....
Update : 14-05-2019 LED PID Display is now dead and so is the machine, not willing to spend any more money replacing the PID on this pile of junk, it has been nothing but problems since day one and I do NOT RECOMMEND anyone buying LELIT.
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