January 17, 2006

Dan:

I would be honored to accept LMWDP number 57.

I have had my La Pavoni PC16 for about two months. It's been lots of fun. I guess that my claim to fame would be my 45° pressure gage modification. See http://community.webshots.com/album/501856419ynPQMP . My second accomplishment is the math espresso cup; see http://community.webshots.com/album/543099527TvXQSd .

Regards,

OK, I feel now that I've claimed #55, I should probably elaborate on my story, as well as post some progress... So here goes...

I started out like most in the states, drinking normal drip coffee. Of course my dad molded my ways, and had me drinking it with milk and sugar, and it was probably something the likes of Folgers.

Fast forward a lot, and I'd converted to black, whole bean, burr grinder, and still drip coffee, though in the mix was added a Krups espresso machine. I don't know what model, all I can say is it made hideous espresso, tepid at best, never hot, always had to be microwaved, and was best used for capps or latte's... Little did I really know at the time that it was really meant to go down the sink, but hey, you get a lot of forgiveness in a latte.

The Krups was given away, due to lack of interest. It never worked well enough for me, nor did it peak any sort of interest.

Along the journey somewhere I'd seen the La Pavoni... Don't know which model, but I know I knew I wanted one. Then a friend bought one... I asked how much, and had a small heart attack. I couldn't believe it. And I still wanted it!

Now a few years later, this Christmas season, my fiancee gave me one. Again, she's a sweetheart. Little did I know what I was getting into.

So I set it up the next morning, do all the things the manual says to do, and then I start making a cup. OMG, this stuff tastes terrible, and how am I ever going to get a pull with any pressure at all? I'm determined, I go to my laptop, and start google'ing for information.

Thus, I've come upon this place. Where everyone seems to be nice, wants to help, and thankfully very few if any flaming going on. It's extremely pleasant for me, as I am sure it is for all who participate.

Little did Lisa (Fiancee) know what she'd gotten me into, and she doesn't even drink coffee at all. Now several weeks later I've prepaid Les at Thors Tampers for a tamper, handles, and a knockbox, and I've made a trek to Sweet Maria's for a Rancilio Rocky DS. I can't wait for my tamper to get here.

Update to today, I've pulled maybe 3 shots that are worthy of drinking. I don't know what I did to deserve them, but the espresso god's have to throw you a bone every once in a while, right? Otherwise we'd all have scrapmetal. Almost all my shots now have a decent amount of crema, I think I'm just trying to diagnose why some shots are bitter and others are so delightful... And I'm also trying to perfect my frothing technique. Maybe I'll have to try some latte art in the next month, just to maintain my frustration level

I can say this... There's no way I could have done this without you. The help here is extremely valuable for the newbie / home barista. The La Pavoni manual is criminal in its lack of details for what you need to do. The tamper is a pain in the you know what, and for a fairly pricey machine should at least fit the basket. But oh well, at least there's a very nice fix or two out there, and if you like wood like I do, it adds to your kitchen too!

Still learning, #55

-bryan

Sadly, I have moved away from the realm of lever machines (for now). I'd like to keep my LMWDP# to keep the spirit.

The grinder and tamp came in yesterday, and I am very pleased with both. I ordered both from 1st Line the day before, and they came in the very next day just as promised. Never having seen a Mini in the flesh, it is a little overwhelming initially. I am sure glad I did not decide to save money and buy a used Super Jolly or heaven forbid a Major on Ebay. My Mom was watching as I set up the Mini and could not stop laughing. All she could say is all that for two teeny tiny cups of coffee!

It is really wonderful to actually be able to really control the grind and go through optimum grind in both directions. I have been having some problems with the doser, there was a nasty very long aluminum chip in the doser, and I seem to be having trouble getting it to sufficient volume. It is supposed to adjust from about 5-9 grams, but the most I was getting was 6+. Now I seem to have gotten it up to 7 by cleaning coffee from where the star wheel seats on the shaft. I am suspecting that it just is not free enough and hence the adjustment is not making the full upward travel.

It appears to me that the way to work with the doser in the home is to run the grinder just long enough to overfill one or two sectors as (assuming just one single or double shot) It seems to nicely dump the fresh grind into the sector at the twelve o'clock position. In this way I think I should be able to minimize the waste of ground coffee which I like to clear out after finishing.

Of course, there is coffee all over as I dial things in, and I have got to go get some more as I have thrown quite a bit away. The fineness of the Mazzer adjustment is really great, it certainly beats my old grinder which would not even go fine enough for some coffees, and certainly had huge step sizes-not to mention the difference in grind quality.

I also really like the Reg Barber Olympia tamp. It is even nicer than I expected. The fit and finish are excellent and it fits the basket beautifully. Recently, I had been using the "New" Olympia spoon as a tamp which works quite well, but the dedicated tamp is so nice. It certainly is a pleasure as opposed to the undersized plastic tamp that I had been using all along.

