Doug knew I was hooked from my little shootout report a couple of months back http://www.home-barista.com/levers/new-olympia-cremina-mini-shootout-t10877.html and he was right. After my home demo I couldn't resist springing for a new Cremina from Olympia's new UK distributor Londinium Espresso, who have recently impressed me with their beautifully-balanced light roasts and no-bull attitude.

Anyway Reiss (Mr Londinium) came round with the machine this weekend - impressively he insists on personally delivering and setting up every machine himself. He does this for a number of reasons, the most important being that the pressurestat setting can wander after the machine is bumped about in transit, and the second is, as every leverhead knows, there's a bit of a learning curve to any lever machine and having an expert on hand to help you understand exactly how everything should look and feel, from the grind of the beans to the tamp and actual pull, will send one on the road to espresso heaven much faster.

The 2008 models have a number of refinements over the previous 2002 model as reported in Steve Robinson's excellent Knock Box write-up http://www.home-barista.com/reviews/olympia-cremina-2002-evolution-of-design-t887.html, in particular:

- a new design of drip tray (no idea what changed there, I'm afraid), the new design works very well though it can rattle a bit

- a new pressure gauge without a stop pin (apparently the old gauge with stop pin would end up reading slightly high because the indicator would slip on its spindle at zero and against the stop pin, when the pressure in the boiler is not zero but in fact a negative value due to the contraction of the water and steam in the tank when cold)

- a new pressurestat made by Mater and not nearly as sexy as the old hand-made brass one but much more accurate, cycling on my machine to within a tenth of a bar (compared to the Elektra Microcasa a Leva, which cycles to within double that)

- a new flat top plate which also functions as a cup warmer (for not very many cups)

- a reversion to the one-piece brass piston, though with chamfered ends to make seal replacement less tricky

Here's what it looks like below, next to my Elektra MCaL and shown with all its accessories - it comes in new, very well-designed packaging complete with knock-box, doser, a beautifully-made portafilter (MUCH nicer than the Elektra) with unscrewable single and double nozzles and (another new development) a proper tamper, a very nicely made flat, hollow stainless steel job that's lighter than it looks and has a nice feel, but with a rather long handle for my tastes. It's not a great photo, but you can see all the bits there. And if you consider that the Cremina is in the foreground, it gives you an idea of how compact it is even compared to the Elektra.



Upon initially using the Cremina regularly, the things that impressed were the obvious things related to build quality: it weighs a ton and feels beautiful to use, ecen just how the portafilter locks in. The lever action is much smoother and with better feedback than either the Caravel or Pavoni, so you always know / can always feel exactly what is going on in the grouphead.

Then I was impressed by the fact that you really can leave it on all day. We are having a heat-wave here in England as I write this (I know, don't snigger, it's only 26C though the humidity is high as well) and the Cremina has happily been on for hours. I can just grind, dose, pull and drink without any fussing and it will be perfect. Apparently it will require flushing the portafilter with cold water between shots if you want to do a whole load of shots in a row, but I don't know what level that becomes necesary at since I've only done four shots in a row at any one time, saving the last for myself out of perverse curiosity, and though warmer there still weren't any exaggerated contrasts or burnt tastes that lead me to regret my bold decision not to flush.

As if all that were quite enough, I stopped thinking and simply plugged away at using the machine, getting used to the quality of the shots - which is exceptional, very creamy and sweat and fully bodied, with abundant, rich, persistent crema. The Cremina really excels in all these aspects with respect to the Pavoni and Caravel.

But I was expecting that after the home trial, though very happy to find the Cremina better in all these respects than I had imagined, perhaps partly thanks to the great new Elektra Nino grinder and partly because I was getting used to using it.

But none of that really bowled me over. No, something else surprised me when it finally occurred to me after a few days use and that was the incredible consistency of the shots - way better than any lever or non-lever machine I have used, including pro Cimbalis as well as the Pavoni, Caravel and even Elektra MCaL.

This really is a fantastic machine. It's also very easy to clean, requiring just one short portafilter wiggle to flush out any hidden grinds (whereas the Elektra can need up to 3).

Whether it replaces the Elektra as my front-line machine only time will tell - the Cremina isn't able to layer out the different flavours in a bean the way the Elektra can and I suspect the Elektra will always be my favourite for this reason, especially with fruity beans, whereas chocolates and earthy beans are more likely to excel with the Cremina. On the other hand, the fact that you can leave the Cremina on all day long and just pull and go is very attractive. One thing's for sure - as others have remarked - the two complement each other perfectly.

Another sure thing is that Olympia's constant refinements of the Cremina have paid dividends. I certainly have no use for the Caravels or Pavoni now, which I will either sell and/or cart off down to our place in Tuscany.

I have some handles on order from Les of Thor Tampers for both the Cremina and Elektra, which should bring them closer together....

Final observations: the coffee definitely tastes better with the nozzles left off the very nicely-made Cremina portafilter, as Reiss of Londinium Espresso recommended. The Espressme bottomless portafilter made by Richard Penney also works beautifully with the new Cremina, though you will need an Elektra single basket - the lip on the Cremina single is just a little too small, raising it just enough above the edge of the PF to stop you getting a proper fit. The Cremina and Elektra double baskets both work fine with the Espressme./ The baskets have differences in size and hole size and pattern that make experimenting with them an interesting proposition.

Many thanks to Reiss of Londinium Espresso for a great machine, great service and some great coffee (I reckon he's one of the very top roasters in the UK).

Cheers

Mike

Congratulations! Nice looking machine.

Just out of curiosity, what do you have the boiler cycle set at? Also, do you have experience with the Cremina 67 models - was wondering if the consistency you've experienced is specific to the 2002 Creminas, or of Creminas in general.

I just recently got a vintage Pasquini Livietta made by Olympia, and have been so impressed with the build quality that I foresee some kind of a Cremina in my future.

I've never had a 67, so can't comment on that. This is the first and only Cremina I've used. I get the impression that the 67 had more overheating problems though still being better than the Pavoni and Elektra. It shares the long thin bridge grouphead design of the Elektra (vs the stubby fat bridge on the Pav), but has minimal contact with the bridge due to special mounting "fins" and of course the heat also acts as a heatsink preventing too much boiler heat being conducted to the grouphead. I've been told that the new thermostat contributes to the consistency because it is more precise thant he previsous one, cycling over a 0.1 bar interval rather than a 3 bar intervals.

Reiss of Londinium Espresso carefully set the thermostat so that it cycles between precisely 0.7 and 0.8 bar.

Cheers

Mike