So I'm a newbie who has recently gotten enchanted with getting a lever espresso maker. I've had a Nespresso machine for a while, and while it's convenient, it's not nearly as good as some of the decent cafes around town (Portland has some good coffee places). I've had some excellent espressos at Peets and Stumptown that have opened my eyes.

I've done a fair amount of research, and it sounds like this Arrarex Caravel is the way to go for espresso-only people. I was originally looking at the La Pavoni machine (it looks cool!), but the price and overheating issues scared me away, especially since I don't need steam.

So I think I've settled on the Caravel (I love simplicity), only question, where do people buy them at? I've seen mention of Sorrentina Coffee, and Orphan Espresso, but neither of those appear to have any stock at the moment. Also looked into eBay Italy, but it's a challenge to navigate that site - they appear to have 2 right now, I'm a bit intimidated by the process of ordering/shipping internationally.

I can keep watching these three places, but I wanted to see if there's anyplace else I should look? Is this something where it takes a few months to find a nice possibility?

Thanks for any tips!

i don't know how much this helps...

ebay. it shipping is nearly a deal killer and when you stack it with the machine being wired for 220v, it can cost more than it appears to get into one that way.

You may want to create a listing over at coffeegeek and see if any members there are looking to find a new home for one of their babies.

I know there was a nice La Peppina FS there that was in great condition not long ago.

Cheers,
Jackson

newmanium wrote:So I think I've settled on the Caravel (I love simplicity), only question, where do people buy them at? I've seen mention of Sorrentina Coffee, and Orphan Espresso, but neither of those appear to have any stock at the moment.

I bought both of my Caravels at Orphan Espresso. It might be worth contacting them to see whether they have any units that they are planning to sell after going through them. Both units that I have arrived in excellent condition and were professionally refurbished.

I bought mine from eBay.it. I contacted the seller who agreed to ship here. The shipping was reasonable, it arrived quickly and in good condition. All in all a great transaction. Of course, there is risk involved. As far as the 220v is concerned, as I have noted before, just start with boiling water and use a plug adapter. Simple, cheap and effective.

newmanium wrote:I've done a fair amount of research, and it sounds like this Arrarex Caravel is the way to go for espresso-only people. I was originally looking at the La Pavoni machine (it looks cool!), but the price and overheating issues scared me away, especially since I don't need steam.

So I think I've settled on the Caravel (I love simplicity), only question, where do people buy them at?

Unlike the La Pavoni manual lever and the Ponte Vecchio Export and Lusso spring lever machines, the Caravel is not available new; it is a vintage machine manufactured decades ago. The popularity of steamed milk has sent these gravity-fed lever machines the way of the dodo.

Appreciate the replies - I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing a prime hunting ground now that I'm on the prowl, sounds like I'm on the right track. Now it's just a matter of waiting till a good one pops up!

It sounds like the Caravel is a pretty simple design, I'm amazed there are no manufacturers who haven't picked up a similar design and marketed it as a niche product.

Of course, at my local Peets (which normally makes an enjoyable espresso), I'm one of only two people that ever get pure espresso there. Sort of amazing how rare it is - so I guess the market is small.

Took me a while, but just got one from Italy through eBay. The prices seem to have gone up a bit, but the dude I bought it from was a pleasure to deal with and shipping was only ~$50 and took 2 weeks (showed up yesterday!).

peacecup wrote:Even among espressophiles (i.e. home-barista, coffeegeek), the prevailing belief is that one needs to have complicated (and therefore, expensive) machines to make great espresso. Although the reverse is probably true, even the best salesman would have difficulty establishing the fact the a Caravel can make espresso comparable to (if not better than) that made with a commercial pump machine.

PC

I'm not sure that this is the "prevailing belief." It is common on these forums for the most experienced members to reiterate that the espresso machine is far behind the grinder and the home-barista him/herself as the most significant factor in good espresso. In addition lots of credit has been given to the Ponte Vecchio Lusso/Caravel/Peppina class of machines and the espressi Twist as producing outstanding espresso - often making comparisons with the "best" pump machines. The same is true of the recognition that has been given to quality hand grinders. My impression is that proper recognition of the Caravel class of tools abounds on this forum.

As an aside, is it possible to run the steam lever machines (e.g. La Pavoni or Elektra) at regular boiling temperature, for temp. stability, like the Caravel? Or does the temp drop for the first few shots screw everything up?

And I'm definitely comfortable with tinkering, so it sounds like eBay Italy is the way to go. With the prices there being fairly reasonable, I can always buy another one at worst case.

What's a reasonable price range for a working Caravel on eBay Italy? The most recent one sold for 190 Euro, and the only one I can see in the history sold for 140 Euro.

I was bidding for 150 Euro on the most recent one (based on the previous sale), but the bidding blew right past that at the end - just curious if people are familiar with general ranges for what I should expect.

Don't know about Italy. When Orphan Espresso has had them they have been $350 refurbished - but it has been a little while.

newmanium wrote:What's a reasonable price range for a working Caravel on eBay Italy? The most recent one sold for 190 Euro, and the only one I can see in the history sold for 140 Euro.

I was bidding for 150 Euro on the most recent one (based on the previous sale), but the bidding blew right past that at the end - just curious if people are familiar with general ranges for what I should expect.

I am looking as well, and yes around 200+ euros seems to be the current prevailing rate for a standard, reasonably maintained machine. And they dont appear to be dropping in a hurry. Brunella's seem to be around the same mark, and Peppinas a little cheaper and more available. It is fun just browsing though.

Droshi wrote:It's really too bad that there aren't new ones of these being made, but I have a feeling that for now supply is still higher than demand.

Largely a combination of potential safety issues and lack of steam I suspect. A contemporary version that addressed safety, had steam and temp control, and sold for under $1,000 would be a pretty sweet package.

Thanks for the help - I just got one from eBay.it for 186 Euro ($250) incl. shipping. Seems reasonable, hope it works! Amazing how many other people are out there bidding on these appliances from 50 years ago.

Can't wait to start pulling some shots. This will be my first espresso machine (my Nespresso doesn't count!).

Only thing I realized, was that the pics don't show the handle - hope I get lucky, otherwise beginner's mistake:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...0553025767

As peacecup writes, it looks like everything there, with the only mystery being (as it always is with Caravels) how many baskets you will be getting.

Give us a shout if you need any help with the Italian.

And.... enjoy! They're great little machines

Cheers

Mike