Lelit Mara X Review | User Experience, Pros & Cons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video we'll have a look at our experience so far with the Lelit Mara X. Let's talk what's good about it, but also address the things that can be improved. It's pretty obvious we love the Mara X, so let us know in the comments section if you have one and if you enjoy using it.
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This has been on my shopping list and have watched a lot of reviews. But this definitely is the best review of all. Have always struggled with the lack of PID at this price point but glad to know that the switch is a pretty accurate alternative. Thanks for the detailed yet to the point review.
Glad you enjoyed it!
For legs, what helps is to double up with adhesive rubber feet. You can find rubber adhesive feet in (online/physical) hardware shops. For other appliances that needed clearance from the countertop, I bought rubber feet, and just added more if I needed to raise it to a height I was happy with. This could help. 👍
Great advice Franco, thank you for that 😊🙏
I highly disagree about the portafilter lacking functionality. I think their design is genius and is highly misunderstood. There are two reasons for my opinion. Firstly with tamping if you were to rest the pf on the table with the handle on yhe table too i find its always perfectly flat. You do not need to hold it to the corner of your counter nor balance it on its spouts. It might be unintentional in their design although i think it isnt, the PF is always perfectly flat for tamping when fully rested on the counter including the handle, this helps me a lot compared to other PFs i need to hold at the edge of the counter and any minor adjustment in its angle could mess up my tamping. Secondly its spouts facing us rather than the traditional spout on right and left design i feel is perfect for pulling a double shot in a single 90ml cup without any mess. On regulsr PFs with the regular spout design if pulling a double shot in a single cup i sometimes have to raise the cup up for the first few seconds to avoid the faster flow of the first few seconds dripping outside or over the corners of the cup, but with the mara x’s unique design i never need to do that, the flow lands perfectly into the cup every time, no more fuss or mess. I think this PF is brilliant
I 100% Agree with you. The reviewer is apply the normal portafilter logic to the tamping rather than, as you say play to its strengths. The over the edge of the counter approach is for a 180 deg double spout PF to stop it digging in or even stressing the spouts when applying weight. What Lelit did simplifies it so it is level to tamp and provides a firm stalk to the table to press against. Although a double spouter, it's towards-you-design really is for a single cup tho (I mean who does that double cup thing anyway?) . But let's you view the discharging brew better.
To me it also makes perfect sence.
The portafilter is designed to sit level when resting on the handle and spout.
thanks for always making honest and informative videos! your videos have helped me with my new gaggia, and because of your experiences with the Lelit I'm looking at that as an upgrade in a good few years time :))
Glad to help Karan :)
Hey Goran, about the pressure setting, this is actually a shared issue with E61 coffee machines it seems. I do not own one, but I've seen enough contents on TH-cam and read about it enough on espresso blogs to be aware that this is a common complaint. One thing to note though, compared to the Gaggia Classic where you actually have to either replace the OPV spring voiding warranty, on the Lelit Mara X the adjustment of the OPV is easy as turning a bolt. Still, I can understand how it can be annoying to open such an expensive machine out of the factory to make a small adjustment.
That said, I'm really looking forward to your experience with the MaraX, keep up the amazing work!
Thank you Antonio :) I already adjusted the OPV on the Mara, it's the same as the OPV on the older model Gaggia Classic. Very simple to do, took me around 15 mins to adjust and fine tune.
Where is it?
As i have heard the reason it works at 10 bars is that it's being measured somewhere at the pump itself which translates to 9 bar at group. I believe some reddit surfing will confirm. Or just check pressure at group.
Checked pressure at the group and it was still 10 bars. Since then I've done the OPV mod and dropped it to just below 9.
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 was there a noticeable improvement in taste after opv adjustment
@@timb15 not a big difference in taste, but the body and mouth feel improved a lot
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746was this difficult to do? Do you know of any videos or guidelines to do this? Great video thanks!
