Lever-actuated dispensing unit for coffee machine

A dispensing unit for an espresso coffee machine manipulated by a stem includes a housing extending primarily between a lower base and an upper cross member along a vertical axis and a shaft located within the housing and free to translate along the vertical axis. The dispensing unit includes a rod having a free end and an opposite end, the opposite end being operably connected to an upper end ofa shaft located within the housing. The base of the housing has a coupling member adapted to receive and hold a wave tower filter for a given dose of coffee powder, and the stem is readily angularly displaceable between a standby position and a stop position. The dispensing unit includes a braking device mounted to a shaft extending along an axis perpendicular to a vertical axis along which the shaft located within the housing moves. Only during axial movement of the shaft located within the housing in a direction toward the upper cross member of the housing against the axial thrust generatedby the elastic member, the