I'm very new to the espresso gear world and am looking at a La Cimbali Microcimbali/Liberty, (the chrome or nickle plated one, not the gold one.) Does anyone know this machine and have any comparisons to others? Most of my friends have La Pavoni Pro 16 or the Europiccolo.

Also, any thoughts on the Gaggia MDF Grinder. I've been reading reviews of grinders on this site but have not found the Gaggia MDF.

The little Cimbali is a spring lever.... barista pulls down on the lever, compressing a spring, and the spring's decompression pushes the piston creating the brew pressure. Spring yields very consistent pressure shot after shot. The Pavonis are manual levers -- the barista lifts the lever raising the piston and then pushes down on the lever to create the brew pressure. Brew pressure varies with the force of the barista's arm.

So, you could look on this site for discussions of spring levers (Ponte Vecchio Lusso, Ponte Vecchio Export, Elektra MicroCasa, La Peppina). The Cimbali is probably not unlike the Export or Elektra, i.e. a personal machine optimized to produce a couple of espressos in a row, not a machine designed to make coffee for a dinner party. We haven't seen much about them here. They are rare birds on the pre-owned market. I believe Cimbali still sells and supports them.

Regards
Timo

Not many folks own the Microcimbali- So not much chatted about here- As for The Gaggia grinder, it is reviewed many times on CoffeeGeek in the home machine section.

I've read that some of them at least have an aluminum boiler- tends to corrode. You may want to look into this.

PC

Thanks. La Cimbali still supports the Microcimbali and the Liberty. I was told by a dealer that La Cimbali only sells it during the holiday season. You are right, though, it's not been easy finding even one person who has owned one or used one.

I'll check into the rust issue.
Steven

I had a secondhand MicroCimbali for about a week. Well built machine, but with an aluminum boiler as mentioned. I didn't disassemble it and had a heck of a time getting water to come out clean. In the end I did a flat trade with a local shop against a '77 Cremina. Hehe!

I recall that the pressurestat was iffy, wouldn't shut off sometimes, and I have no idea what's involved in getting to it. The portafilter also rode quite low and some of my cups would only fit if tilted in. Other than that seemed like a good machine. Cimbali has a very good reputation.

S.L. wrote:..... In the end I did a flat trade with a local shop against a '77 Cremina. Hehe! ......

Well played S.L.! Not often you find the home team asleep at the wheel!

mogogear wrote:Well played S.L.! Not often you find the home team asleep at the wheel!

Isn't that because it's a home game?