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Here is the "Ferrari" style of commercial espresso machines
for your home, office, or low-volume commercial establishment! Rated
a commercial espresso machine, many customers have enjoyed placing
this fine machine in their homes.
There are currently three models available of the La Valentina
- levetta, semi-automatic, and automatic. There are few significant
differences on the machines. On the levetta model, you use the little
lever on the side of the grouphead to engage the water through the
coffee grinds. On the semi-automatic, you press one of the red buttons
to have forced through the coffee grinds, and the automatic requires
the operator to press one of the 4 yellow, re programmable dosage
buttons that measures the water through the coffee grinds, or use
the yellow button with the star to operate it as a semi-automatic.
On the levetta model, the steam wand and hot water wand are swivel-based
- right to left whereas the other two models have a multi-directional
steam wand that swivels in many directions and a stationary water
wand that remains over the drip tray. All three machines have manual
non-compression commercial steam valves and ergonomic knobs to control
steam output. For how water output, the levetta has a manual commercial
valve, the semi-automatic has a red switch that needs to be depressed
to open the electrovalve, and the automatic has a yellow button
on the touchpad which can be programmed for the amount of water
to be dispensed from the hot water wand.
Now, that we have the differences out of the way, there are a few
common attributes that make the La Valentina the best machine in
its class. The first is the full-sized commercial pressurstat (boiler
pressure regulator). The commercial pressurstat is about 12x the
size of pressurstats found on other similar machines. It also has
electrical contacts inside that can be cleaned with a wire brush
whereas the other pressurstats need to be replaced (replacement
cost for other machines is ~$60 USD plus shipping and typically
need replacement every 2-3 years). In the 4 years we have been
selling the La Valentina line, we have yet to replace a pressurstat!
In addition, there are three sets of contacts inside this full size
pressurstat - so, if one goes bad, you just move the wiring connections
over. We have yet have a customer do this on a La valentina.
Another common attribute, that is very important, is the ability
to gain access to the inside of the machine. Where other machines
can take between 5x to 10x longer to remove the outer shell due
to the number of screws and due to the procedure to be followed
in certain order. On the La Valentina, you have 4 screws to remove
the top cover and 6 screws to remove the wraparound body. That is
it!
Finally, you will only find top quality components on the La Valentina
- to name a few, the Gicar auto refill board for the boiler, the
Sirai pressurstat, the thick-walled copper boiler, and a Faema E61
grouphead. And, yes, there is also the easy access panel on the
bottom to access the bottom of the boiler, a high-grade microswitch
under the water tank for low water levels (never replaced either),
best vacuum breaker valve to prevent vapor locks so you can place
your machine on a timer, and the best expansion valve on the market
to make adjustments to brew pressure. All this allows the La Valentina
Semi-Automatic and Full Automatic to be approved by ETL - a very
important and respected attribute to professionals in the coffee
world!
Finally, Food and Wine magazine stopped at one of our facilities
in November, 2005. After exhaustively evaluating many models of
espresso machines, they rated La Valentina as a BEST ESPRESSO MACHINE
in the semi-commercial category! Read the article
that was published in March, 2006. Due to Valentina's growing
popularity, La Valentina was even featured on CNBC's High
Net Worth with Ray Isle, Senior Editor of Food and Wine magazine.
Have a look at the popular La Valentina line:
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