Double espresso on Olympia Cremina

[PKR]

Hi everyone. I am new to your forum. I have an Olympia Cremina 67 (lever machine) that I bought in the early 1980s. It's in near-perfect shape, as I have not used it terribly often over the years. Part of the reason for that is that I probably have not been using it well. I am finally reading and learning and have started to improve.

Question: I often prefer to make a double shot of espresso. I have heard that raising and lowering the lever a second time can make the coffee bitter. If that is so, what is the best method for making a double?

Also, if I am making a single, do you recommend using the single basket? (It seems that the single basket will hold a full 7gram spoon's worth, but that the double will not hold two.)

Thanks for your help. I am enjoying reading about everyone's experiences

Peter

[KarlSchneider]

Hi Peter,

I hope you are enjoying learning to use your Cremina. They are great machines. I have a 67 and a Millenium/2002 and find them very special.

In making straight espresso I find I get the best shots using the single basket. When I weigh the empty basket and then the tamped one before pulling the shot I easily get 7 g. and have enough head space when tamped. I almost never do weigh beans or ground coffee but it may be a good practice during the early part of the learning process.

On a single shot I also use a single pull and get 30 ml in the cup. The best shots take 25-30 sec to complete the pull.

A double pull should not necessarily make the shot bitter but it seems likely to run too much water through the coffee in the basket.

I would suggest making yourself two singles instead of a double on the Cremina. The 49 mm pf seems better engineered for single pulls. In a cafe where you have a 58 mm pf holding far more coffee a double is much easier to do well.

Try both single basket / single pulls and double basket / double pulls and decide for yourself what you like.

KS

[PKR]

Thanks for your reply, Karl. You've inspired me to go pull another shot. If you start seeing posts from me at 2:00 and 3:00 am, you'll know you've created a monster!

[KarlSchneider]

Thanks for your reply, Karl. You've inspired me to go pull another shot. If you start seeing posts from me at 2:00 and 3:00 am, you'll know you've created a monster!

From what I know, even so, you will not be awake alone there as you would be out here in the corn fields.

I just had 4 shots from my Elektra Microcasa a leva. These were week old Yemen Mokha Sharasi I roasted. These are not as full flavored as they were at 4+ days but the structure is the same. Amazing length. If you know Chinanti Rufina from a good producer like Selvapiana, this would be their espresso. The taste still lingers after cleanup.

Espresso does not have as much caffeine as regular coffee.

Above all else, have fun.

KS

[espressoperson]

Thanks for your reply, Karl. You've inspired me to go pull another shot. If you start seeing posts from me at 2:00 and 3:00 am, you'll know you've created a monster!

You can easily put 15 g grinds into the double basket to pull about 2 oz espresso. Use the Fellini move to get the right amount of water. Start by raising the lever to the top and count to 6. Then lower part way down, just enough to cut off the water flow. Then raise again and count to 3. Then pull all the way down to fill your espresso cup. The trick is to get the right amount and fineness of grind so the pull lasts about 25 secs and produces the requisite 2 oz near where the lever reaches the bottom of its range.

I don't think Karl has ever pulled a double; I know I've never pulled a single. (Awhile back we traded - my single basket for his double basket.) But IMO practice and consistency will allow you to achieve success with either amount.

[KarlSchneider]

I don't think Karl has ever pulled a double; I know I've never pulled a single. (Awhile back we traded - my single basket for his double basket.) But IMO practice and consistency will allow you to achieve success with either amount.

Michael is certainly correct that practice and consistency will allow you to make stunning pulls with either basket and with single and double pulls. I have indeed pulled very few doubles that I drank as espresso. I clearly have not tried to perfect this kind of pull. The reason is that I found the singles to be so good I had no incentive to try the other. Michael has had no incentive to try the path I take. Both work.

In truth I pull doubles every day. But they all go into Americanos. This morning I had Americanos made from the last of the Yemen Mokha Shirasi now 8 days old. It was so different from the espresso. The stones and earth that are up front and so perfect in the espresso soften and recede in the Americano. The dark chocolate that rose at the end of the espresso was at the front of the taste of the Americano. Absolutely at the top of the Americanos I have had.

KS

[PKR]

While I have been trying to improve my espresso pulling technique, I have watched a few videos on Youtube of shots pulled on the Olympia. (A lot of amateur espresso lovers with time on their hands!) In those videos, people seems to fill up the double basket, tamp, and pull just once. That seems like a single shot with double the amt of coffee, no?

Do you think most espresso lovers consider a single shot to be 1 oz. and a double 2 oz? (I have heard 1.5 oz and 3 oz respectively.)