almost there. so, after putting together my microcimbali with new seals, glass, and a replacement water valve (turned and tigged from stainless with a matched delrin handle!) - i turned it on. a small leak at one valve, fixed with a fibre washer and all is going well and the chimney chuffing (quite endearing really, if a little impractical....) the first and only coffee was sort of crap-ish and thin, but that is to be expected....







but, the screen protrudes deeply into the basket of the portafilter and it seems that there is not enough room for much coffee. am i not packing it right? do i not know what i am doing? (aye - likely....) i tamped the microcimbali basket to the top and the basket would not go into the group - far from it. i had to clear a good 15mm of grounds from the top of the basket before it would lock in. do i have the wrong basket??? or am i packing it wrong? (perhaps i am too used to packing my caravels....)





the measurements of the portafilter are 60.0mm od, 54.2 id, approx 30 depth. the basket that it came with measures 53.0mm od, approx 23.5 height, 58.8 od to outer lip, lip being 0.8 thick.

any comparisons with other microcimbalis, or tips on how to pack them (if i do have the right basket) from other owners or users would be most useful and wonderful!!!

i will do a detailed rebuild thread showing all the silly details as soon as i have this last little basket uncertainty under control. its almost proper coffee time....

Hi Sean!

I haven't measured the basket on my Microcimbali Liberty, but that looks like the right one to me. I too find the dispersion screen a bit weird- the two protruding bolts forces me to dose no more than 14 grams in the double filter, or I'll get some deep grooves in the puck. I've considered grinding down the bolts so they are flush with the nuts, but I wonder if Cimbali intentionally made them like this - To ensure proper headspace or something. Does anybody know?

The shots are really good though, as long as I remember to grind fine enough. I'm also impressed with the temperature stability of the Microcimbali, it's a lot more stable than the Pavoni I used to have. I had a couple of espresso-friends over, and we made at least nine shots in a row without problems.

Stefan

stefan,
thanks greatly - it seems i just need to get used to it! yes - those bolts - such weird protruding inelegances on an otherwise lovely machine! when the sun rises here in sydney tomorrow, i will grind some beans and try to boost my coffee-making-confidence with this crazy aluminium monster!
thanks,
sean.

Hi Albert,

Nice water tap. Glad you got it working!

The basket is as expected. You'll need to give it some headspace. I find the best shots are with the bolts protruding a bit into the coffee cake. Just in case I went out and got extra lock washers and tiny nuts. Weird, huh? Fine grind like Sean says. Careful though with Fellini pumps the grounds can get back into the boiler. But when you get it dialed in, you'll see it makes good coffee. And that chugging sound, it's almost like a child's steam locomotive sitting on your countertop. These MC's have a lot of personality.

dr gary - spot on - a steam locomotive!!! little monster it is.
nice coffee, yes, but i think my caravel still kicks me harder, sweeter, softer and bitterer. its hard to improve when you start at the top!

Mine excels in bringing out syrupy chocolate tastes in a big pull and then superb steaming power for very nice capps. The high heating element is amazing in how fast it heats the machine at warm-up and almost instantly builds steam power after pulling a shot. It's so intense I have to watch it to avoid a geyser on the counter, but it's nice being able to stomp on the throttle that way.