The fact that the Olympia Cremina is a very desirable espresso machine has been discussed at some length in a couple of threads here, on CG and as well as on alt.coffee. Still, the community is very small and I very much look forward to further discussion here on HB upon the completion of Steve Robinson's Cremina rebuild.

The Olympia Moca grinder seems to be an even rarer bird. I have found no reviews or comments on it at all. It seems interesting in some aspects and somewhat puzzling in others. Let me explain:

• 1. It is compact in size but packs decent punch - it has a 200W motor
  
  2. It has a glass hopper instead of a plastic one and as far I understand, even the hopper lid is heavy duty (metal or bakelite, not quite sure)
  
  3. It has low rpm conical burrs and all metal burr carriers (both upper and lower)
  
  4. It has stepped grind adjustment but I understand that the steps are quite tightly spaced, especially in the later models where they are even more close to each other

All this sounds very good to me, but there is no doser nor is it exactly doserless. The Moca grinds into a metal container attached to the front of the grinder. I am a bit puzzled. How does this work? I guess grinding straight into the PF is out and you have to grind into the container, take it off and then pour the grinds from it into the PF? I know that Jim Piccinich has one of these or at least did have. Jim, if you happen to read this - any comments?

Other points I've been wondering about regarding the Mocca include:

• 5. What burrset does the Moca use? Olympia's proprietary set or something else? Perhaps the same one that many small grinders like the Isomac, Nemox etc grinders use but modified with the metal upper burr carrier?
  
  6. How accessible is the chute (or other areas) for cleaning?
  
  7. Grind quality and speed?
  
  8. Practicality of the dosing mechanism in daily use?

I assume that the grinder is a quality piece of kit (unless someone proves me wrong) and definitely would look good next to a Cremina. So Steve is it going to be the Versalab or the Mocca next to the Cremina when you finish the restoration?

Br,
Teme

Teme wrote:I know that Jim Piccinich has one of these or at least did have. Jim, if you happen to read this - any comments?

I visited 1st-line a couple years ago and Jim had just received this grinder. He mentioned the burrs were ceramic (?). It was getting late, but he popped off the top burrs to take a look. They were quite small. I think the price is similar to the rest of the Olympia line.

Jim recently returned to the office from lounging on the beaches of Hawaii. Do you believe the guy was checking his e-mail during that vacation? He promised to post a few words once he's put out the smoldering fires that developed in his absence.

Sorry for the delay.... Since I have used the grinder for almost 18 months, I will offer some comments....

The grinder is very small, and it does pack in quite a good punch. The hopper lid rivals that of even commercial machines, and the one thing I noticed on the glass hopper is that I never cleaned it. The oils do not seem to build up on the glass as they have on other grinders I owned with plastic bean hoppers. Maybe it is just the coffees I am using.

I believe the RPMS are not that low, but if grinding only for 1-2 cups per day, I have not found any heat dissipation to the grinds. The burrs are now made of metal as the manufacturer did not feel comfortable with the ceramic burrs.

There are step adjustments, and there are other grinders like Macap and mazzer which have closer steps. The unremovable doser is the BIGGEST think I do not like about this grinder. It is difficult to clean. The grind quality is consistent. I am not sure of the burr set comparison to other grinders as we try to stock OEM parts in most cases.

One thing to remember when considering an Olympia product. If you are comparing feature-benefits from any Olympia product to a competitor's product, the Olympia will lose in every case. This is no doubt, and one reason why comparison shoppers do not buy Olympia. However, when one compares the longevity of an Olympia product to any other product, Olympia wins in every case. I have not seen so many used machines of any particular brand as Olympia has. There are two reasons for this. First, Olympia owners love the espresso extracted, and the longevity of their components is outstanding. As a partner of 1st-line, I usually bring in new machines for testing before 1st-line actually markets them. Not only do I evaluate them, but I try to break them from heavy, normal everyday use (sorry, no I do not take off the glass hopper and smash it on the floor ). So far, the Cremina and Moca grinder have stood up very well to the point where I have kept them for 18 months and other machines have come and gone since then. These are two things that comparison shoppers can not compare when purchasing.

Thank you for your response and comments Jim. I hope you enjoyed Hawaii

I realise that purchasing Olympia products may not make financial sense - ne gets more bang for the money with other products. However, Olympia is still very intriguing and the longevity, durability and exclusivity makethem highly desirable in my opinion.

I am still puzzled as to how one doses the shots when using the Moca. Any thoughts on this?

I am currently saving my pennies in order to purchase myself a lever machine (as my second machine). The choice will be between the Cremina and the Elektra Microcasa a Leva. I am also thinking of another grinder to go with the lever machine. An Olympia Cremina and Moca would be quite a combo (especially as space is limited). My head says Elektra, but...

Br,
Teme

The dosing only occurs from scooping from the container. However, I always fill the basket with coffee, level with finger, then tamp - either with the dosing spoon (as recommended by the manufacturer) or with the Reg Barber Olympia tamper we sell. In depends upon what mood I am in the morning before dealing with NJ traffic ....

Ok. Thank you again for the clarifying comments.

Br,
Teme

I own this grinder, which I bought at Zabars (in Manhattan) for around $200 in 1989.

It worked well for many years, then I noticed that I needed to replace the burrs a few years ago. Zabar's no longer sells the machine, but they told me that I could order new burrs from Rudy's, a shop in NYC. I was surprised to find out that Rudy's charges around $100 for the burrs. I was even more amazed to learn that the online price of the grinder was around $600. (and now is $800!) at 1st-Line. Must be the Swiss currency against the dollar.

I swallowed hard and bought the $100 burr replacement from Rudy's, thinking that I don't want to just lose such an expensive grinder. After receiving the burrs, I was again surprised to see that the burr design had changed from the original 1989 burr design. In 1989, the burrs were silver in color and continuous all around the circumference. Now, they were a dark gray and there were some indentations where there were no cutters at all. The annoying thing about this was that the $100 burrs Rudy's sold me looked a lot like the burrs found on the Saeco grinder, which costs a lot less than the Olympia. However, Olympia may have changed its burr design. You can order burrs directly from the Swiss factory, but they cost even MORE than $100 that way.

In any case, the $100 burrs from Rudy's do work OK on the Olympia machine. However, I noticed that other companies' burrs are much more reasonably priced. I since bought a second grinder--the Anfim doser--for $200 on a 1st-Line auction. Both grinders work extremely well and I could not even say that one works better than the other. Since I found Anfim burrs for $32 (at http://www.visionsespresso.com/products.aspx?SubID=48), it looks like that's what I'll buy when I need burrs next. I'm not sure I'll ever go for the $100+ burrs for the Olympia.