@@christiankozma454 Google Mara X OPV adjustment and something should pop up ☺️ it's easy af
Hi, i put a trimmed placemat under mine so i can slide it out when I need to refill the water, no problems with scratches on the Caesarstone bench top. Secondly, i empty the drip tray regularly so it’s not a hassle. Finally, the suppler here in Australia does a pre-delivery check and reduces the pressure to 9 bar. I love my Mara X.
Great solution Greg, thanks for sharing that 😊 Mine wasn't reduced to 9 bar when I bought it, but luckily it's very easy to do it yourself
Such a grown up Greg, emptying your drip tray before it gets too full....I let it get filled to the top, then take 2 paper towels and ever so carefully walk it 30 ft to my sink. I think it's sort of become a sick game to me. 9/10 I lose and there are some spills.
I appreciate those odds.
@@JusBThankful 🤣
Which supplier? I’m looking to upgrade and need a small form factor machine. The Mara x seems like the only/best choice for e61 grouphead.
RE legs. I have placed felt under all 4 . Slides easily now but moves when I put on portafilter.
So I removed front 2 . Is now stable but easier to move by lifting front a little. I have v2 with push in rubber for legs
Price of bottomless with maple handle Aud$150.00
As far as tamping , I have stainless steel support onto which it slides.
Hey man awesome video. For tamping (con 3), the portafilter is angular so you can just lay it flat on the table and tamp away. No need to do an edge tamp on the rubber thing.
In my opinion it's unstable like that, but it's not even such a big con because it's a piece of art. I love the design of the portafilter
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 couldn't agree more!
Thanks mate, great video. Mine was shipped a few hours ago - based on what you and others have said I will adjust the OPV first thing. Keep up the Mara X content!
You'll love it Joe, it's such a good machine
Great work 👏🏻👏🏻 , i hope that u r planning on making an opv vid soon.
I can do that, if that helps people :)
I agree with the drip tray. I wish it was just a pull and push/slide in and out to remove and put it back. I always have to be EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA careful upon removing a full drip tray.
Probably the most annoying part about the Mara X :D
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 Haha true
I added adhesive felt, cut to size and seems to work fine when needing to slide it out to add water for instance; works well!
Solid review, thanks you 🙏🏾
That portafilter is easily tamped if you have the whole thing including handle on a hard surface.
15mins to warm up the water, sure. But if you want a warmed E61 head you'll need to give it another 10-15mins so better think of it as 25min warm up.
Mine seems to warm up in15 and head feels hot but not sure if fully warmed,
Lelit's own website states 24min for all to reach temp so I would suspect you are right. Warmed, but not quite warmed through fully at 15mins. But then whether it is enough of a diff to be that detrimental to the brew over 15mins is of course another matter....
Hey, thanks for another good vid! Regarding the feet I’ve read that the stock feet are height adjustable. So you could unscrew all 4 feet to increase bottom clearance. I can’t confirm that because my MaraX is on the way!
The are adjustable, but once you stsrt unscrewing them, they becoem very flimsy and unstable ☺️
One PRO, and not all e61 machines have them, is the visible brew pressure gauge. Coming from the GCP, I KNOW this has to be a PLUS!
Hell yeah, that's a great add on Dirk 👌😁
That's great video. Can we see the work flow, see the buttons and knobs in action
Coming very soon, we have some videos to publish first before that 😊
I think I'd fit Teflon stickers to the rubber feet... like you get for a computer mouse, for ease of moving around.
Ty for the review. Do u think is it worth to take loan and buy this machine to upgrade from Gaggia , is there huge difference on shots quality and milk foam ?
I agree about lack of feet 🦶 I know some have tried with Bianca feet but did not work as you would have to enlarge the hole on Mara X you would think by know their would be a work around. I might have mentioned this already you can reroute opv valve run off water back into the water tank as it very wasteful. I know you added flow control my only add on is group head thermometer other than that been very happy with my machine
I'd love some taller feet in black colour, but can't find anything. You did mention about the OPV but I just can't be bothered doing that mod hahah
After about 8 months of use, I find my lelit mara X struggling to breach even 6 bar of pressure :(. I did all the filter recharge, blind basket tests recommended by the vendors and those all pass. I've also grinded my beans fine enough as to not choke the machine.. no idea what else could be causing the pressure issue.
