Espresso machines

[sonicw]

Safe? Safe is a continuum. Riding bicycles in traffic probably tends towards what most would consider a not safe area of the curve.

Ever boil pasta? Move the pot down the counter to the sink? Deep fat fryer?

Cutting off (as we say down here) the burner and holding the water reservoir down on the counter with a suitable pair of hot-pads whilst gently placing the pre-filled basket in, screwing on the coffee reservoir, putting it back on the burner and cutting it back on....that ain't nothing.

You can do this. Safely. I know you can.

Nobody knows the connection between aluminum and alzheimers (eg here Aluminum and Alzheimer's disease: after a century of controversy, is there a plausible link? - PubMed - NCBI) or if cycling/cardio activity is enough to mitigate the cognitive decline. That said I think it's always worthwhile to minimize the exposure to aluminum and while I'll probably never ditch my moka pot I'll put in boiling water to shorten my coffee's exposure to aluminum

[Too Tall]

Thanks Eric, that's awesome and I'll take a peek at the gossip. Neat unit. Does this qualify as a reasonable unit? It's kinda pricey.

Sonic old man, I hear you. Unfortunately my mind is so badly addled from years of various abuses it makes no sense to think about this too hard. You are young and full future ahead, please send me your dangerous aluminum (cast) Dutch Oven asap.

[dashDustin]

Question for you espresso guys. What's the "CAAD10" pricepoint for an espresso machine?

I'm getting the feeling that unless I'm willing to spend four digits on a rig, I'm probably better off just getting a moka pot. Is that the case?

The only sub-expensive machine that I've had espresso from is my Gaggia Classic. If I'm on point, the shots it pulls are in line with the $10k machines at the coffee shop. I paid $150 for it, used. I replaced the boiler, and am about to replace a couple other small parts. Still under MSRP for a new one. In the world of espresso machines, I think these might actually be lower than CAAD10 price point. Regardless, it'll pull great shots. One of these days I might upgrade, but I see no reason to at the moment.

I still can't get top shelf steamed milk. It's a lot better with the Rancillo wand, however. I don't practice it enough, to be honest.

[Too Tall]

Dustin, that looks worthy.

[jclay]

John I'm pretty much in your camp and my Bialetti is the business. I like the lever jobs. Do any of them take less than a lifetime to heat up and are they reliable?

I don't know either answer, actually, but I think the over $1k units I was briefly looking at should be slower to preheat than a smaller La Pavoni or similar (though that's probably still too slow for my everyday wakeup); they were fairly substantial, some with double boilers. As to reliability, one would hope they're long-lived or at the very least easy and quick to repair with simple gaskets and O-rings. A lever pump is a pretty simple device.

Nobody knows the connection between aluminum and alzheimers.....That said I think it's always worthwhile to minimize the exposure to aluminum and while I'll probably never ditch my moka pot I'll put in boiling water to shorten my coffee's exposure to aluminum

I use a Bialetti stainless steel unit and SS lined cookware. I'm generally leery of aluminium for the reasons you cite. I might, one day, try the Bialetti unit with the pressure control valve. If that gets close to a for-real pump machine it would be very neat indeed! A dirt simple machine that gets you into the real espresso zip code? That'd be something.

[jclay]

Brikka You-Tube; the result looks interesting. Of course I'd preheat the water!

[Too Tall]

Brikka You-Tube; the result looks interesting. Of course I'd preheat the water!

I had a brief affair with that same unit. After alot of futzing with grinds it will do the job and results are a bit better than the traditional unit. This is not the Unicorn we seek.

[Tim Porter]

My wife's the espresso drinker in my family, but I'm the espresso machine administrator, so here's some input for what it's worth. Thirty years ago her father gave her an Olympia Cremina lever machine. She can work that thing like a magician and according to friends makes a stupendous espresso and/or cappuccino. The Cremina is the Mercedes Benz of espresso machines (if you're talking about an old, old Mercedes with a million miles on it). As to its functionality, it has never been babied and I'm sure some would consider it abused because we never clean it enough or run water through it prior to making espresso, etc., etc.

After about 23 years of constant use, my brother and I spent a pleasant afternoon rebuilding it from a kit I got via wholelattelove online (don't know if it's still around or selling Cremina parts). That was a dead simple replacement of some washers, o-rings and gaskets, btw. It made it tight as a drum and is still running perfectly 7 years later.

Potential drawbacks: It does take a little time to warm it up. I'd say for optimal results you're going to need 15 minutes, minimum. My wife is a hard charger in the AM and this warm up time has relegated the Cremina to a weekend house we have. Surprisingly, we have the polar opposite machine for weekday use--an Illy that uses the iperEspresso capsules. My wife, who can tell you the ins and outs of caffe bars in Rome (Sant' Eustachio v. Taza Doro, for example), finds the illy to be fast and perfectly fine for her wakeup coffee. The machine warms up almost instantly.

Other big drawback: Very big investment--$3,000+. But it will last forever. She's retiring soon and I plan to get her a new one for the occasion.
These lever devices are ingeniously simple objects, and the Olympia Creminas, now made in Switzerland, are a pleasure to have around for the long haul, like an old Porsche or a Masi from Milano.

