Using the Olympia Cremina -- The Movie (Video)

[ladalet]

For our friends in China I am using YouTube to post this video since they cannot get GoogleVideo.

[Javier]

Thanks for providing the video, Lance. That shot looked so yummy.

Javier

[chopinhauer]

Hi Lance,

Very enlightening video. I must say, that my procedure is not nearly as complex,multi-stepped or, dare I say, frenetic, as yours. I guess my approach in more minimalist at EVERY stage. I have one specific question. How much water do you go through per shot? Or put diferently how many shots can you get out of a boiler filled nearly to the top of the sight glass? (We are water misers down here in drought stricken Oz).

[ladalet]

Hi Lance,

Very enlightening video. I must say, that my procedure is not nearly as complex,multi-stepped or, dare I say, frenetic, as yours. I guess my approach in more minimalist at EVERY stage. I have one specific question. How much water do you go through per shot? Or put diferently how many shots can you get out of a boiler filled nearly to the top of the sight glass? (We are water misers down here in drought stricken Oz).

I know that my steps seem a bit much, but they all have a purpose and yield results. I consistently get beautiful, crema rich, full 2oz double shots on a single pull with no broken pucks, channeling, or blonding (assuming correct grind and fresh beans). I have spent the last 2 years learning by trial and error to get to this point. I think it is worth the extra trouble. My only argument for my procedure is empirical--it works. It works for me that is. I am not at all suggesting that this is how everybody should do it. This is just one way that works that might give somebody just starting or that is struggling a place to begin and hopefully get some good results as they develop there own, possibly better, way.


I have pulled 6 doubles. I could have pulled more; however, the machine was getting hot. Shot 5 was passable, and shot 6 was good enough for a tall latte with vanilla syrup. There was still water left over, although I am not sure how much. With my current process I usually empty or nearly empty the boiler flushing it out at the end. So, I have not been able to determine how many shots it will do as I have to refill each use. I am now, however, curious. I would not be surprised if we get this answered soon.

Thanks for providing the video, Lance. That shot looked so yummy.

It was!


Best wishes,
Lance

[timo888]

(We are water misers down here in drought stricken Oz).

In a drought-stricken land (or not), instead of wasting water to warm the group and portafilter, one could use semi-pumps to circulate water to the group from the boiler, without any of it coming out through the shower screen, and then warm the portafilter with the steam wand.

Regards
Timo

[JB130]

This is great! I am totally new to levers and have been looking for something like this. There are plenty of how-to videos for pump machines, but this is the first I have found for the cremina.

Thanks for posting.

[TUS172]

Nice shot... but Wow... I don't thinnk I have ever 'yarded' on a lever machine that hard to get a decent shot. I mean you could see that you were torking the entire Cremina. With that amount of tork on the Europiccola I would think it would flip off the counter. One can produce some crema if enough hot water is forced through the puck at a high pressure. But like you said it is your technique and it seems to work. I would personally shoot for a less fine grind, adjust the amount of espresso in the filter basket or perhaps a lighter tamp and then go a bit easier on the machine to produce good crema. JMHO

[Cathi]

Hi Lance,

Great work. My e-bay cremina (75) just showed up yesterday and I haven't even had a chace to power it up. Your video was most timely and I'm sure will be very helpful. Not that I plan to actually drink what's produced until I've had a chance to see what it looks like internally, but at least I can verify that its not DOA.

Cathi

[ladalet]

In a drought-stricken land (or not), instead of wasting water to warm the group and portafilter, one could use semi-pumps to circulate water to the group from the boiler, without any of it coming out through the shower screen, and then warm the portafilter with the steam wand.

Regards
Timo

Actually, I only used semi-pumps to heat the group and 2oz of water to heat the cup. It was at the end when I was flushing the coffee grounds out of the group that I wasted all of the water.

Nice shot... but Wow... I don't think I have ever 'yarded' on a lever machine that hard to get a decent shot. I mean you could see that you were torking the entire Cremina. With that amount of tork on the Europiccola I would think it would flip off the counter. One can produce some crema if enough hot water is forced through the puck at a high pressure. But like you said it is your technique and it seems to work. I would personally shoot for a less fine grind, adjust the amount of espresso in the filter basket or perhaps a lighter tamp and then go a bit easier on the machine to produce good crema. JMHO

Everyone that watches me pull a shot thinks that I am pulling really hard, "yarding." Actually I am not. I am just trying really hard to maintain consistent pressure throughout the stroke. I am running a slightly coarse grind with a slightly heavy tamp--40#. I have found that if you vary the amount of pressure you put to the lever too much or too abruptly you get early blonding.

[TUS172]

Gottcha... I have noted the difference between the Pavonis and the Creminas... It is a different pull. For some reason the Pavonis are an easier pull for me even though the baskets I use are the same (A Leva baskets) as the Creminas. Go figure...

[timo888]

:) Everyone that watches me pull a shot thinks that I am pulling really hard, "yarding." Actually I am not. I am just trying really hard to maintain consistent pressure throughout the stroke. I am running a slightly coarse grind with a slightly heavy tamp--40#. I have found that if you vary the amount of pressure you put to the lever too much or too abruptly you get early blonding.

It does look as though one is pulling harder than one actually is. As my wife says of my Cremina stance, It looks as though you're trying to wring blood from a stone. But I do think you're giving that puck more than 40 pounds. You could get that puck to admit to almost anything.

