I stumbled across a new yet familiar machine at Kitchen Universe--Pasquini Livietta T2 .

http://www.kitchen-universe.com/detail.aspx?ID=4447

The new Livietta T2 is not yet listed on Pasquini's web sight, so I was curious and emailed Pasquini for information. It is based on the original Livietta design but made by Pasquini not Olympia; however, it has many novel improvements over the old design. I was really impressed by the price assuming it has the same quality as the old Livietta/Olympia Maximatic. Here is the list of features emailed to my by Pasquini:



The Livietta T2 is the latest Home Machine from Pasquini. Like all Pasquini espresso machines, the Livietta is made to be used like a commercial machine. One may Steam milk while brewing espresso at the same time.

Features:

1. Small Foot print, 8.5" wide, (12.5H x 14.25 front to back)
2. Fast heat-up, 2 min for coffee, 1.5 min for steam.
3. Easy To use
4. Pull out reservoir
5. Seal less Solenoid Steam valve.(No maintenance)
6. Slow Start Steam, for added control and Safer to use
7. "Easy Foam" Tip
8. High polish stainless coachwork
9. Anti Rust powder coated inner-frame
10. Brass, Filter holder and Bell
11. Cup warming area
12. Large work area
13. 120 Espressos per hour
14. 15 Bar pump (220 PSI)
15. Commercial performance, allowing for coffee and steam production at the same time!
16. High efficiency heating systems, for energy savings usage (1400 Watt)
17. Machine can run dry, because of Dry Production Technology (DPT)
18. Easy to de-lime
19. Self priming pump
20. Okay to leave on all day.
21. Pull out, Large capacity drain basin,
22. Heats 8 Oz of cold milk in Two Minutes.
23. Only one wear and tear seal in entire machine, End user maintenance.
24. ESE available for pod usage.

These two items are surprising, even for marketing literature (unbelievably fast and unbelievably slow):

ladalet wrote:2. Fast heat-up, 2 min for coffee, 1.5 min for steam.
22. Heats 8 Oz of cold milk in Two Minutes.

Here is the feature description from Kitchen Universe. It has some additional information not included in the email from Pasquini.

Also, I am emailing Pasquini about the accuracy of the 2 min warmup and the very longish 2 min to steam 8 oz of milk. I will get back to you. I also invited them to check out the thread to answer questions.


Product Features:

° Self-priming 15-bar pump system

° 1.2 Liter / 40 oz copper boiler that will heat up in less than 5-minutes. 2 minutes for coffee, 4 minutes for steam

° Commercial Size and Style Portafilter Handle -58mm / 2.28-in diameter

° Steams and brews espresso simultaneously.

° Only one wear and tear seal in the entire machine.

° High efficiency heating systems for energy savings.

° "Easy foam" tip with slow start steam for greater control and safety

° 3-Way Solenoid Valve. Relieves the water pressure off the coffee when the brew switch is turned off. It dries out the coffee to prevent dripping and makes it easy to knock the coffee out of the portafilter with one knock

° Cup Warmer that will hold up to six espresso cups

° Works with E.S.E. espresso pods and ground coffee

° Hot water dispenser

° Easy to descale

° Dimensions: 8.5 x 14.25 x 12.5-in (W x D x H)

° 1-YearsWarranty

Here is Pasquini's response to my inquiry. I believe that it has answered the issues raised by Dan, however I am now really curious about the fact it has no boiler, heat exchanger, and can pull a shot and steam at the same time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only similarity there is to our original Livietta is the body size and style.

* No Boiler at all
* 2 min warm up -yes
* 8 oz milk 2 min -yes
* 3 way valve -yes
* No heat exchanger (No Boiler)
* Pre-infusion -yes (same as old Livietta)
* Double spout-standard, with both single and double filter, 57mm filters.
* Only water reservoir


Performance:

Same espresso quality
Lower steam pressure
can be left on all day.

The idea of the new Livietta was not to make a smaller Livia, as this would have not saved all that much in the way of cost.
But rather make a machine:

* Simple, easy to use
* Easy to repair and maintain (only one seal)
* Quick heat up (The average Household espresso drinker make 4 cups, per day)
* No Computer, or water sensors
* Great Espresso
* Slow steam, allowing for inexperience users not to be overwhelmed.

I do have one myself, and 75 were made for customers to test. All the test came back with positive results.
The Livia user did note the slower steam but commented that it was easier to make the Microfoam.

The new Livietta is a true Home machine. We already have a semi-commercial in the Livia. If you are looking for a semi-commercial heat exchange model, at the same size, I'm afraid the new Livietta may not be for you.

I hope we answered your questions.

