We offer free software for your espresso machine. It turns ordinary portafilter machines into sophisticated shot brewers with precise control over temperature, pressure and dispensed weight.
 
FAQ

Where can I find more information, is there a forum for this firmware?
There isn't a dedicated forum but you can find interesting threads in various coffee forums, e.g. at home-barrista.com (1, 2), kaffee-netz.de and Coffeetime. If you understand German, please check out Christian Schwabe's podcasts at podcaster.de:
 
Podcast: Superhirn für Espressomaschinen

Podcast: ITO v2

Heureka, I have an idea!
Feature suggestions and other feedback are welcome and can be submitted here.

Which microcontroller modules are compatible?
ATMega1284-based modules from Software & Circuits and Pollin (AVR-NET-IO modules, if the MCU is upgraded). Some run caffè!, some run leva!, some run ristretto!. Check the download page for details. We do not sell hardware.

Can I install this in machine <insert name>?
That's for you, the owner, to find out. All requirements are explained in the documentation in the downloads. No technical consulting services are available here. Our firmwares have been used successfully in: Rancilio Silvia, Gaggia Classic, Quickmill Silvano, Lelit PL60 and PL91T, ECM Casa, Bezzera BZ09, Vibiemme Domobar, La Spaziala Mini Vivaldi* and other machines. 

Can the firmwares be used with thermoblocks?
Theoretically yes. Thermoblocks are just very small boilers. Potential issues are described in the manual. Most importantly, the original circuit must handle the steam mode, i.e. the "tock tock tock" interval pumping that thermoblocks do in steam mode.

Is the new Gaggia Classic manufactured by Philips compatible? Is the Gaggia Evolution compatible?
All Gaggia Classic models with die-cast aluminium boiler and 3-way valve should be compatible. Philips also produces a stripped-down RI9403 model without the electronic grouphead valve. That's not compatible. The "Gaggia Classic Coffee" (note the "Coffee" in the name) and the "Gaggia Evolution" are entry-level machines without the electronic grouphead valve. They are not compatible.

Can this firmware be used with E61 groupheads?
Not recommended. Some profiling may be possible but it would be limited. The E61's gicleur makes it impossible to measure the brew pressure in the filter correctly and the spring-loaded pre-infusion chamber of the E61 interferes with pressure profiling. Last but not least, the lack of an electronic valve (the E61 has a manual lever-operated valve) prevents features such as dosing or pressure profiles with a programmed end.

 

Can this firmware be used with HX machines?
Not recommended. HX machines do not benefit from accurate PID temperature control. The temperature at the outlet of their heat exchangers depends not only on the boiler temperature but also to a large extent on the flow rate. They also tend to have a E61 group head, which interferes  with pressure profiling.

Can pressure profiling be used with rotary pumps?
leva!'s pressure profiling only works with vibratory pumps. Rotary vane pumps with asynchronous capacitor motors are not compatible and must not be connected. The speed of such motors can not easily be controlled and the high inrush current of such motors could damage microcontroller modules with 1A solid state relays.

Is it possible to flash firmware with Mac OS X?
Yes. However, for Mac OS X, we have only found a commercial program that can do that, ZOC from EmTec. A working trial version is available. You need a terminal program that supports the XModem CRC protocol over raw TCP/IP. Under Windows and Linux, use the free TeraTerm.

Can leva! connect to all Bluetooth LE scales?
The "Skale 2" from Atomax, the "Felicita Arc", DiFluid's Microbalance TI  and the "Eureka Precisa" are the only supported wireless scales. Other scales will not work. Bluetooth LE espresso scales use proprietary protocols. Be aware that not all Eureka Precisa scales have Bluetooth, check with the seller.

Can I integrate leva! into my home automation system?

leva! does not directly support home automation protocols such as MQTT but it does have a telnet interface at port 23. If your home automation system can send text commands to a TCP/IP port (Home Assistant can do that) , your home automation system can wake up leva! from standby (MCa command), put it into standby (MCE) or read temperature, pressure etc. with the MCR command.*

Can I have the firmware source code?
While the firmware is free to use, it is not open source.
* In the Mini Vivaldi, leva! was only used for pressure profiling since that machine has its own controller for dosing and temperature. * MCR returns a status telegram. That's a line of text that starts with "{" and ends with "}". In between are temperature, pressure, flow rate, weight and so on. To understand that line, have a look at the <values> section in the XML configuration file that comes with leva!. It describes which values are at what position, how many letters they are comprised of and of which type they are (integer, floating point, text). If your home automation system supports regular expressions, you can break the status telegram into values with a regex.
 
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