Hi. I have an old la pavoni Europiccola with the minimo-massimo switch that used to belong to my father. I cleaned and tested it and seems to be in perfect working conditions (the only flaw it has is that it's missing some of the metalic finishing on the lever, but that's just cosmetic).

The reason I'm writing here is that I've never used an espresso machine like this one and all the user manuals I can find are for more automated machines. Could someone post step by step instructions or refer me to a site that already has them? I'd really appreciate it, I've read the how-to guides on this site, but that minimo-massimo switch is still a mystery to me. Thanks

I can't say for sure about the min-max switch, but I think max is for heating up and min is for keeping warm. There is also a pressure relief valve on top, and you should be sure it is working so too much pressure does not build up.

Otherwise you need good espresso beans and a good grinder, either a hand grinder or a good electric grinder.

1. Fill the machine with water and turn it on.
2. When pressure starts to escape, or there is steam in the steam handle, you are ready to brew.
3. Put 14g (two coffee scoops) in the double basket or one scoop in the single basket (7-8g).
4. Put the filter into the machine, raise the lever, wait a few seconds then pull it down.
5. If it goes down really easy and fast, and a little more coffee or grind a little finer next time. If it goes down really slow and is very hard to pull, use less coffee or grind a little coarser next time.

That is the very basic instructions. You can read a lot more here on HB, and I hope others will add to this.

PC

Try this thread to start:

Does the Europiccola have two switches for heat?

My cousin had one of the two-switch models back in the day -- great fun to use.

The ones sold in North America didn't say minimo and massimo, which is why searching for those terms here won't help you -- I have usually heard them called the "high" & "low", or "high wattage" & "low wattage", switches. Basically the low wattage (minimo) one to get the right temperature for coffee, and the high wattage one (massimo) to bring the temperature up for steaming milk.

Like the posters in the other thread, I used the high (massimo) to get the machine to heat up faster, then switched to just low (minimo) to get the right temperature for pulling a shot of espresso.

They are great little machines -- have fun!

Unsolicited advice: If you haven't already done so, I urge you to lubricate the machine (including the lever pins) especially if the machine has been sitting unused for a while -- it will add years to its life, and prevent serious damage.

Thanks for the help, I'll practice this weekend
MichaelinMontreal: My Europiccola only has one switch, the minimo-massimo one, but I guess it should work tha same way. I suppose my italian model is different from the ones sold in the US.
Thanks for the quick replies.

Today I managed to make a espresso. It tasted pretty good, but didn't get enough crema. The first time I warmed the machine in the massimo setting until steam started to exit through the safe valve, it took 5 minutes. Then I opened the steamer for a couple of seconds and switched the machine to minimo. I waited another 5 minutes before I tried to get my first shot. It was awful, and the lever went up too easily, so the second time I left it in minimo 10 minutes becouse I guessed it needed to build more pressure. This time the coffee was pretty good, but almost no crema. Was the water too hot or is it the coffee grind? I used the original black plastic tamper and it's slightly smaller than the coffee basket, is that bad? Any thoughts about what should I change first?

Just in case someone is interested, I found here in another post a site with pictures of the same model of Europiccola I have. It's even older than I thought (1964-1967 model). My father got it from la Pavoni as a gift when he bought some coffee machines for the restaurant he managed.
http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/La_Pa..._A3670.htm

in re the first shot being terrible. Not a surprise. Sometimes it helps to heat up the portafilter before the first shot of the day by 'pulling' an empty shot first thing -- act like you are pulling a shot, but put no coffee in. Then take the portafilter off, dry it, and then put the coffee in.

If your second shot was pretty good, you are doing extremely well!

in re crema. Often the key issue with getting crema is that the coffee be freshly roasted (roasted between 2 and 7 days ago) and freshly ground (less than a few minutes ago.) Getting crema otherwise is difficult. I can get a shot with my Pavoni that is 80% crema with a really freshly roasted coffee. BUT, one tends to get less crema with a lever machine than with a machine with an electric pump.

Rules of thumb: there are two main ways a coffee can taste bad:
if the coffee tastes sour (agrio), it is underextracted: not enough heat or coffee should be ground more finely.
-- heat the portafilter first, adjust the temperature/pressure if needed.
if the coffee tastes bitter (amargo), it is overextracted: too much heat, or the coffee should be ground more coarsely.
-- cool the hot portafilter first by running it under cold water, adjust the temp/pressure if needed.

My Pavoni will get too hot to make anything but bitter coffee if used to make more than 3 or so shots in succession. I have to turn it down and let it cool down for a bit.

You said the lever went up too easily...the lever should always go up fairly easily. Going up it will fill the group head with water, going down it will push the water through the coffee, it's when you press the lever down you should feel some resistance.

About no crema...you need to have your grind set correctly (it has to be fine enough to offer resistance to the lever being pushed down but coarse enough to allow water to flow through under pressure). Using fresh coffee will help too but I think the grind is even more important, though completely stale coffee won't make any crema.