I will be receiving the "caravel" Little some time the end of this week. Look forward to posting some images of this machine when I get it. I am wondering what the round dial on the right is for. Probably an on and off dial, but wouldn't it be great if it were a temperature adjustment dial.



Concerning the La Peppinna. I am finding that it is very grind sensitive. And with my Zassenhaus it is hard to get a consistent grind but when I do the shots are good though they do have a little less body than on the La pavoni.

hbuchtel wrote:Mathias, I've added one of your pictures to the list, I hope you don't mind.

It seems that both the Caravel and Comocafe were given face-lifts in the 70's (?), I wonder if the Minigaggia had a curvier predecessor?

Henry

Not at all Henry.

Mathias

Here is a front and rear view of the Pierre Cardin signature MiniGaggia.

happytamper wrote:I will be receiving the "caravel" Little some time the end of this week. Look forward to posting some images of this machine when I get it. I am wondering what the round dial on the right is for. Probably an on and off dial, but wouldn't it be great if it were a temperature adjustment dial.

The old ones definitely had a dial controlling temperature (I think directly controlling the thermostat?), so it is a safe guess that yours has one too.

Another one "in the family"!

timo888 wrote:Here is a front and rear view of the Pierre Cardin signature MiniGaggia

Very pretty! I wonder why they chose a French brand . . . must have raised a few Italian eyebrows
Do you know when it was produced?

Here's a bit of a mystery, any idea why this Peppina is so bulky? The seller says it can steam, and the little diagram seems to support that, but the boiler-cap has no steam-wand . . .




Henry

hbuchtel wrote:
Here's a bit of a mystery, any idea why this Peppina is so bulky? The seller says it can steam, and the little diagram seems to support that, but the boiler-cap has no steam-wand . . .

I got a note on it ... these were made for Faema dealers and it was sold under the Faema label.

It could be that there's a thermoblock and some sort of steam discharge in the bulky group; but I'm guessing it has the usual steamer lid and the switch boosts the heat.

another_jim wrote:I got a note on it ... these were made for Faema dealers and it was sold under the Faema label.

It could be that there's a thermoblock and some sort of steam discharge in the bulky group; but I'm guessing it has the usual steamer lid and the switch boosts the heat.

Henry,
Can you get us a shot of the lid- that is a horse of a different color for sure!! So as Jim said- a two stage heating element but no obvious steam port? Take that thing apart and give us a look at the "innards"

mogogear wrote:Henry,
Can you get us a shot of the lid-

Sorry, I should have posted this one to begin with-



The sale (on ebay.it) still has 7 days, I won't copy the link just in case somebody is hoping I won't post the link

Henry

hbuchtel wrote:Sorry, I should have posted this one to begin with-

image: http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c99/hbuchtel/Rside.jpg

The sale (on ebay.it) still has 7 days, I won't copy the link just in case somebody is hoping I won't post the link

Henry

That makes two LP I have in my watching category and one caravel and one caravel Little-just like Mitchels new one!

hbuchtel wrote:Very pretty! I wonder why they chose a French brand . . . must have raised a few Italian eyebrows

Pierre Cardin MiniGaggia 1970, AFAIK.

Pierre, for a time he was all the rage, no? Here is Castro giving Pierre the original idea for the MiniGaggia prototype. Castro envisions a threaded 'group cap' between the group and piston cylinder, with a one-way valve to keep crud out of the boiler. Unfortunately, this design feature did not make it into the production model.



Spiffy dressers both, wouldn't you say, each in his own way?

timo888 wrote:
Castro envisions a threaded 'group cap' between the group and piston cylinder, with a one-way valve to keep crud out of the boiler

So that's where you've been getting your ideas from!

Henry