Learning curve from direct to spring lever espresso machine - Page 2

#11: Post by **drgary** » June 28th, 2014, 5:48 pm

70 is the new/old "what the heck"? Why not get a new one and enjoy it? You know you're not going to go wrong if you can afford to pay the freight and everything else!

June 28th, 2014, 5:55 pm

Turns out there is no shipping and no tax...
I'm almost there.

#13: Post by **mgwolf** » June 28th, 2014, 8:14 pm

I've owned a Cremina for 5+ years and, even after not using it for months, it's very difficult to pull a bad shot with it. Mine is about 25 years old.

#14: Post by **drgary** » June 28th, 2014, 8:33 pm

Here you go, Susan. Buy yourself a Cremina, and get it delivered on time to attend this event as a demonstrator/learner. Tom Chips and Jim Schulman and John Weiss can help you dial it in.

CoffeeCon-San Francisco

#15: Post by **TomC** » June 29th, 2014, 1:51 am

mgwolf wrote:I've owned a Cremina for 5+ years and, even after not using it for months, it's very difficult to pull a bad shot with it. Mine is about 25 years old.

I think I have you beat

Mine's the 4th one made (most of it). I never use it, which is a shame, but on a quiet night, I can sit in the living room and hear it appreciate in value

It still beats my Strega. I have to spend a fair bit of time/effort getting the Strega to pull at it's best for a given coffee. On the Cremina, it usually happens on the first pull.

#16: Post by **doubleOsoul** » June 29th, 2014, 2:05 am

bronsht wrote: I have a MCAL next to the Cremina but I no longer use it. The mouth feel of the Cremina is fuller.

Oh, I don't know if I want to hear that. I'm sitting on 3 MCALS right now and waiting on my Cremina. Might be a fire sale in the future.

#17: Post by **yakster** » June 29th, 2014, 2:22 am

As I prefer curvacious, rounded levers, I'll have to keep my eyes out for the MCALs.

I started with a PID La Peppina to eliminate temp issues, then picked up a manual Gaggia Factory for more of a challenge. It wasn't much more challinging and opened up a world of thicker shots. Susan, you've already got experience with a pressurized boiler with the Export so I recommend going for a manual lever.

#18: Post by **bronsht** » June 29th, 2014, 8:42 pm

Cher,
I'm not getting rid of my MCAL. I would never sin like that. Now I just noticed that the pressure gauge no longer returns to zero. So I turned the machine on and tried to depressurize it by opening the steam wand. Then I ran a blank shot out of it (no coffee, just water). It still remains around 0.5 but it accelerates properly so I'm not going to worry about it.

June 29th, 2014, 9:39 pm

yakster wrote:As I prefer curvacious, rounded levers, I'll have to keep my eyes out for the MCALs.
Susan, you've already got experience with a pressurized boiler with the Export so I recommend going for a manual lever.

That's exactly what I am going to do!!!
I'm going for a Cremina.

Susan