Never knew what I have, now know thanks to the forum: 1977 Olympia Cremina

[Climb14er]

This is the truth!

When I got divorced eight years ago, I 'got' the Cremina (but lost other things as we all know) and have been using it almost everyday since.

We were given the Olympia (with other valuable items) by a very close friend who was dying of HIV. This was in the late 1980's. I made the occasional espresso and latte and enjoyed the end result.

In all honesty, I didn't know what I was doing and pretty much now, my learning curve has increased by 'just a little'. I'm a novice and readily admit it!

I use the Cremina everyday for a latte in the morning and an espresso in the afternoon. Doubles of course!

The only leak I had was when I initially started 'er up years ago and it leaked under the bottom. This lasted for only a few days and since then, it's running like a champ.

This model has the white asbestos around the boiler.

Few questions:

I might want to have it overhauled, gaskets replaced, lubed, tuned-up. Where can I send it to get done and approx. cost to do so?

I've been using a Krups mini grinder all these years. I know, I'm bad! Or stupid! Then again, I didn't know what I had!

I have my eyes on a Macap MC4 stepless/dozerless grinder.

When I pull down on the lever, I usually exert 'some' pressure but don't know how much.

Is this why you want a very fine grind, so that you could go slow, 25 seconds or there-of, and get a great pour?

Again, I'm on the slow end but I've been reading a lot in the forums.

Please comment/advise as I'd like to learn how to get the optimum performance from the machine.

Thanks!

The pic was taken of me last year on the top of a 14,000 ft peak in southern Colorado, Culebra. I'm fifty three, have climbed all of Colorado's fifty nine 14,000 ft peaks and many of the 13,000 ft ones. Coffee helps my asthma acting as broncho-dilator.

[mogogear]

Hey Climber 14er,
Welcome!! I will go back and re-read you post more later - but I think I recognize you forum name- Do your frequent lightbackpacker.net ?? Could be a coincidence.
Any way -congratulations on knowing what you have!!

[Climb14er]

Hey Climber 14er,
Welcome!! I will go back and re-read you post more later - but I think I recognize you forum name- Do your frequent lightbackpacker.net ?? Could be a coincidence.
Any way -congratulations on knowing what you have!!

Backpacking.net

Lightweight backpacking... you bet! Been there a few years.

Thanks! I knew I had an Olympia but never knew the reputation it has...along with the price tag.

I'd like to see if I can get it overhauled/tuned-up cause it's almost thirty years old.

Plus, it would be cool to really learn how to take the machine to its max potential.

I make nice lattes and good espresso but I'm barely touching the iceberg.

Nice that you said hello!

[mogogear]

Backpacking.net

Lightweight backpacking... you bet! Been there a few years.

Thanks! I knew I had an Olympia but never knew the reputation it has...along with the price tag.

I'd like to see if I can get it overhauled/tuned-up cause it's almost thirty years old.

Plus, it would be cool to really learn how to take the machine to its max potential.

I make nice lattes and good espresso but I'm barely touching the iceberg.

Nice that you said hello!

Now I have some time to answer your tune up questions.

There are not alot of shops that work on lever machines. The good news is you found us, and you can do everything yourself. There are tons of detailed pictures of how to take it apart, what to expect etc. Plus there are many many Cremina owners here that are happy to help. 1st-Line Espresso in New Jersey can get you set up on parts / seal kits etc. They are the only approved distributor in the US. Jim at 1st Line is a site sponsor and all folks there are great. A full deal seal kit is about $90" Gulp" All parts made now -mostly fit your machine. There is really so little obsolescence in these machines,... it is sooo refreshing.

I am not sure what your water is like there ( harness) So if you have never descaled it , you might drop into a hone brewing shop( yes beer) and pick up some citric acid. Mix a bout 2-3 tablespoons in to your tank -fill her up and turn her on. Let her get up to temp and let her sit for 1/2 hour or so. Pull a couple of lever pulls and . Maybe turn it off for a while. Come back in a couple of hours and heat her up again. Judge by the water issues you have there. When done- dump rinse till you don't taste any "lemon" A great thing about citric acid -its not a chemical.

Anyway more folks will be chiming in soon. Welcome again -let us know as questions develop.

There are techniques on how to get more out of your espresso shots and you already discovered the most important one.... the grinder. get on it, tune it in to what specific grind your machine likes. read up on some simple technique and you will not believe what comes out of your machine!!

[Climb14er]

Thanks again Mo.

Two important things I've noticed and with the answers, I might know where I stand at the moment re: the seals and overall working quality of the machine.

