Last week my wife, Joan, and I spent a few days in the Central Coast wine country. On the way, we stopped in Solvang and spent an hour with the legendary Salvatore Cisaria and his wife, Wendy.



Salvatore learned the barista craft in his family's bar on the Adriatic coast. Life then took him to Los Angeles, where he worked for many years at Pasquini in sales and other functions. Then on to Santa Barbara, where he gained a following among the local restaurants and wealthy residents and finally Solvang. Solvang has evolved in recent years from a tacky, Disney-style "Denmark Land" to a high-end wine district, and his local clientele has grown with the district.

Salvatore's workshop is well-stocked and spotless, as you can see. He takes great pride in sourcing all his components from the best Italian manufacturers and then designing his machines to make them easy to service. Salvatore is old school Italian and didn't think much at this point of PIDs or double boilers, but who knows what the future might bring.

He mostly works by himself, but sometimes has an apprentice/helper to work beside him. I think his life as a craftsman is one that many people would envy: pride in his work, all the business he can handle and no boss looking over his shoulder. http://www.salvatore-espresso.com

Wow, that's awesome. I had no idea he was in Solvang. I've looked at his site before but never scrolled down for the address.

edit: Oh, and he mentions his levers, but I assume it's a bit of a misnomer? They're really paddles?

Hi

Thanks. It caught my eye to see a halo ground 6-8 inches from the ceiling (second picture). Does he have radio equipment inside too?

Thanks for posting this Marshall.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for guys like this. Slavatore is a true craftsman.

Very few artisans left who can build a complete machine from the frame to the final polishing. Just open the case of a Salvatore, the attention to detail is amazing!

When Salvatore mentions levers, he's referring to the lever on the E61 group.

Arpi wrote:It caught my eye to see a halo ground 6-8 inches from the ceiling (second picture). Does he have radio equipment inside too?

I think that's a copper water line.

Ira

I respect craftsmanship, hell, I honor craftsmanship but I will never do business with them again. It was a nightmare and I still don't have my machine. Just a heads up.
OO

Great pix marshall, I remember taking a trip up there when I bought my machine. It was worth the wait!

MR.STEWART wrote:Great pix marshall,...

If I can put in an O.T. plug, these new digital rangefinder cameras are exactly what I've been waiting for. Almost as light and small as a point and shoot, they have nearly pro-level optics, sensors and controls. Given that the shot of Salvatore was taken with ambient light, the depth of field and color intensity blew me away. The detail in the 2.2 MB original is, of course, much greater.

[Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 157, F 2.8 at 1/30]