So, here I am at a vacation rental home in a place where there are no quality coffee shops. Not being into the MyPressi thing, I brought my little stovetop moka pot, a French press, a blade grinder and a pound of CCC Aficionado. Yeah, I know should have brought the Baratza Vario, but I didn't want to subject it to any harm from traveling. All I was hoping to do was make something better than drip while we're here.

Upon arrival, I walk into the kitchen and what do I see but a drip coffee maker, a French press and a vintage Columbia Electic Cappuccino machine. It's basically a large electric moka pot, but with a set of tubes and valves that let you block the pipe from the coffee bed and open a direct channel between the boiling chamber and an external steam wand. Cute, and totally unexpected.

I think I can probably figure out how to use this thing, but if anyone out there has experience with it, I'd love to hear from you. The basket is quite large, and I suspect the machine won't brew well unless I fill it. I think it'll make something like four doubles. My normal routine is two doubles and a cappa, so I guess I'll have to toss a shot. It also occurs to me that it'll be best to pour out all the brewed coffee while I steam, to prevent the coffee from cooking. If that's the case, I'll have to find a way to keep the coffee warm while I steam.

Anyway, looking for some hints. Don't worry, I'm not looking to duplicate the output of my home espresso setup -- just looking for some passable coffee drinks!

Any chance it's related to one of these?

Espin wrote:Any chance it's related to one of these?

Yes! It's very similar and the instructions are helpful. Thanks.

The main differences are that the unit here is electric as opposed to stovetop, the coffee spout is inside the upper chamber instead of being external (which means you have to pour out the coffee instead of letting it drip into the cup, and it's kind of awkward), there are no water level markings and there's no reducer to be found.

I had a semi-successful session with the device this morning, before I read your post and the instructions. I filled the basket with medium to coarse grinds (per James Hoffmann's recommendation) and filled water to just below the safety valve. This produced about three double shots of decent but somewhat watery coffee. I need to grind a little finer next time, and I'll try the pressure-increase technique detailed in the instructions.

I didn't know how long to let the steam buildup, but it wasn't hard to figure out. I was very surprised by the strength and amount of steam this thing produces. It's plenty for foaming enough milk for one or two cappas. There's no metal pitcher, so I had to use a porcelain cream pitcher. The neck is narrow, and the wand is short, so it was difficult to control the steaming. I ended up with Starbucks-like foam and lots of bubbles. But I think with some practice I can get some reasonable microfoam. There's a wider-mouthed pitcher I'll try tomorrow.

The milk ended up slightly brown because coffee had gotten into the boiling chamber. Looks like the gasket between that compartment and the spout that leads to the basket isn't working all that well. Not a big deal. I think if I purge the wand more thoroughly I can minimize that problem.

All in all, not bad. The drinks were OK and I've got a good caffeine buzz on.

I thought it might be. The CX vs CXE versions seem to differ by the heat source - CX are stovetop, CXE are electric.

Enjoy the vacation.