CriticalTodd wrote:Yeah, I'll have to come up with a milk solution - I love a good cappuccino but I figure I can find a solution. I hadn't thought of using a Mr. Coffee for it. An interesting idea, that.

The shots from the Caravel are short, sweet, and ...how can I say this?...very "coffee-like"
They go down before you know it. You might find yourself sneaking more straight shots
For tamping, I used the back of a small stainless measuring cup thing. Still, I would have loved a real tamper, if only to allow for a bit more uniformity.
Totally agree as to the basket load. As full as you can get it, tap down once to allow a bit more grind in the basket.
No screen issues, so leave only a mm or 2 for clearance.
I'd love to have one of these if I ever get rich enough to afford a cabin in the blue ridge or smokey mountains.
You can rest assured that any machine Doug and Barb @ Orphan sell it will be in mechanically excellent condition.

How i wish there was a caravel with Steamer...

I use my La Pavoni machine for steam... It is ridiculous but I just cant produce as good a shot with the Pavoni as consistently as I can with the Caravel.

to me the Caravel is the ultimate machine for the short black purist.

IMAWriter wrote:You can rest assured that any machine Doug and Barb @ Orphan sell it will be in mechanically excellent condition.

Great to hear. I got an email saying it's already shipped so I should have it in my hands sooner rather than later.

EDIT: I found a stovetop steamer (on another site) and ordered it. I'll see how it fares.

LuckyTodd wrote:I found a stovetop steamer (on another site) and ordered it. I'll see how it fares.

In case you haven't read it yet- "Learning latte art with steamed soapy water"

hbuchtel wrote:In case you haven't read it yet- "Learning latte art with steamed soapy water"

I hadn't, thanks for the link!

just found an interesting Caravel item on the net:

A Caravel Coffee Grinder:



unfortunately I couldn't find a bigger picture.

you can see one here http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2421152

don't know if this grinder is made by the same people- although the font on the side looks similar. It is listed as Danish. What a beauty it is.

There you go.

for some reason I couldn't grab the large image.

I really love the look of this grinder. Very unusual approach- looks like it grinds doserless straight into the portafilter- would go nicely with the Caravel...

Wow...thanks for showing this unusual (to say the least) grinder. Looks like something out of "War Of The Worlds!")

That is awesome.