With speed and automation in coffee technology often taking centre stage, are we also seeing a shift back toward slowing down and brewing with intention and purpose?
For many, the speed of modern life feels ever-increasing, as smartphones, social media, and digitalisation accelerate the pace of everyday living.
In this world of precision, where new-age technology is redefining convenience, there is a quiet shift happening in some corners, away from buttons and automation, and back towards heritage manual methods.
For many, espresso is steeped in routine and tradition. For coffee enthusiasts and professionals who choose lever machines, like those constructed by Italian manufacturer La Pavoni since 1961, that routine translates into something more.
“It’s an escape from the daily speed of life,” says Head of La Pavoni Australia, Leon Wolf.
“It’s about slowing down to enjoy the moments in life. It’s turning off your phone, switching off the TV, and just being in the moment. There’s still a massive part of coffee culture that embraces that every morning, because that’s their daily ritual.”
Why lever? Why now?
As coffee culture continues to mature, the swing towards convenience and speed is being countered by a move back to tradition in many circles.
While flavour-driven, signature drink-loving Generation Z consumers have captured the hearts and minds of the industry, Leon says it’s important to continue to engage with the lovers of traditional brews.
“There are two sides of coffee culture emerging,” he says. “One is the authentic espresso culture with the traditional barista and the enjoyment of milk-based espresso beverages.
“But there’s a whole new audience we have to talk to today, and that’s young people that prefer energy drinks over coffee.
“What’s missing today is everything is so quick, it’s so fast, and so focused on turnover and volume. Nothing ever slows down, but cafés are more than a place to get a quick coffee and get caffeinated.
“There’s still room for the theatre of coffee.”
Lever machines, particularly those manufactured by a business with the legacy of La Pavoni, offer something uniquely relevant in this space with a return to craftsmanship in an increasingly digital world.
“It’s about being dialled in and zoned in on that moment of making coffee. You’re not thinking about anything around you other that getting the grind right, getting the dose right, getting the temperature right, pulling the lever at the right time, and trying to make the best coffee of your life,” says Leon.
“It’s a process we need to slow things down – but outside of that it may be the best coffee you’ve ever experienced. That’s the beauty of it.”
It is La Pavoni’s domestic lever machine models that often take centre stage in this discussion, with the likes of the Esperto Abile representing the Italian manufacturer’s most refined expression of this philosophy.
Designed for those who seek complete control, it elevates the ritual of coffee through precision and tactility, offering pressure profiling by hand, visual feedback through an integrated gauge, and a deeper connection to every stage of extraction.
Leon says while the silhouette of La Pavoni lever machines and their iconic eagle remain instantly recognisable, there has been a deliberate evolution in the construction of the lever machines in the past 60-plus years to make them accessible to the modern coffee connoisseur.
“La Pavoni hasn’t abandoned the tradition of these machines, it’s just been refined,” he says.
“Modern iterations include improved internal components, enhanced thermal stability, and subtle usability upgrades that have been made to support consistency without removing the hands-on nature that defines the experience.
“It’s still a fundamentally manual, tactile, and human machine that is rooted in mid-century Italian design, but it’s been engineered for today’s expectations of performance.”
La Pavoni also offers a professional lever machine range, which are constructed slightly differently to the domestic range to better perform in a higher-paced, commercial environment.
Leon believes there is potential for Australia to follow the European shift back towards ritual and away from speed for speed’s sake in high-end venues.
“You see more and more lever machines in exhibition settings in Australia, however in Europe you see them in cafés – especially in grander, sit-down of venues. They’re not about takeaway, they’re about theatre and what it brings the whole coffee experience,” he says.
“La Pavoni’s professional lever machines are from the Diamante range. We make two-group professional lever machines that have spring-loaded levers, which is different to our domestic lever machines.”
The domestic machines contain piston-driven levers. From an extraction perspective, the result is the same as the Diamante’s spring-loaded levers.
“The spring in the Diamante regulates pressure, whereas in a domestic machine it’s the user’s arm, which creates a more personalised pressure,” says Leon.
“You pull the lever down which loads the spring up, that means water is allowed into the chamber. Once the correct volume of water is in you let the lever up slowly. Once the pressure is taken off the water, the spring is used to push the water through the coffee.”
The future of the ritual
This ‘shift to analogue’ is also happening outside coffee through the renewing popularity of things like vinyl records and DVDs, and a way to engage with the world in ways generations before did. It’s simultaneously capturing nostalgia and creating a grounding change of pace in day-to-day life.
Lever machines sit within this overall shift, with their longer process of getting from grind to cup.
Leon says it’s a method people engage with them to help them return to the heart of coffee.
“A story I hear so often is people want to buy a lever machine because their parents or grandparents had one and used it every day, and they want to learn how to use one. It’s a very common thread with lever machines and shows the power of emotional connection to the brewing method,” says Leon.
“Lever machines like the Esperto Abile and the rest of the La Pavoni range are both functional and expressive, and they become far more than part of the kitchen – they become part of a broader identity.”
Because, for Leon and La Pavoni, that’s the crux of it. Coffee is a critical part of identity for so many people not just in Australia, but around the world – and there are more ways than speed and technology to explore how much there is to love about the brew.
“Precision doesn’t always require automation. That quality can come from feel and preserving a way of making coffee that still holds meaning,” says Leon.
“It’s about understanding the variables and giving a sense of ownership over the final result. It’s a return to craftsmanship and intention in an increasingly fast-paced, digital world.
“There’s so much reward to be found in the experience of creating the cup and engaging in this disciplined ritual that goes beyond the coffee itself.”
For more information, visit au.lapavoni.com
This article appears in the June 2026 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