Regards
Timo

[Tim356]

Lance,

Kudo's for the great footage. This is the best start to finish lever video any one has posted in my newbie opinion! I was thinking of adding an Olympia 67 to the line up some day. Not any more. After watching you pull this shot I know I'd have to increase my weights and reps at the gym. A lot! You have got some guns and it just looks like you put more effort into this one shot than my wife did birthing our first child ! All joking aside, thanks for the great camera work. It helps to see what using a manual lever is all about. For the time being I'll keep learning on my new Elektra MCal.

Tim356

[ladalet]

I was thinking of adding an Olympia 67 to the line up some day. Not any more. After watching you pull this shot I know I'd have to increase my weights and reps at the gym. A lot! You have got some guns and it just looks like you put more effort into this one shot than my wife did birthing our first child !Tim356

HONEST, I was not pulling very hard. The amount of resistance in the lever was such that I could have pulled the lever down with 2 fingers (ok, maybe 3 fingers). I really was just working to have a very controlled pull with consistent pressure from beginning to end. From the middle of the pull to the end the tendency is to lose pressure because of the decreasing angle leading to loss of mechanical advantage. Please, don't let my video scare you away from this machine. That would be the opposite of why I made the video. It is a dream to use. In fact, if really did have to pull hard, I could not use it. I have a badly damaged right shoulder from an accident. It is held together by 5 anchors and wire. Any real stress or exertion to my shoulder causes a great amount of pain for quite a while. Pulling shots on my Cremina causes me no discomfort. Please trust me on this.

Best wishes,
Lance

[ladalet]

I have one specific question. How much water do you go through per shot? Or put diferently how many shots can you get out of a boiler filled nearly to the top of the sight glass? (We are water misers down here in drought stricken Oz).

This may not completely answer your question; however, I think it may give you a good idea. The picture below shows the water level in my cremina after 5 consecutive shots. I just did not feel up to pulling any more shots after shot 5. In case you cannot quite make it out it is at at least 60% water left. I will eventually determine exactly how many shots the boiler holds--an actual number.



Also, you have me feeling guilty about my water usage . I am now pouring my waste water into a pitcher to water my household plants.

P.S. By the way. Shot 5 was very good. It did not taste burnt or over-extracted at all.

[Fullsack]

Gottcha... I have noted the difference between the Pavonis and the Creminas... It is a different pull. For some reason the Pavonis are an easier pull for me even though the baskets I use are the same (A Leva baskets) as the Creminas. Go figure...

Even more of a mystery is the fact that my '86 Cremina is easier to pull and requires a finer grind than my '83 Cremina, using the same basket and portafilter. I personally rebuilt both of these machines and in my mind, they couldn't be more identical.

[ladalet]

Even more of a mystery is the fact that my '86 Cremina is easier to pull and requires a finer grind than my '83 Cremina, using the same basket and portafilter. I personally rebuilt both of these machines and in my mind, they couldn't be more identical.

I experienced this between my Europiccola and Cremina, and again both were using the same basket. The Europiccola did not require as much pull pressure. Although, neither require much effort to pull.

[Javier]

Lance,

Any chance you can provide a similar video, but using your Gaggia Factory instead (i.e., another thread)?

Javier

[timo888]

Even more of a mystery is the fact that my '86 Cremina is easier to pull and requires a finer grind than my '83 Cremina, using the same basket and portafilter. I personally rebuilt both of these machines and in my mind, they couldn't be more identical.

You are taking the same PF and basket and moving it from one machine to the other? Is one machine running hotter?

Regards
Timo

[ladalet]

Lance,

Any chance you can provide a similar video, but using your Gaggia Factory instead (i.e., another thread)?

Javier

Actually I was already planning to do just that. I just cannot decide whether to use my Europiccola or my Factory.

My Europiccola has the 49mm PF and the pressure relief valve on the outside. I think it may be useful for people new to the machine to see that the steam coming out when warmed up is normal.

However, my Factory has the 51mm portafilter and does not have the external pressure relief valve and is a little easier to use for some reason. I just like it better. I can also get one more double shot out of it than my Europiccola. I seems to hold just a little more water. It also pulls a little nicer shots with more volume.

I would be willing to do either. If you have an opinion let me know.

You are taking the same PF and basket and moving it from one machine to the other? Is one machine running hotter?

Regards
Timo

I am not using the same portafilter. They will not interchange. When I purchased my Cremina it only had a single basket. I ordered a basket for my Cremina from 1st-line. It appears that I was sent a Europiccola basket as it is identical to the basket in my Europiccola. So, I was using the same basket in both machines. I am now however using a MicroCasa a leva basket in my Cremina now.

My Factory uses a 51mm basket. The resistance on my factory falls between my Europiccola and my Cremina.

I am not sure if one is running hotter. When I get a chance I will measure both.

[Javier]

However, my Factory has the 51mm portafilter and does not have the external pressure relief valve and is a little easier to use for some reason. I just like it better. I can also get one more double shot out of it than my Europiccola. I seems to hold just a little more water. It also pulls a little nicer shots with more volume.

I would be willing to do either. If you have an opinion let me know.

Well, I think a lot of "La Pavoni or Gaggia Factory newbies" (I am one of them) will benefit from watching a La Pavoni/Gaggia Factory video filmed at the same angle you filmed your Cremina video. It is mostly about the technique (i.e., pre-infusion, whether it is active or passive AND the mini-pumps or semi-pumps before actually pulling the shot). I like that you captions provided a lot of information when pulling that shot with your Cremina.

My 0.000002 cents.

Javier