michaelbenis wrote:Thanks very much for all your thoughts on this, Hal. They are much appreciated.

Has no one got a good word to put in for the poor old Cremina? Jason, where are you? LOL

Cheers

Mike

I really am the minority point of view on this subject. And actually we are into some thread drift on this one. Robert is very pleased with his and most everyone who has a Cremina is a big fan. The only thing I would consider is that there are a lot of nice machines at that price point. While I've emphasized the downside there sure are lots of folks in love with the machine. I'm thinking I've probably said more than I should.

If y'all referrin' to lil 'ole me..???
I paid $about $680 including shipping for my 1981 '67 Cremina*. Doug tweaked stuff I would have been unable to do, but reasonably, I might add. All in all, pretty fair dinkum, I'd say.
Of interest to those who question the temp stability, I offer 2 suggestions. #1, rent or purchase either the boiler cap pressure gauge, or the one that attaches to the steam wand, to "dial in" the stat to the preferred "band width", per see. Mine peaks at .925, and ebbs at .8. I wait about a 10 count before the initial upstroke.
#2, after the 3rd shot, I soak the empty PF and basket in cold water, and insert into the group, then grind.
The heatsink effect works great. A cold towel, as mentioned is also a solution.
You get to know this machine after a while, but I will readily admit that with all the variables, including the full manual/springless extraction, results aren't always as consistent as I'd like.
But G-shot after G-shot would make for a boring world.

* Purchased via ebay USA.

Hal, seriously, what you've said has been very helpful. I can't see any point us not speaking our minds about our own experiences.

Thread drift? Well, yes I suppose so. Except the Caravel doesn't have any of these temperature problems (bringing us straight back on track) and the comparisons might be useful - especially in the context of how pulls on the two big Cs compare

Alright. It's a fair cop! I'll start a new thread on the Cremina/Pavoni/Caravel/Elektra when the test day comes up and just post in this one about how the older Caravel performs. I finished everything on it this evening and it all appears to be have come together perfectly. I'll start using it tomorrow and report on how the pulls and results in the cup compare across the early (solid piston/seals on piston model) and the later (seal in barrel/hollow piston) model. Any other comparisons will go in the new thread.

Rob: thanks for chiming in. What you say confirms that the Cremina 67 (even with p-stat dialled in properly) and Pavoni have similar heat problems (unlike the Caravel!) that can be dealt with in similar ways. Fortunately I'll be able to compare what the results are in the cup directly in around 10 days.

Cheers

Mike

IMAWriter wrote:If y'all referrin' to lil 'ole me..???
#1, rent or purchase either the boiler cap pressure gauge, or the one that attaches to the steam wand, to "dial in" the stat to the preferred "band width", per see. Mine peaks at .925, and ebbs at .8. I wait about a 10 count before the initial upstroke.

Agreed. Before I sold mine a few years ago Olympia had confirmed that they had the pressure gauge in stock, which is a screw on replacement for the boiler cap. Had I kept it I would have wanted to be able to do the adjustment as you describe it.

PS: Rob have you seen the little stick-on thermometer strips OE sell to pop on the group head? Could help repeatability.

michaelbenis wrote:PS: Rob have you seen the little stick-on thermometer strips OE sell to pop on the group head? Could help repeatability.

NO!!!
Why, I oughtta..... (meant for Doug)
I go take a look. I actually plan to buy the one that hooks up to the steam wand.
Question for George:
Have you experimented enough between single origin (SO) espresso and blends, to see what is most pleasing to your palate?
A Yemen Saanani gave me several crema laden awesome shots. No Fellini stuff, either.

I'm incredibly fickle (or I just crave variety). I roast small batches of a number of beans (for instance, tonight, it's Brasil Moreninha Formosa, Colombia San Augustin, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Koke) which will be pulled as SO and/or blended together in various combinations depending on my mood and what I've got a taste for at any particular moment. What do you expect from a musician who specializes in improv, anyway? I have been doing the Korat(i)e DP as an SO, just because it's such a fruit bomb, but I'll follow it up with a shot of a blend of Brasil Ipanema, Idido Misty Valley DP, Sumatra Mandheling, and Costa Rica Herbazu Pulp Natural. You know what? On the Caravel, it's all good. So far, I don't have a real preference for SO over blends. When I've got a new bean, I'll do a quarter pound as the first roast and do it all as SO, just so I can figure out what else it will go with.

Does that answer your question?

BTW, my afterburner died again and I dropped a note to Joe. That's two. Maybe there needs to be more fudge factor in the resistance wire he's using for it.

GVDub wrote:I'm incredibly fickle (or I just crave variety). I roast small batches of a number of beans (for instance, tonight, it's Brasil Moreninha Formosa, Colombia San Augustin, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Koke) which will be pulled as SO and/or blended together in various combinations depending on my mood and what I've got a taste for at any particular moment. What do you expect from a musician who specializes in improv, anyway? I have been doing the Korat(i)e DP as an SO, just because it's such a fruit bomb, but I'll follow it up with a shot of a blend of Brasil Ipanema, Idido Misty Valley DP, Sumatra Mandheling, and Costa Rica Herbazu Pulp Natural. You know what? On the Caravel, it's all good. So far, I don't have a real preference for SO over blends. When I've got a new bean, I'll do a quarter pound as the first roast and do it all as SO, just so I can figure out what else it will go with.

Does that answer your question?

Yes...sort of
I've roasted nearly all your coffees.
Get a Yemen Saanani, maybe from Sweet Maria's or CCM Coffee.
The Caravel will do it proud.

IMAWriter wrote:Get a Yemen Saanani, maybe from Sweet Maria's or CCM Coffee.
The Caravel will do it proud.

I've currently got a Yeman Sharasi and a Yemen Mattari in the stash. I'll pick up some Saanani soon (just ordered 15# of Sumatra Tabu Jamu and 10# of Organic Yirgacheffe, so the cupboard is getting pretty full). Like most Yemens it likes a long rest, yes?

The Caravel does do a very nice job with SOs. The biggest problem is so many beans and so little time.

GVDub wrote:I've currently got a Yeman Sharasi and a Yemen Mattari in the stash. I'll pick up some Saanani soon (just ordered 15# of Sumatra Tabu Jamu and 10# of Organic Yirgacheffe, so the cupboard is getting pretty full). Like most Yemens it likes a long rest, yes?

The Caravel does do a very nice job with SOs. The biggest problem is so many beans and so little time.

Not a big fan of the Sharisi, nor the recent "Anessi"
Ismaeli is/was da bomb, but not recently.(at least none that I know of)