Well, back at it this thread after a little break. The shots from my Caravel hit their new peak today. Started off normal enough with an AM cappa, which was just normally good. I've got the open-boiler routine worked out well now. I get the Caravel ready, then turn on the electric range and get the coil hot for milk. When I lock in the PF I do a ~10 sec preinfusion, and then set the milk on the stove while I pull. When the shot it done the milk is hot, and a quick froth with an Ikea hand frother makes very acceptable foam. With access to a nearby stove the lack of a pressurized steamer is not much of a hardship.

The PM shots were straight, and they were really good. I'm still using Italian beans of unknown roast date, there are Molinari fair trade espresso. I pull a different Dienes off the shelf (finally unpacked them), and tried an experiment. This Dienes is the first one I bought, and I've been using it now since around 2002-3. I tightened the burrs just about as far as they would go and ground. The grind was quite fine and resulted in a slow pull with the Caravel, really an almost constant drip. The shot was very tasty with good thick crema - espresso syrup. It was so good that I had to pull another right away (and the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad.....). This time I backed off on the grind about ¼ turn, so the burrs were just comfortably meshing. I compensated by tamping a bit harder, and the second shot was even better. Superb mouthfeel, and the range of flavors coming though, with a little tangy bite at the end. And minutes later as I write this the taste is still lingering, calling me back to the Caravel....

The Caravel is really an underrated manual lever, perhaps because it is so rare, or because of the open boiler (no steam). Really I think it's the small portafilter though, that many home baristas consider a toy when they first see. I think the reaction to the 45-mm Ponte Vecchio is the same. It's a shame, really, because these micro machines are very capable of brewing, and maybe even distilling, the true essence of espresso.

RE: pre-infusion, I've been varying the retrieve so to speak. I usually lift the lever all the way, wait for nature (i.e.gravity) to take its course, then give 'er a good squeeze and raise the lever again. I usually follow the accepted protocol of around 10 sec. for preinfusion, and 30 sec total for the shot. But I really don't think timing is that important, and 40 sec is acceptable. I've experimented with two or three "Fellinis". As Doug surmises, I don't think gravity will preinfuse unless the grind is very coarse. One could test this by waiting 10 or more seconds to see if any drips appear from the spouts. On a pressurized lever they will after awhile (although I usually grind fine enough for this to take a long time). With the small piston on the Caravel I like to fully saturate the puck with preinfusion so that I get a good sized shot (30 ml?) with a full double basket, and hence around the kind of brew ratio I like.

I put new seals in the Caravel yesterday - the arrived from Idaho in very good time. My Caravel has a cup seal on the bottom and an O-ring on top the piston. I also replaced the little O-ring in the middle of the piston. These fail pretty regularly, so I need to find a local source and keep a stack on hand. The top O-ring from Orphan was a little too thick - I couldn't get the piston in without damaging it. But I don't think it really does much, and its pretty much intact. I can probably also source some of these locally. The new bottom cup makes a considerable difference - it produces more pressure, and is even more difficult to lift the lever. With the new seals I can really put the squeeze on these shots.

Its surprising that all levers don't use the horizontal handle design, particularly manual levers. One has soooo much more control over brew pressure with this more ergonomic position. There's a job for Orphan Espresso - high-end horizontal lever handles for all those Cremina and Pavoni users out there struggling to get their shots up to Caravel standard.

I've been enjoying the Caravel so much since I unpacked it that I've been rotating though my inventory of hand grinders and renewing my love affair with each of them as well. Today was a "new" chrome-top DeVe (photos soon on HandJive), and tomorrow will be the cherrywood Deines knee mill. But thats another thread...(although I've never quite reconciled myself to Dan moving it the Grinders forum).

I gotta send out the love to Mogo one more time for this Caravel (are you out there?). I still remember my envy when he posted that it was on its way from Italia - I'd been watching them for a while, but didn't have the nerve to bid. Little did either of us know then that it would take a boat journey back over the pond.

Anyway, the Caravel is truly an amazing piece of design work - how anyone could have dreamed up something so incredibly simple, reliable, functional, and beautiful is a testimony to those heady post-war days when espresso was king.

PC

PS - as far as sending them over from here, I'm sure any potential buyer would do as well to have them shipped from Italy themselves. They will continue to become more rare and more valuable, but they're still not cost-prohibitive at this point.