Hugh,
Thanks for your nuancing words...
Let me first explain some things:
-The situation when I bought Elektra:
I was a bit tired of temp-surfing Silvia and also wanted to froth the milk right after pulling a shot. So I decided to buy a Giotto...
Then I came across MP's review of the Elektra and I thought': 'Well, this machine can froth right away... I make only a couple of drinks in a row... the machine is small and beautifull. Why not? It's not a really convenient machine, but Silvia is not either... and besides I can froth quicker anyway". So MP's beautifull prose made my mind switch (this tells probably also a lot about me being a bit naive...) and I bought a lever (which is so awkward that alhough you can froth like the best, pulling two strong/full shots in one time is not possible. So, as I want to make two cappa's most of the time when milkdrinks are involved, I have to fill the double basket two times and pull two shots, after which I can froth. So I'm still having some sort of awkward ritual as on Silvia, only this time pulling the shots is the problem and not the 4 minutes waiting to froth...).
-I've tried the cold washcloth technique, and in my experience it does not make a real difference when the machine is to hot after a couple of shots. What does work (and I can make 6 or 7 shots in a row) is temp-surfing in such a way, that you pull shot's only when the bar is set between 0,5 and 1 bar... this means that you have to shut the machine off imideately after pulling a shot, and restart it when you want to pull the next. I was actually quite happy with this technique for a couple of weeks. But as the overall shot (you are not allowed to pull a shot at the normal 1,5 bar) is less in quality and taste, compared to the 'normal' routine of two shots at 1,5 bar... I gave up this technique.
The machine is a 'One shot wonder' as I think Mark wrote somewhere... and that's immediately the
second point I want to clear up:
-My language is a bit strong - as I'm frustrated for months now with a machine which costs lots of money and seems to be more limited than I thought in first instance - but my criticism is not pointed at MP in person, but at what is happening at CG...
Furthermore my prose begins with:
''Futhermore, a good review about the Elektra lever is published on Coffeegeek" ... "It seems to me that the review is sort of manipulated... There is no lie in the review, but there are some points not mentioned, or mentioned in such a way, that you read it and forget it instantly as the following phrase is all praise again"
As you can see, this quote is exactly written in the way words are used and twisted in the reviews on CG. I say something good: 'A good review about...' and then I say something bad '...manipulated'. If someone mentions after reading: 'how can you say the reviews are not good...' I can alway's say: 'Hey, I said also "a good review..."'.
So when MP writes: This is a bit uncomfortable about Elektra... and right after it he writes: but these other points are extremely good on Elektra, especially when compared to other levers...' I think there is some misleading involved...
And I think this is my major point about the reviews on CG. Words are twisted, and put in such a way, that the overall feeling after reading is quite positive, although all negative points are mentioned in the review... You seem to forget the negative points mentioned or you are encouraged (by this 'hypnotic' prose) to 'a big wanting to believe' that it is not so bad at all, that the points mentioned are the worst to find (and probably not faced by yourselve ever... as the machine has such wonderfull qualities...).
I think syntax is everything... and that Mark can play with this, as well as with what other machine to compare with. For example when he talks about the amount of coffee the double basket can hold, he writes:
'I did find in my testing that since the Micro Casa's double basket held up to 3 grams more than the Pavoni double basket (14,5 grams vs 11,5 to 12 grams)' - in stead of comparing this with a 'normal' commercial filterbasket (which is in the same price-range, and probably one of the other options for someone in search of...).
-Your point b, about the tone of the CG review... Positive is indeed the word. I've read some of it again, and in this quick read, the main thing which pops-up in my mind is: HALLELUJA! Only when you read between the lines and think about what it could mean, if he say's this or that, and if you start thinking about the how and why he did not rated it, and that somewhere, between all the HALLELUJA, is mentioned that ... you are probably convinced not to buy this machine.
As stated before: MP does not lie! He is only a gifted writer, who can probably sell a fridge to an Eskimo...
So he gave a positive outlook on a machine which should earn in my opinion a rating: -5. Sure she is beautifull and you can make some good shots, but at what price... So if he was fair (and I think he was not, because...) he would have EXPLICITLY wrote that this machine is only for bachelor freaks who never want to make two cappa's at a time, and who are willing to spent lots of money on a machine which can make the best espresso compared to a Pavoni... but not to a decent HX of the same price... and he would have mentioned this as a warning at the end of the review!
Hugh, you write: 'a positive outlook is a subjective thing...'
I think MP is quite capable of giving an unsubjective outlook, which would be much better for CG anyway.
'unless it is provably unrealistic to the extent of misleading...'
He does mislead readers in my view. Although I can not say if he does it on purpose. Maybe he is in love with all the machines he tests, and is it just the way he writes... But even then, when I can't blame MP, I can still warn other potential buyers not to buy this machine because of the review of MP.
And maybe there are no commercial interest, and maybe I'm just a dissapointed owner of a machine which is HALLELUJA'd at a certain place, and I am a bit angry about this, because it is not correct (imho).
Hugh, thank you very much for your effort and your time, your serious investigation, and forcing me to look even more serious at it again...
And also: I don't think you are biased (only a bit hypnotised
)
Michel
(feeling more and more fallible...)