Beginner on the Micro Cimbali - Help from a Barista!

[alex]

I just received a new Micro Cimbali and have been playing with it. While I am waiting for a new coffee grinder I have been testing with commercial coffee (Lavazza or Illy pre ground).

I know that to get a good crema I'll need a fresh grind, probably on the coarse side, but so far I've only managed to pull a dark (black) shot that cant even be compared to the ESE shots I have been using on my francis francis.

The manual tells me to pull down for about 5 secs for a single, and then release the spring gently..
Any one can help me get started, any tips for this particular machine?

[grindandpull]

Hi Alex - my lever experience is on a Gaggia Factory 16 and not a Microcimbali, but there are a couple of things that occurred to me. A question first: how long did the shot take? I would imagine that with preground coffee you should be in the ballpark for proper extraction, but it is worth checking. BTW, I haven't had to go coarser on my lever than on the rotary pump auto I occasionally get to play with. Perhaps some of the more experienced board members are better informed than I...

Are you dosing and tamping properly and have you done a post-mortem on the puck to see if there is evidence of channeling? Maybe you have general technique down and this is just not an issue, but it could definitely impact shot quality.

If it's not grind (because preground for espresso) and not technique, the only other things that come to mind are coffee and machine. Is the coffee reasonably fresh in that it was only recently opened? Are you sure that you are getting the machine up to temp and pressure before pulling the shot?

This is sort of a mystery because right out of the box I was able to pull reasonably good shots on my Gaggia, and if anything a spring lever machine should be more consistent. My guess is for coffee/grind or dosing/tamping.

[timo888]

Here's a suggestion. You need to establish a baseline. Your coffee is pre-ground, so for the time being you can't change the granularity. But you can tamp with all your weight. Try using your strength to pack the puck so densely that the spring will have a hard time pushing water though it. Try to choke the machine so that the lever cannot rise. If you cannot stall the machine by filling the basket almost to the top (with maybe a dime's thickness left) and tamping with all your might, then it may be that your grind is simply too coarse for this machine. My Peppina is spring-driven and it likes a considerably finer grind than my Cremina. If you can stall the machine, then ease off on the tamp, noting the change in time, crema, and flavor.
Regards
Timo

[HB]

...so far I've only managed to pull a dark (black) shot that cant even be compared to the ESE shots I have been using on my francis francis.

What you describe is the same result I got from the preground Illy that came with a setup of cups (nowadays I just store the box and tins should I someday want to sell the cups as a collection). Fresh coffee and a good grinder are your first priority. Attempting to diagnose your technique or espresso machine without first addressing these two critical factors is frustrating and pointless.

[alex]

Thanks for the help, its my first time on the site and its great to get some advice.

I am by no means an expert, just starting out really, but I have tried many methods of tamping (from a light 5 Lb to a super condensed puck), and have looked for channeling on the pucks etc..
At no point did the lever get stuck or was there enough back pressure to stop the spring from rising, but the shot did take ages to come out (it just keeps dripping) and I find quite a bit of water left on top of the puck (instead of the nicely dried puck that I expected)

Thanks HB for reassuring me, I have put it down (at least partially) to commercial coffee that could have been ground months ago. I'll have a grinder in 2 weeks and will give you an update then.
In the meantime I'll work on microfoam, which is not an easy trick with this machine.

[grindandpull]

Alex, sounds like you were right about wanting to grind your coffee coarser - the shot that you described seems like a classic example of too fine a grind. It also sounds like you have the right spirit of experimenting and testing to nail down technique for your particular gear. Best of luck and I hope that you enjoy your new lever machine and grinder.

[timo888]

I have tried many methods of tamping (from a light 5 Lb to a super condensed puck), and have looked for channeling on the pucks etc..At no point did the lever get stuck or was there enough back pressure to stop the spring from rising, but the shot did take ages to come out (it just keeps dripping) and I find quite a bit of water left on top of the puck (instead of the nicely dried puck that I expected)...

Then go in the extreme opposite direction from trying to choke the machine, and work your way back from that extreme towards moderation: dose the basket almost to the top with loose untamped grounds and see what happens...

Regards
Timo

[timo888]

I want to point out how ruthlessly the Tampanistas are spreading their godless propaganda That you did not consider the possibility of doing no tamp at all when performing your bracketing experiments, Alex, shows how The Tamp has become an idee fixe.

The Tamp wasn't always obligatory--not back in the day when the MicroCimbali was designed. You can get some delicious espresso with nothing but a leveling scrape, and I have heard rumors of really old-world baristas who don't even do that much--they simply lock the portafilter in place and let the dispersion screen pack the coffee down.

So, I think you should include in your experimentation at the very far end of the spectrum a scrape-levelled untamped 'puck'. And you could also fork the experimentation: if the spring pushes the water too quickly through a basket of loose grinds, on one fork of the experiment you can increase preinfusion time to give the coffee a longer time to swell, and on the other fork, increase the tamp. When your grinder arrives, you can experiment with the coarseness and fineness. Think of the lack of grinder as an opportunity to focus on tamp and preinfusion variables.

Remember to taste the coffee! Sometimes the coffee will be very tasty even when the crema is undistinguished.

Regards
Timo
P.S. Just out of curiosity... what is the shape of the basket, cylindrical or conical?

