Hello Mike, Richard, and PC,

Thank you guys for such kind words. It feels good to be able to participate more in this forum and share some thoughts and photos about this relatively uknown machine.

Richard, I believe the "standpipe" acts as a kind of regulator for the inside of the piston chamber. I notice that when the lever (and spring) are compressed, that 'gurguling' comes from the standpipe, and occassional spits of water, but only when the spring is compressed. I suppose perhaps this is a way for air to be released from the chamber?

PC, yes, the espresso!! The red brunella rarely gets used (I've tended to favor Caravel and peppina), and --believe it or not-- I've yet to pull a shot from the 110v brunella...time escaped me yesterday.

In the coming week(ends) I will be spending more time with the brunella and be better able to describe the espresso in terms of taste and will share photos. At the moment it would be difficult to describe as it's been over a month since it's been used. I can say that the lever on the brunella requires significant force to pull down and compress the spring. It is much more difficult to pull than the peppina or elektra type group. As far as the process of making a shot, this can be awkward in terms of where to place the other hand to stabilize, as the machine is usually quite hot in all areas and can squirm around. Temp management is very easy, though, by just sticking a thermometer right in the cylinder to pull at desired temp.

I will continue this post again with some more espresso specific findings hopefully soon. Thanks again,

Tyler

So I was finally able to work with the Brunella a bit this weekend. Please bear with me, as describing espresso characteristics is new to me. I was grinding with a PeDe 540 seen here:



I'm using a coffee I'm pretty unfamiliar with: Cartel coffee labs, pulp natural Brazil, Faz Monte Alegre, 100% Yellow Bourbon. Thanks to my girlfriend, on a recent trip to Arizona, who brought this back for me; roasted on 1/5/10, so getting close to the end of its life. I kept it in it's sealed one way valve bag until opened on Saturday 1/23.

My grind is pretty fine, approximately 3/4 turn from burr lock. I over-fill the basket



tap to settle a few times, then tamp lightly leaving about 5mm headspace. I found that Brunella pulls better shots being updosed.

One of this things I love about the Brunella (and other open boilers), is the ease of which I can stick my trusty thermometer into the kettle to have a good sense of temperature.



Okay, enough allready, on to the espresso!!

After a warming flush or two, I lock an load. Then, I pull the lever down all the way and hold for approximately 5 seconds, or until the "gurgling" stops. I then slowly let the lever rise, guiding it, until I see the first drop. At that point, I slowly bring the lever back down to the bottom, hold for another five seconds, and again let the lever rise slowly until the spring starts to engage, and at that point, I let it release on its own.

The resultant espresso exceeded my expectations this weekend.

The writeup from Cartel Coffee Labs about their Brazil Fazenda Monte Alegre 'Black Market Espresso' states: "...with caramel notes, milk chocolate, bright passion fruit, and a syrupy, heavy body you would only expect from a girl with junk in the trunk, you will not forget this espresso".

Considering that this was roasted on 1/5 and pulled on 1/23, I would say that Brunella had some big ass shots in store Saturday, I was impressed.

My notes were (without having read Cartel's description): Very thick, rich, syrupy; excellent mouthfeel; very very sweet. I couldn't find the bright passion fruit anywhere in the shots with Brunella, but i concur that this machine brought out the syrupy, heavy body and sweetness I usually get only from my Caravel.
By the way, the Brunella shots consistently yielded just less than 1oz using the 1.5 pull technique. Again, the mouthfeel was incredibly thick and rich, with a lasting sweetness. This is what stays with me as I remember the shots.

As a small reference, I pulled some shots from Peppina, which lacked most of the aforementioned characteristics, particularly the mouthfeel and thickness. This coffee seemed to really shine with the Brunella, and compared favorably to some of the best shots I have had with the Caravel, particularly in terms of thickness, syrup, heavy body, and sweetness.

I have some Ambrosia espresso (which I am a bit more familiar with) on order soon, and would love to do a tasting among the Brunella, Caravel, and Peppina.

Here are a few parting shots from Saturday.....

Gee some great photos there. Are you finding any differences with the Brunellas in terms of shot quality? Sounds like you have become rather smitten with the Brunella.....would you still prefer the Caravel?

You seem to suggest that the overall taste profiles are similar between the two machines, and more developed than the Peppina. Fascinating stuff - thanks for sharing.

Good photo-documentary. I am always interested in the specifics of the springs. Could you measure the diameter of the wire and provide the O.D. of the spring itself?

Hi Ziobeege,

The shot quality between the two Brunellas has been very comparable...perhaps a slight edge in thickness and mouthfeel on the 110v machine, but very subtle if anything.

Actually, this may be more to Timo's post regarding the springs; it seems like there is much more tension (in terms of force/effort needed to engage the spring) on the 110v machine....I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that the rod stays put in the chamber and only the piston screws off; whereas on the 220v machine the piston and rod screw off (see earlier photo) ?

Timo, I am not sure what you mean when you say the 'wire'...do you mean piston rod? Next time I'm in there I will measure the OD of the spring with my tape measure and post that. I was never good at physics, but I suppose there is probably a way to get a rough estimate for calculating pressure on this machine. I've also noticed on the 110v machine, when doing cleaning flushes (no pf/basket/coffee) the water comes through the group with significant force (more than on 220v) when the lever is release...indicating significant pressure I believe.

As far as comparing Brunella to the Caravel, the shots do have similar characteristics (and I need to use more varieties of beans with it), but -- I would still favor the Caravel...I just can't get over how easy it is to keep clean, and that the kettle is stainless.....but this thread is supposed to be about the Brunella : )

One of these weekends I will do some kind of side by side comparison between the two... Of course, if anyone is local and wants to try/compare the machines at some point, I welcome that as well!