Lelit Mara X – Temperature Tips

The temperature control of the Lelit Mara X differs from all other heat exchanger espresso machines. With our tips, the Lelit Mara X becomes a very precise and reliable espresso machine with many advantages. Anyone who operates the Lelit Mara X like a classic heat exchanger will have difficulty getting the temperature under control.

The Lelit Mara X has already been extensively tested on our test bench. And the Lelit Mara X also performed well in our large heat exchanger comparison. The ability to switch between brewing and steaming priority is particularly noteworthy.

Brewing Priority and Steaming Priority on the Lelit Mara X

The steam priority mode (side switch set to 0) corresponds to a heat exchanger with a Faema E61 thermosyphon principle and PID. A temperature probe measures the temperature in the steam boiler and initiates heating if the steam boiler is not running at the desired temperature. The steam boiler itself transfers heat to the brewing water flowing through a separate tube via the heat exchanger principle.

The temperature control is correspondingly imprecise and varies, for example, when a lot of water rushes through the heat exchanger. At the same time, the thermosyphon tends to overheat during longer periods of inactivity. This is one of the reasons why adequate flushing before brewing espresso is necessary.

Lelit recognized this problem and remedied it with a second temperature sensor. This is located in the heat exchanger and checks the incoming temperature, heating as necessary. However, this principle also has some pitfalls. In our first test, we drove the temperature beyond the target temperature by flushing between shots. This will probably happen to many who already have experience with heat exchangers.

Temperature Management in Brew Priority

Hidden behind the drip tray of the Lelit Mara X is the temperature control, which is divided into three stages. The stages control the following temperature ranges.

• Stage 0: 90 – 91 degrees Celsius
• Stage 1: 91 – 92 degrees Celsius
• Stage 2: 93 – 95 degrees Celsius

It takes some time for the Lelit Mara X to build up the temperature, and the temperature rises during brewing.

The temperature stages of the Lelit Mara X.

The shown temperatures were reached by brewing according to the following protocol. Flushing was always done after the espresso and not before the espresso. Between brews, we always gave the espresso machine two minutes to stabilize its temperature. With shortened timeframes, we observed a drop in temperature, as shown in the following graph.

The interval between brews was shortened. This reduced the brewing temperature.

We found this principle worked very well. Nevertheless, the Lelit Mara X got out of sync during a longer session – which is hardly representative of everyday use. Subsequently, a longer "stabilization phase" of at least 15 minutes was necessary.

Switching between brewing and steaming priority also takes at least 15 minutes.

However, since steaming in brew priority mode works almost as well as in steam mode, we see no reason to switch to that mode. The only reason might be that you prefer to use the Lelit Mara X classically, like many other heat exchangers on the market.

The intelligent solution of the Lelit Mara X is truly clever and compensates for some typical problems of heat exchanger thermosyphon machines. For this, it is worth adapting your rhythm to the Mara X.

Temperature Control at Home via Coffee Sensor

We have long promised you a measurement comparison between the temperature in the thermosyphon and our measuring portafilter. For the measurement, we again screwed in the practical small thermometer from Coffee Sensor. Then we started the extraction.

Initially, the Coffee-Sensor shows a temperature two degrees higher, then settles at about 1.5 degrees higher and at a distance. With this knowledge, you can significantly improve your espresso machine with a sensor. Especially with the Lelit Mara X, this makes sense, as you know exactly whether it is currently in the correct range or possibly has gone too high.