My Journey from Flair Espresso to La Pavoni Europiccola

I explain some of the issues and mods I installed as I went from a keen Flair Espresso (Classic) machine user to a La Pavoni Europiccola user, and why I prefer it to the Flair now. Mods: Changed from 2-coil (minimo/massimo) to 1-coil heater with pressurestat Bottomless portafilter with larger capacity Puck screen Bong Isolator Flair temperature strip Single-hole steam tip Increased pressure from 0.8 to 1.4 bar Other Details: My model is a version 2.3 made between 1984 and 1990 I think. 13 or 14g typical dose with around 31g espresso out. Group Head displayed temp of around 75 or 80'C before the shot to give the right water temperature at the puck for medium or lighter roasts. Pre-infuse for around 10 seconds till around 3g out, then the shot takes around 25 seconds after that with reducing pressure on the lever towards the end. I should mention units built after 2000 have water-hested groups instead of steam-heated so probably don't overheat as quickly but the Bong isolator fixes both. Goofs: I forgot how to pronounce Espresso, and said Espresho instead because video cameras stop brain function