Lelit Victoria PL91T – single boiler espresso machine with LCC and LELIT58 group

Lelit Victoria PL91T – single boiler espresso machine with LCC and LELIT58 group

Twenty-three centimetres of brushed stainless steel on the counter, a blue backlit manometer – and still a full-size 58 mm group underneath.

That's the idea behind the Victoria: keep the footprint small, but don't cut corners on the group. At the front sits the LELIT58, compatible with the LELIT58 barista accessories, and behind it a three-way solenoid valve that pulls the puck dry after the shot. That's why it drops cleanly out of the basket instead of sticking to the portafilter as sludge. Heating comes from a 300 millilitre brass coffee boiler – a single boiler, where espresso and steam come one after the other.

A single boiler isn't only for espresso drinkers. The steam is perfectly enough for milk foam, you just need a different order: pull the shot first, then heat up to steam, then froth. Do that for two weeks and you won't think about it anymore. And the design has its own appeal – less electronics between you and what's happening. Our opinion is one of many, and nobody has to go the route of a second boiler to make good coffee.

Everything is controlled via the LCC, the Lelit Control Center, with a high-resolution OLED display and PID function. It shows coffee, steam and hot water temperature, plus the running shot time as a chronometer, and it shows graphically when the tank is running out of water. Pre-infusion, stand-by and the automatic cleaning cycle can be activated. Pre-infusion is more than a convenience feature: when the puck gently soaks up water first, before the pressure rises, the extraction starts across the whole surface instead of at a weak spot. Pressure shapes the aromatic time window, and different compounds dissolve at different moments.

Plus the rest that makes everyday use pleasant: backlit stainless steel buttons, a wide cup warmer, a multidirectional steam and hot water wand, a drip tray with stainless steel grid, and enough height under the group for a larger mug to fit. The water tank holds 2.5 litres, the machine weighs 11.3 kilograms.

At a glance

Who the Victoria is for

For everyone who wants a 58 mm group in a small space – because all the common accessories fit it, and you're free to choose your basket, tamper and puck screen. For households with one to four cups a day, with or without milk. And for everyone who would rather see what's happening than let an automatic system take over. No budget is just a beginning, and this machine doesn't make second-class coffee.

Because the grinder accounts for more than half of the result, it's worth a look at our coffee grinders: affordable and precise, the Varia VS3 or the Comandante C40 as a hand grinder; for more burr and more features, the Varia VS6, the Weber Workshops EG-1 or the Option-O Lagom. Because the choice of basket fundamentally changes the aroma profile, you'll find more difference in the precision baskets and filter baskets than a new bean often brings. For puck prep, the tampers include the spring-loaded Normcore Spring-Loaded and the tampers from Weber Workshops side by side. For dosing by weight, take a look at the coffee scales: Normcore for compact and reliable, Acaia for app and flow rate display. The brand's whole lineup is in the Lelit Collection.