[alex]

Thanks Timo,

I will try this today. I have to admit that indeed I did not even consider not tamping at all. I will go from one end of the spectrum to the next.
I have 2 baskets that were supplied with the machine, a single conical and a double cylindrical. The problem I am having with these baskets is due to the design of the machine, I have to leave about 5 to 7 mm clearance from the puck to the top of the PF, as the head on the machine scrapes the top of the puck if I level the coffee with the top of the basket.
This makes it hard to spread the coffee evenly before tamping.

When it comes to pulling the shot I am not very confident, I am pulling the lever all the way down and leaving about 5 secs to infuse (I have tried from 2 seconds to about 10), then of course the spring does the work on the way back up, however I find that if I just let it go (still holding it but not slowing the spring down) I am getting a better crema (unless I blow the puck and get channeling), I still need to work on that quite a bit, as I have not found the right medium.

Now with stretching milk... practice practice I guess. I only have access to full fat milk (I live in Sudan at the moment), and the micro cimbali has a single hole steamer, I have been through at least 4 liters of milk so far, without descent results. I've read the bulk of the writeups on this site, guess I'll just keep it up.

Thanks for the help everyone

[timo888]

On gravity-fed machines, when the water 'falls' onto the puck, it is not under any pressure. It is my impression that the MicroCimbali is gravity-fed--at least Henry has included it in the gravity-fed lever lineup. Maybe you could clear up something for me? What does the little tube on the top of the machine do? It is shown on the left side of the machine in this picture:



So, recognizing that gravity might not be enough to preinfuse the puck, try allowing the lever to rise slightly, under the guidance of your hand, slowly, to gently force some of the water into the puck for the preinfusion. If you see a drop on the spout, stop, and then count off your preinfusion. Try counting to 10. Then allow the lever to rise under its own power, or pull it down once more to fetch some more water, and then allow it to rise after that additional step.

With regard to dosing and disturbing the surface of the puck--don't worry about that for now, at least not when you're experimenting at the Untamped end of the spectrum. As I mentioned before, you could simply dose and level with a scrape, or dose and leave an unleveled heap in the basket and lock the whole mess into the group, allowing the loose untamped heap of coffee to contact the dispersion screen. (Dose according to the size of the basket. Don't overdose. Maybe 12g for the double?) While this method of using the dispersion screen as a de facto tamper might make your dispersion screen dirty, it can produce excellent espresso. This approach did not seem so crazy back when the MicroCimbali was designed

Regards
Timo

[hbuchtel]

On gravity-fed machines, when the water 'falls' onto the puck, it is not under any pressure. It is my impression that the MicroCimbali is gravity-fed--at least Henry has included it in the gravity-fed lever lineup.

Well, heck. I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause was completely wrong! It appears that it has two heating elements, a 300 and 1000 watt, but the MicroCimbali does relies on boiler pressure to fill the piston-chamber. Sorry for creating any confusion!

Henry

[timo888]

Well, heck. I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause was completely wrong! It appears that it has two heating elements, a 300 and 1000 watt, but the MicroCimbali does relies on boiler pressure to fill the piston-chamber. Sorry for creating any confusion!

Are you sure you were completely wrong, Henry? If you didn't want to steam, maybe you could keep the cap off and let water just spill from the boiler into the piston chamber? At least when it was full. Do you know what that tube is for?
Regards
Timo

[timo888]

Well, heck. I'm glad you brought this up, 'cause was completely wrong! It appears that it has two heating elements, a 300 and 1000 watt, but the MicroCimbali does relies on boiler pressure to fill the piston-chamber. Sorry for creating any confusion!

Henry

But even on my Cremina, which is pressurized, there's a difference in the preinfusion when one simply allows the water under boiler pressure onto the puck and when one gently depresses the lever to push some water under additional pressure (~4 bar) into the puck.

Regards
Timo

[hbuchtel]

Are you sure you were completely wrong, Henry? If you didn't want to steam, maybe you could keep the cap off and let water just spill from the boiler into the piston chamber? At least when it was full. Do you know what that tube is for?
Regards
Timo

Well now I'm all confused. It seems there are several different models (including ones without that strange tube you mention, timo) but the newest one appears to have only one temperature/pressure setting.

The 'hot-water tap' shows where the bottom of the boiler is, which seems to indicate that you could still fill the piston chamber with the cap off . . .

alex, what does the pressure gauge read when you are pulling a shot, and is there a 'high' and 'low' switch or only 'on-off'?

Henry

edit- Another question, does the glass in the front show the level of the water in the boiler?

[hbuchtel]

Components and accessories

* A Boiler plug
* B Manometer (pressure gauge)
* C Steam tap
* D Steam pipe
* E Hot water tap
* F Hot water pipe
* G Switch
* H Coffee output lever
* I Level glass
* L Filter holder
* M Press device
* N Measuring spoon
* O Coffee-grounds collector

[alex]

Yes indeed there are two models for this machine, the latest one is the plan supplied by henry. It only has a single switch which supplies 1300 Watts. The boiler is linked to a pressure stat that cuts the power at 0.5 bar.
I have been pulling shots at 0.3 to 0.4 Bar.
With the pre infusion, water will gush out if you pull the lever, hence it is pressurised (not just gravity). There must be a compartment mechanism within the boiler, as the bottom hot water tap is not under pressure.

Yes you can see the water level on the front window, which is crucial. As I mentioned the only cut off mechanism for the boiler is pressure, hence it will over heat if it runs dry. (there is a safety cut off valve at the base of the machine, that needs to be reset if this happens).


Stretching milk at 0.2 Bar is not easy...that is a clear downfall of this machine...guess I'll keep practicing as I am told it is possible.