[jclay]

My wife's the espresso drinker in my family, but I'm the espresso machine administrator, so here's some input for what it's worth. Thirty years ago her father gave her an Olympia Cremina lever machine. She can work that thing like a magician and according to friends makes a stupendous espresso and/or cappuccino. The Cremina is the Mercedes Benz of espresso machines (if you're talking about an old, old Mercedes with a million miles on it). As to its functionality, it has never been babied and I'm sure some would consider it abused because we never clean it enough or run water through it prior to making espresso, etc., etc.

After about 23 years of constant use, my brother and I spent a pleasant afternoon rebuilding it from a kit I got via wholelattelove online (don't know if it's still around or selling Cremina parts). That was a dead simple replacement of some washers, o-rings and gaskets, btw. It made it tight as a drum and is still running perfectly 7 years later.

Potential drawbacks: It does take a little time to warm it up. I'd say for optimal results you're going to need 15 minutes, minimum. My wife is a hard charger in the AM and this warm up time has relegated the Cremina to a weekend house we have. Surprisingly, we have the polar opposite machine for weekday use--an Illy that uses the iperEspresso capsules. My wife, who can tell you the ins and outs of caffe bars in Rome (Sant' Eustachio v. Taza Doro, for example), finds the illy to be fast and perfectly fine for her wakeup coffee. The machine warms up almost instantly.

Other big drawback: Very big investment--$3,000+. But it will last forever. She's retiring soon and I plan to get her a new one for the occasion.
These lever devices are ingeniously simple objects, and the Olympia Creminas, now made in Switzerland, are a pleasure to have around for the long haul, like an old Porsche or a Masi from Milano.

That is blatant seduction.

With those looks, who cares about a 15 min warm up!

I am jealous.

[Tim Porter]

No commercial affiliation!

[Too Tall]

Sigh.....

[jclay]

This conversation got me thinking how, conceptually, one might homebuild a machine that would make real espresso. The unit operation is a simple, hot water extraction process: Water at a particular temp gets pushed through the coffee grounds at a particular pressure for a particular time period. Lacking a lathe and adequate motivation for the project, I knew I would never attempt it, but I was curious; I'll stick to bicycle frames.

A simple piston on a lever and, I assume, some sort of back-pressure device on the discharge side of the vessel (is that correct, or do the coffee grounds provide that function; I'd assume the real machines use a valve so pressure throughout the entire grounds-puck is in the desired range – I sent the question to the guys below) would be the main elements. Curiosity had me simply and idly spinning the idea around.

I searched “best lever espresso machines” and came up with the Olympia, La Pavoni and the other usual suspects.....and this:

Flair Espresso Maker

These guys took the same approach to minimizing the machinery necessary for the hot-water push process, and actually built one.

[Too Tall]

Neat!!!!

[mzilliox]

I bought Nick Crumptons machine and need to set it all up, just life and stuff keeps getting in the way.

In the mean time i thought this was cool, just got a notice in my mail today about this new kit from my favorite kit makers:
https://isadoreapprel.com/

[Too Tall]

I bought Nick Crumptons machine and need to set it all up, just life and stuff keeps getting in the way.

In the mean time i thought this was cool, just got a notice in my mail today about this new kit from my favorite kit makers:
https://isadoreapprel.com/

Two demerits for spamming the thread and one for buying Nic's machine so you are at even.


The Flair gets positive press from some heavyweight espresso poseurs.

[Eric Estlund]

Inbound:

[Too Tall]

ESTLUND hit's it out of the park. I'm getting serious about the Flair unit.

[Cookietruck]

This conversation got me thinking how, conceptually, one might homebuild a machine that would make real espresso. The unit operation is a simple, hot water extraction process: Water at a particular temp gets pushed through the coffee grounds at a particular pressure for a particular time period. Lacking a lathe and adequate motivation for the project, I knew I would never attempt it, but I was curious; I'll stick to bicycle frames.

A simple piston on a lever and, I assume, some sort of back-pressure device on the discharge side of the vessel (is that correct, or do the coffee grounds provide that function; I'd assume the real machines use a valve so pressure throughout the entire grounds-puck is in the desired range – I sent the question to the guys below) would be the main elements. Curiosity had me simply and idly spinning the idea around.

I searched “best lever espresso machines” and came up with the Olympia, La Pavoni and the other usual suspects.....and this:

Flair Espresso Maker

These guys took the same approach to minimizing the machinery necessary for the hot-water push process, and actually built one.

there is no need to build your own.
do the fixed gear for training miles of espresso and get an old la pavoni or gaggia factory and get zen with your beans and grinder.

there is some maintenance required, but it's mostly cleaning, some o-rings to replace, some food grade oil every once in a while and maybe if you're very picky get a sharp curved pick and pull the portafilter o-ring off every 10-15 shots and drop the screen to clean all the coffee remnants out and give the piston a quick wipe.

warm up time on these old lever machines is about 15 minutes. i turn mine on, then shower and it's ready to go by the time i'm back in the kitchen and dags are looking at me for their breakfast...

[Tim Porter]

Correction: when I rehabbed our Olympia Cremina, we go the parts via orphanespresso.com. They appear to be up and running.

[jclay]

You guys are a bad influence.

Run away, John, run away!