We made a road trip up to Santa Rosa Wednesday to see firsthand these gorgeous, rare machines. Ernst is a wonderful host, inviting us back to his beautiful home to tour his shop that is filled with more espresso machines, grinders, etc.

Here's a random gallery of these fine machines I photographed. The collections highlight in my opinion is either the gorgeous Zenith 2 group lever from the 50's, or the impressively solid Vittoria grinder with it's flawless indexing doser built with a classic clear lucite handle. The fine details on that grinder alone harken to a bygone era of quality.

Some random shots of the Zenith, soon to be completely restored. Ernst is just getting started, having begun the restoration of some of these this February.







The craftsmanship extends to the flawlessly executed "pinstripes" that seamlessly match up throughout the machine.






The curves on the thick chrome is remarkable.




You can see the inherent quality built into this beauty. The frame under the drip tray is thick, solid cast aluminum.



I wish they still made drip trays like this. DrGary has this same pattern on his beautiful Lady Duchessa.


Solid pressurestat design, easily accessible, with a panel that pops off easily and a large numbered dial.




Even the cup tray is intact. According to Ernst, very little is known about this interesting machine



Ernst has carefully documented each of his incredible finds, nearly all from eBay in Europe prior to 2005 when nobody seemed to notice these treasures and they could be bought for a pittance.


This statuesque Vittoria grinder has stood the test of time. Nearly 70 years old, and only missing a bit of chrome. The dosing arm moved with the grace of a carefully machined knob or switch on a hand built vintage coach.



The beautiful etching on the hopper.



It's finely crafted doser.




His later model Gaggia America



Sleek vents that heat the cups more effectively than radiant/conductive heat of the tray alone.





A Faema awaiting restoration (the lever is there, just removed for liability purposes while on display closer to diner's tables).





Shiny polished multi group units.






Back at his house with little treasures behind every corner. This is his man cave garage, with a vintage Faema E-61 and vintage grinder. This is his daily use machine!







These priceless machines were brought to the USA in these medical/military crates all the way from Germany. Half of the tales Ernst tells about the acquisition of each machine is as exciting as the machines themselves.



Turns out, even the original bulb works, he just found out he needs a 5000 volt transformer to power it up. Don't touch!



Ernst has many projects waiting. Gems of grinders and levers await his bench. He has a fully equipped workshop for metal and wood fabrication that would make the most diehard enthusiast drool.





I see several trips out to his house in the next few years to come. Ernst is a wonderful host, rich in experience and the most incredible collection of vintage espresso equipment possibly in this country outside of Duane Sorenson of Stumptown.

Tom,

Thank you for that wonderful tour! This looks like a must in my next Bay Area visit.

gary,
you are welcome, whenever you are in the bay area, swing by.
if somebody else is interested, just pm and i will open my doors.

ernst

Wow oh wow. After I get married and stuff, these are the types of machines I'd like to own

As a collector in deep lever-wise, I would love a tour as well.

Luigi from Mr Espresso is on my heels. He's supposed to take a tour tomorrow I believe.

Thank you Ernst. I'll take you up on it. BTW ask Luigi if you can see what he's got in his warehouse. He and his family have a fine collection of golden era treasures.

Thanks for the visit Ernst and Tom !

Just a comment, Krema was the official reseller for north France, mainly Paris area. And the exact brand name of manufacturer was << Zenith Express >>, not only Zenith, your model is first generation Meteor

The p-stat you are showing Tom is a gas pressurestat, all the machines were both electric and gas powered, don't you have any picture of electric bulb p-stat ? It was a beautiful designed piece too.

And something else for you Ernst, saw you seem to appreciate the light behind your machines, didn't you see there is one on your Zenith Express ?

He's just about to tear into the whole thing after his vacation. I'd love to watch and learn more about it while he does.

pascal,
thank you for the information. i bought the machine 2005 on ebay france and picked it up in blois, loir et cher. i paid 451 euros back than.
i did not find to much information about zenith express. i know you have one or two, i know some german collectors that have zenith and some in australia. i read, the lever group is reneka. can you confirm. can you date my machine?
there is no light inside, i put some led just for the show. the frame is not drilled, no holes where the light fixture would go.
here is a picture of the p-state. not sure if it is original or added later.
besides gaskets and piston seals it only needs a new spring. of course i will open the boiler to check the heating elements and scale build up