I've been searching this forum and the Web for actual experiences with the Vibiemme Junior DB... kind of thought...

Wondering especially about it's steaming power. Is it enough for home use, a few cappas a day without the waiting of the single boiler machines? How is the steaming capacity compared to for an example Silvia or Alexia (yes, I know they are single boiler machines). Or even if I can get the Vibiemme Jr HX machine, would that be better?

Size is the question here. Small is better on a small counter. The Jr. DB I can get quite easy - that's why it's quite a strong option...

Thanks,
Jukka

Hey Jukka!

I own and operate a Jr DB. I make maybe 1-2 cappuccinos and/or lattes per day in the week and a little more than that on the weekends. So I can give a couple of thoughts.

1. Steaming power is absolutely powerful enough for 2-3 cappuccinos straight up. The steam also gets ready a lot faster than the brew boiler, in fact its so fast I used to leave it off and just turn it on when I started preparing the coffee.

2. The original steam tip is, in my opinion, a bit too powerful for steaming milk for one cappuccino. I changed it to a tip with much smaller holes.

3. However, and this might be the most important point, there is an issue with the Db. You can read about it here: Install a PID on my Vibiemme Junior DB?.

Now, as I said, I have the Db myself, I use it every day, and this issue is mostly a problem if you want to be able to choose between having only the brew boiler on, or both on. I have for now resorted to having both boilers on at all times. Well, not at all times, but when the machine is on, both boilers are on

Hi there Sir A,

Funny - we both live here in the north in neighbouring countries but discuss coffee issues via a coffee forum in the States.

Anyway, thanks for the response! Ok, so if I'm to understand correctly: if we have a couple friends over, the Jr DB will be sufficient.

Then the boiler issue. So so far there hasn't been any responce or enlightning from the manufactors side about this? And you haven't added a PID which would solve the problem?

You say that you are now keeping both boilers on at all times. So does this mean that the brew pressure/temp is set to the about 91 degrees with both boilers on, but if the steam boiler was to be turned off the brew temp would rise?

And still, have you or anyone else had a chance to try the Vibiemme Jr HX version?

Thanks!
- Jukka

jugi63 wrote:Hi there Sir A,

Funny - we both live here in the north in neighbouring countries but discuss coffee issues via a coffee forum in the States.

Yepp, I also visit a swedish forum, riktigtkaffe.se, but home-barista is a lot larger, and so contains a lot more knowledge!

jugi63 wrote:Anyway, thanks for the response! Ok, so if I'm to understand correctly: if we have a couple friends over, the Jr DB will be sufficient.

Absolutely. I think the bigger issue will be having to grind, tamp and extract for many people in a row

jugi63 wrote:Then the boiler issue. So so far there hasn't been any responce or enlightning from the manufactors side about this? And you haven't added a PID which would solve the problem?

No, not from what I have seen. I will sometime in the near future add a PID, but I get by for now.

jugi63 wrote:You say that you are now keeping both boilers on at all times. So does this mean that the brew pressure/temp is set to the about 91 degrees with both boilers on, but if the steam boiler was to be turned off the brew temp would rise?

Exactly! And with the brew temp set to keep at 91-92 with both boilers on, turning the steam boiler of will bring the brew boiler close to boiling point. Not sure if this would be something to worry about.

jugi63 wrote:And still, have you or anyone else had a chance to try the Vibiemme Jr HX version?

Thanks!
- Jukka

I have not. Haven't tried any HX actually.

Cheers!

I should update the other thread about PID for the JR DB...

IMO, for me the steam boiler on the JR DB is good for 6 oz of milk each time. But it's ready to do consecutive batches no problem.

<comments deleted, pls see latest post for revision>

So 6 oz is about 1.8dl... pardon my ignorance, but when frothed that would make two small cappas? How about when making latte's where heating is maybe more important than frothing, is the power enough for a couple or more of them? And how long does the frothing of 6oz take about? Still wondering if I have to take a HX machine or would this small DB be enough with mostly milk based drinks...

- Jukka

I've been looking into getting the Junior but the HX model...anyway America is still good for something

Hm, maybe I should pour 2dl into my big pitcher and measure how long it takes to steam. However, as I stated earlier, I do not use the original tip, instead I replaced it with this: http://www.chriscoffee.com/products/home/repairpartssection3/smalltwoholesteamtip*

But I should of course have the original somewhere...

*Note that this tip does not work out-of-the-box, the threads is shorter than the original, so some kind of extra sealing is needed to keep it leak-free.

Ok, thanks guys! I guess I've got some idea about yhe machine now. Seems there's no comparison to the Jr HX machine though, but I guess Its steaming would be a little better (with the usual HX manuvers). I'll try to make up my mind...

Thanks again!
- Jukka

jugi63 wrote:So 6 oz is about 1.8dl... pardon my ignorance, but when frothed that would make two small cappas? How about when making latte's where heating is maybe more important than frothing, is the power enough for a couple or more of them? And how long does the frothing of 6oz take about? Still wondering if I have to take a HX machine or would this small DB be enough with mostly milk based drinks...

- Jukka

5-6oz of milk is enough for me to make 2 cappas using 6oz cups.

***EDIT*** correction: it takes about 30 secs to steam 6 oz of milk!!!