raydelapena wrote:I doubt it was repainted as it spent most of its life in my mother in law's basement and the former owners were certainly not DIY home baristas. Speaking of the chocolate version, I have noticed in my morning run around Brooklyn a real estate office has an old (dusty looking) chocolate brown cremina sitting on a shelf.. unplugged. I'm thinking about popping in to see if it needs a new home.

OK, this finding good espresso machines by the side of the road story has got to stop!! It is killing me. I'd be lucky to find an old Mr. Coffee drip machine.

sweaner wrote:OK, this finding good espresso machines by the side of the road story has got to stop!! It is killing me. I'd be lucky to find an old Mr. Coffee drip machine.

Amen brother.

I'd be lucky to find an old Mr. Coffee drip machine.

...but it would have the factory original carafe.

I'm new here. Here's my coffee history:
I started drinking regular drip coffee from deli's and kiosks in my teens. Back then I liked it light and sweet, and flavored. Yuck.

In college, I had some friends who had a moka express and a stovetop steamer, and we would make coffee drinks that I thought were really good. It would be a while before I got my own stovetop setup, but when I did, that's how I usually hooked it up for myself.

A few years back, a fellow at work was bringing in his own roasted beans. I'd throw him a few bucks every couple of months, and get a cup of his brew in the morning. We'd drink it black. After a while, drinking a cup with milk and sugar, especially first thing in the morning became somewhat distasteful to me. He was ordering from Sweet Maria's, and would come in with different roasts, origins and blends, and I was really enjoying it.

About a year ago, I was in a nearby cafe, and ordered an espresso. I wasn't a huge espresso fan, and wasn't really desiring a cup of coffee, but I was tired and wanted to wake up. I think this was the first -real- espresso I ever had. It was smooth, and sweet and even nutty and light years above what I got from my stovetop espresso. I figured that maybe my taste for coffee had developed, so soon after, I ordered
a shot at the Starbucks close to my job. That shot tasted like ass. I then realized that there might be some science to all this.

I'm a geek. I like to play around with stuff, so in all my research I realized that I wouldn't be satisfied unless I had a part in the entire process. The lever machines, for me, were the only way to go. dive in. Figure it out.

I picked up a pre millennium europiccola on Criagslist about 2 weeks ago for about $100. It seems to be in great shape. I've pulled about 10 shots and they pretty much taste like ass, but some are much better than others. I know this is going to be a long road, but I think it will be worth it.

hudsterboy wrote:I've pulled about 10 shots and they pretty much taste like ass, but some are much better than others. I know this is going to be a long road, but I think it will be worth it.

LOL! I'm glad i'm not alone. Welcome! I'm having a lot of fun on my Mill. even though they don't taste all that great yet. To me the road getting there is part of the fun ;p

huddster...what sort of grinder do you have?
Pre ground won't eliminate the butt shots.
You need a proper espresso grinder to get the best out of your nice machine.

Partial:

hudsterboy wrote:I'm new here. Here's my coffee history:
I picked up a pre millennium europiccola on Criagslist about 2 weeks ago for about $100. It seems to be in great shape. I've pulled about 10 shots and they pretty much taste like ass, but some are much better than others. I know this is going to be a long road, but I think it will be worth it.

Yes welcome... Also where are you getting your coffee from and what type of coffee are you grinding? Makes a big difference.

Make sure your grouphead and screen are clean and shine a light down in to the machine to check for any sediments and "crud"... $100.00 is a great price for a Euro!

Hi there,
Here's my lever config:
I bought the vintage Europiccola today. I had a new model before, but this one is much better in every way even if there's no pressure switch controlled heating.

Ok, I am in!
Got my used Pavoni EPC-8 and I have a grinder on the way. I wanted the PV Lusso but I decided to go with the Pavoni off CL and put the bucks into a DB machine down the road. I happened to read about some problems with the PV so I jumped on this one. It will take some minor work but NBD.

My first experience with espresso was I used to pull shots on a commercial machine in a NY style Deli that I worked at. It got bought by the "moonies" and failed soon afterwards. I developed a strong reaction to brewed coffee in my twenty's and had to give it up (or run for the toilet>>>fast). I turned to chai (with lotsa ginger) as my preferred caffeine infusion method (it can be strong enough to give you the "shakes") and with that and strong black tea, I mostly have able to skirt the after effects of next day morning alcohol induced slothfulness for many a day (from now on to be referred to as MAIS). Along the way I have always enjoyed my espresso/milk drinks. Lattes and caps mostly. I noticed though that as I get older, I am tasting immense differences in the quality of the pulls. I can't even go into SB anymore. My sister lives there... Recently I have had to stop drinking (break the habit). I can't afford it! I drained my entire wine cellar! I love the finer reds and they love me but... Where is that Zin guy anyway? Maybe he can get me a deal! Any connection with those guys in Alameda? YUM!
Anyway I have found my new hobby and ally in espresso (quick, effective, yummy!). I would like to roast as well but first I have to master,,,, THE LEVER!
I will get a pic up once I clean up my plywood counters (another story) and the grinder is here.

Best to all!

Jeff

IMAWriter wrote:huddster...what sort of grinder do you have?
Pre ground won't eliminate the butt shots.
You need a proper espresso grinder to get the best out of your nice machine.

I'm embarrassed to say, but it's a cuisinart burr grinder on its finest setting. I even tried to modify it to grind finer, but that was an epic fail. It's so bad. I'm seriously thinking about just giving up until I get a real grinder, but I really don't have the money right now to get the one I want, so I may get a hand grinder. I'm watching a PeDe on e-bay.