I received my new brass Europiccola (now called the EPG-8 Romantica) yesterday. Too late to try it out. This morning, I was stepping through the preliminary steps, and it turns out that I have a defective cap. Hot water spewing all over the kitchen, and not even up to temperature. Bummer. Anyhow, I am supposed to receive a new cap sometime (for crying out loud, this is so disheartening! ) from European Gift and Housewares, and who knows if I'll ever be able to use my machine. Not with the batch of freshly ground Black Cat that I ordered from Intelligentsia, that's for sure. It will be old before my cap gets here. Oh, well. I still am going to have a lever machine, if I have to send this one back and order another. So, could I please have a number? Not picky about which number, I just want to help institute World Dominion.
Thanks,
Gatewood

edit: I'll take 58, since it seems to be available. So, from now on, unless instructed otherwise, I'll consider myself:

LMWDP #58

hi
another german would like to be a member.
i moved to the bay area last year. i am collecting and repairing old espresso machines not for to long. but i love them since i saw the first one back in the 80th.
so i started to buy some a few years ago. restoring and rebuilding has become a nice hobby. my machines will hopefully arrive from germany next month. than i can post new pictures

take a look at some of them here

http://homepage.mac.com/macernst/espresso/Menu32.html

would be glad to be LMWDP #59
thanks
ernst

Copper Boiler, spring group, Brass steam wand, group head and details, Bakelite base and portafilter handle.
That should be good for#60.

Pictures will follow. Hopefully good espresso will follow as well.

At present consistency with this unit is not my forte.

G.

A most Humble Application for my LMWDP Number, in the Form of a Chronology:

c. 1990: I taste espresso for the first time.

c. 1995: My brother, not knowing any better, buys me a Krups steam toy. I, not knowing any better, try to use it. It is quickly relegated to the cupboard.

1999: I marry one of only 8 Italian women who are totally indifferent to any sort of coffee.

12/03- A Foot Upon the Slippery Slope: Two of my sisters-in law come from Rome to help when our daughter is born. I decide that it would be nice to be able to be able to provide them with real espresso. After Christmas, a nearby store has one Capresso EspressoPro left & I buy it on sale. At the risk of being stripped of my LMWDP number (and possibly even my Home-Barista.com decoder ring) even before it's been awarded, I still think that the Capresso is underrated, and can produce some pretty decent shots.

2/04 (approx)- Both Feet Upon the Slippery Slope: I discover coffeegeek.com.

6/04 (approx): A fellow coffeegeek accidentally buys a La Peppina on eBay. Well, actually, he intentionally buys it, and thirty seconds later, realizes that it's 220V. I had been thinking that it would be nice to have an espresso machine at my wife's old place in Rome (there's only one person who has ever made moka that I really like, and it's not either of us). I relieve my fellow coffegeek of the need to explain to his wife that he has just bought, on impulse, an espresso maker that he cannot use. It's unfortunately avocado green, but at least it's not "harvest gold" (yes, they do come that way too).

9/04: I accidentally buy a La Peppina on eBay. Taking a break from work one night I surf to eBay and note that an auction for a (110V) La Peppina will be ending in about 30 minutes, and the price is about half of what they've been going for. I make a bid. It is, of course, a silly futile thing to do, as I know that people lurk until just before the auction closes and then the price shoots up as they all bid, but hey, bidding is easy and it's free.

9/04, 45 minutes later: Actually, in this case, bidding cost about $115 plus S&H.

10/04: Descaling and rehab of La Peppina while watching the World Series. I finish, and get to pull my first shots just as the Sox win it all. Nirvana!


Pictures will follow, but for now can I please have Number 61?

whodat wrote:_________________
La Peppina "Gasparo de Salo"
Presso "Benjamin Banks"

Ha ha! You even got the nationalities right!

Henry

I would like to ask to join the lever group and use #63 if it is available.

I was introduced to custom roasted coffee in Seattle substantially before Starbucks came into being. The Good Coffee Company is probably Seattle's oldest small roaster - I have bought most of my coffee and tea there for the 30+ years they have been in business (in 3 locations). At various times I have brewed coffee in Moka pots, Toddy's, Melita's and for the past few years a succession of espresso machines. I started with a Saeco Barista with a pressurized head which was replaced with a Grimac. The Grimac was followed by a Bezzera BZ40 which has seen daily use for the last 5 years. The lever group piqued my interest in the potential of lever machines. While I intended the Olympia to be my "occasional use" lever, the chance to buy a "new" 30 year old Termozona was irresistable. I think I'm fully into the lever world. My initial experience suggests that it will be my daily machine.

While it sounds like I'm emphasizing machines over barista capabilities that's not the case. My take is that the closer the machine is to being a "constant" the more you are able concentrate on the tamping, distributing, grinding and subtle machine manipulations necessary to get a good cup.

My real thanks to the lever group for sparking my interest in levers. The willing sharing of information in this group has contributed a great deal to my being able to achieve increasingly good espresso.