Regards,

Pasquini Support

ladalet wrote:...I am now really curious about the fact it has no boiler, heat exchanger, and can pull a shot and steam at the same time.

I assume that no boiler = thermoblock espresso machine, similar to the Sunbeam Cafe Aromatic endorsed by Paul Bassett. Google turns up gaggles of thermoblock equipped entry level espresso machines made by Krups, Briel, Sunbeam, Jura, etc.

Wait a minute, one of the specs you post is that it has a 40 ounce boiler, but then Pasquini says it has "no boiler" at all. I don't get it. It also doesn't have a heat exchanger, yet it can steam and brew espresso at the same time. Que? Does it have some kind of thermoblock system? Maybe dual thermoblocks, or one conventional boiler and one thermoblock?

I hear there are some machines on the market that have a boiler/thermoblock setup. Using a thermoblock for steaming would explain the slow steam performance too. I think Coffeegeek had a review of an Ascaso machine like that. In fact, the portafilter on this machine looks like the Ascaso PF. I wonder if it's just a rebranded version of one of those machines.

Here's the link to the Coffeegeek Ascaso review.

http://coffeegeek.com/proreviews/firstlook/ascasosteelduo

Any word on the price? Might be interesting if it's not too expensive.

Beezer wrote: I wonder if it's just a rebranded version of one of those machines.

Good guess.

Pasquini is primarily an importer and distributor. They tend to rebadge machines from other manufacturers. The old version of the Livietta was a rebadged Olympia Maximatic.

There is some contradiction between the specs listed on the Kitchen Universe site and the specs supplied by Pasquini. I suspect that the Kitchen Universe 1.2 litre boiler spec is referring instead to the water reservoir size. Kitchen Universe lists the portafilter size as 58mm and Pasquini lists it as 57mm. I think I will go with what Pasquini states.

Although the original Livietta may have been a re-badged Maximatic, the Livia-90 was more than just a re-badged Bezzera BZ-99. It was assembled at Pasquini, using the Bezzera internals and frame, with Pasquini specific updates unique to the Livia-90 in addition to different sheet metal. The new Livietta T2 probably uses the same internals or at least the same technology as the Ascaso but installed in the old Maximatic/Livietta frame with updated sheet metal assembled at the Pasquini factory.

Pasquini seems pretty reluctant to admit that the original Livietta, the Livia-90, or the Moka grinders were not built and designed by them let alone being re-branded and or licensed products from other companies-- Olympia, Bezzera, Anfim.

The new Livietta T2 looks to be a high quality machine for the person that requires a machine that is very high on the user friendly scale. I guess it will remain to be seen if the compromises for ease of use, and low maintenance, are are balanced out with sufficient shot performance and build quality to justify the $999.95 MSRP. Pasquini has not given us any reason to doubt their products quality and performance as of this date. Still, I would like to see a review.

ladalet wrote:Pasquini has not given us any reason to doubt their products quality and performance as of this date. Still, I would like to see a review.

Selling a dual thermoblock with a froth aider at more than some e61HXs probably qualifies. There has been a bit of recent discussion that the livia is overpriced, too. Quality and performance might be good, but it seems like they are selling machines in the price bracket above where they deserve to be. Perhaps this is a consequence of buying stuff in and rebranding it.

Cheers,

Luca

luca wrote:Selling a dual thermoblock with a froth aider at more than some e61HXs probably qualifies. There has been a bit of recent discussion that the livia is overpriced, too. Quality and performance might be good, but it seems like they are selling machines in the price bracket above where they deserve to be. Perhaps this is a consequence of buying stuff in and rebranding it.

Cheers,

Luca

Now that I think about it, although I owned a Livia for many years, the Livia-90 would not currently be on my short list of pump driven machines in that $1200-$1400 price range. The Livia may have been the gold standard at one time, but other machine have caught up and left it behind. Given the relative place of Pasquini machines among the competition perhaps the Livia should be about $999, or the Livia should get a major update to justify the price.

Although I could not imagine purchasing a Livietta T2 for myself, I don't think that it is fair to compare it to comparably priced E61HX machines. For one, the Livietta is not even the most expensive of the Thermoblocks. The Ascaso Steel Duo Professional retails for about $1069 and the Livietta is priced a little less at $999--probably $899 street price. Second, the thermal block machine buyers are a different audience like that of the Superautomatics. They are willing to sacrifice some performance for ease of use and convenience. The Livietta T2 is for the user that wants a little more hands on than a Superautomatic but does not have the desire and or ability to master the skills necessary to operate a good E61HX, or equivalent, machine. For example, I have one sister that loves her Livia-90 and one sister that thinks the Livia is too much work but would probably love the Livietta T2 or a Super.

Best wishes,
Lance