Hey! Great video as always! I have a Mara X and working great at 9 bar. Maybe they adjusted the pressure on the place I bought it. Because when I got it it was already set on 9 bar tops.
I think that happens sometimes, it all depends on the retailer. It's an easy job to adjust the OPV either way
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 another thing to add, now that I have had it for some time. It is great the support service from the Lelit
Would like to see the temperature stability on back to back shots like 3 shots lets say? Interested cause in the weekends everyone is drinking coffee in my family. Thanks
The Lelit insider guy has some cool videos about that. I have done 5 consecutive coffees, with milk steaming included and honestly found the coffee tasting great 😊
@@costillero2189 Why are you "screwed" if you wait 10min? If the machine is on and you did basic flush/clean, put the portafilter back into brew group.....would it not be ready to go again 10min later?
There's a reason why they set it at Bar10 factory settings. I forget why tho.
The reason why is that the pressure is measured right at the pump. By the time the water reaches in the coffee inside the group head it drops to 9 bar. This 1 bar drop from pump to puck is very common in E61 machines. It can be measured with a portafilter pressure gauge.
I make 3-4 espressos per day,i don't froth milk at all, i use a sette 270 grinder and a gaggia pro, do you think the gaggia with pid is close to the mara x in terms of coffee taste? or is it just the convenience and consistency with the mara x
There might be a slight difference in taste due to the factory preinfusion on the lelit mara x, but other than that I think the Gaggia should do you just fine for your needs
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 many thanks for your reply, love your videos ;)
Most of those issues and more are solved with the Bianca, but you know that.
Lease make a video when you adjust the brew pressure to 9 bar
Will do mate 😊
Hihi, could it be the pressure at pump is set to 10bar and the system lose about 1bar so at brew head it will be around 9bars?
Measured pressure at the group and it was 10 bars
@@tmb-themajesticbeanchannel1746 I believe it's not the same pressure when you have a coffee puck instead of the blind basket or a portafilter with a pressure gauge. I have a custom Gaggia Classic with a La Pavoni OPV and i have it running at 10 bar. I usually extract at 8 bar, or just a bit over, when the grind is right. BTW the manometer is attached where the stock OPV was, but that shouldn't influence anything, as pressure is equal everywhere in the system, as far as i remember from physics in high school.
I experimented with the OPV at different pressure settings, 6-8 bars. While the pressure is less, for a vibratory pump, you will get increased water flow and you have to grind finner to extract at a lower pressure, contrary to what might be expected. That finner grind setting didn't give a better taste in the cup, on the contrary, it tasted a bit harsh and bitter. Plus channeling is more likely to appear when grinding finner. IMO, 10 bar OPV setting is just fine. The bigger problem is with the coffee machines that come with the OPV set at 13-15 bar from the factory. That is something i really can't understand, but it probably has something to do with the fact the some people are using preground coffee and the pressurized filter basket, to be able to get the fake crema with stale grounds.
Nice to see you are upgrading your equipment for better content.
@@CristianStancu thank you for that explanation mate, it makes a lot of sense. I think that with the Mara the thing that measures pressure is located just before the grouphead, so the manometer is actually giving a very accurate pressure reading
tilting drip trays are silly
Can you put this machine on a timer ?
Smart plug should work 😊
Regarding 10 bar, I think that’s just Lelits preferred pressure, davec on the UK coffee forum, one of Lelits advisors seems to like 10 bar as well. There is nothing magical about 9 bar.
9bar seems to be a good place to start, which doesn't mean you can't play around with pressure :)
About 10bar of pressure:
My Epoca st1 makes much better espresso and needs 12 bar of static pressure, especially for light or medium roasts of acidic beans
I tried 9 bar and the coffee was awful, it was clear that something is wrong
I suppose that you are speaking for 10 bar during extraction, but again, who says that 9 is better
the least machines at this price could include are an bottomless portafilter and a good tamper.
Surprisingly they do involve a very nice precision tamper, but no bottomless portafilter
The portafilter is designed to sit level when resting on the handle and spout.