When I've gotten the machine heated up, and I've tamped the double shot 'holder' (sorry, for lack of word knowledge), when I pull the lever and hold ii up high, there's small amounts of water coming through. I had thought that water should only come through when the lever is on the down cycle and not when the lever is up high.

When the lever is up and water's coming through, is there a seal broken allowing water to pass through?

Also, there's no way that I've ever gotten 25 seconds with a pull of the lever. Usually the pull goes staight through the compressed coffee in about ten seconds with little effort to pull.

Is this because my coffee is not ground fine enough and/or the tamp is not to the top of the double holder/filter?

As you could see, I'm only at the beginning of the learning curve and I've been reading a lot of the threads. These two questions have been a 'concern' of mine.

BTW, my name is Jerry!

I'd like to order the grinder and would like to know if the reason I'm not getting a 25 second pull is due to the not-so-fine grind I'm currently getting, allowing the water to pass through. This way, I'll order it asap!

[bobcraige]

Hi Jerry

The problems you describe are all related to the grind and tamp. First, it is important to get some control over the process as there are so many variables to contend with that you could spend you life chasing your tail. A search of this site will give you great amounts of information specific to your Cremina, but let me give you some help.

The coffee after tamping should be about 5mm below the rim of the filter basket. In order to get things under control, you should attempt to tamp to the same pressure all the time, typically 30-40 pounds of force. In order to learn to do this, hold the PORTAFILTER (that is the name you seek) on top of a bathroom scale and practice tamping until you read 30 pounds. Do this until you can repeatably do it without the scale. It is also important to dose and distribute the coffee well and consistently. This means you want the same amount of coffee in the basket each time, and you want a uniform distribution throughout the basket and a smooth level top before you tamp. Search on distribution techniques and you will find great amounts of information. Basically, I fill the basket till slightly overflowing and tap to settle the coffee and then use a finger to level and smooth the coffee. Next, I do a light tamp, then tap the protafiler gently to knock the loose ground off the sides. Now finish with the final tamp to 30 pounds pressure. It is very important that the tamp be level and this will require practice.

The tamper should be a proper fit to the basket. Tampers come in all shapes, styles and levels of quality. Fit to the basket is important and then comes how comfortable it is and how esthetically pleasing it is.

Once all of this is under control, and with a proper grinder, you need adjust the grind to get the proper handle ressistance and pull time. They are interelated as you can imagine. With a proper grinder, it is no problem to get the grind too find and choke the machine so that you cannot pull the lever down. The proper grind tends to be a bit coarser than this until you get sufficient handle resistance and get a pull time around 25 seconds.

The key to it all is to keep everything but the grind contstant and use the grind to get the right resistance.

I hope all of this helps.

[Climb14er]

Thank you Bob!

I've been reading up through the threads and many times, a clear and concise answer saves a lot of headache and doubting, and time!

I guess a 'better' grinder should be ordered.

I've been using the Krups machine grinder and getting the coffee 'pretty fine' but it's not the ideal way to go.

And I will begin practicing with the pressure of the tamp and fill level in the portafilter.

I'm very humbled to learn about the proper workings of the Cremina as I always appreciate simplicity of design and function over form!

Much obliged.

BTW, I just ordered the Macap MC4 dozerless/stepless grinder!

[hperry]

If you do decide to have someone go through your machine and don't want to do it yourself, or have some local to do it, Home Espresso Repair in Seattle does lots of Creminas and knows them inside out.

[bobcraige]

I'm very humbled to learn about the proper workings of the Cremina as I always appreciate simplicity of design and function over form!

Much obliged.

BTW, I just ordered the Macap MC4 dozerless/stepless grinder!

Good, you should see a huge difference with the new grinder. Now you should have all the essentials to do the job. Don't forget fresh roasted coffee. I have been using Caffe Fresco's Ambrosia with great results and Tony, the proprietor, is great to work with. After that, it is up to you!

I too am very impressed with the superb design of the Cremina. It is a simple elegant design of the highest build quality and performance in the cup.

[Climb14er]

Bob, I ordered two days ago from Intelligensia their Black Cat espresso blend and their Summer Solstice (for the occasional french press).

I've heard great things about Intelligensia through the forums and as you could surmise, my learning curve is ramping up 'quickly'.

If the shipping goes well, I'll have the coffee and grinder next Thursday/Friday.

I'm in the process of looking for the citric acid from the home brewing shops and will clean the Cremina as recommended by Mo.

Great beta from you guys!