Thanks it does look lower than that, I'll try raising it.

So when I screw in the spring in the back and place the slot of the tray, the ceramic hits the body in front when trying to set it into place. Is the screw placement in back adjustable? Or should I detach the ceramic block from the tray?

I think I have the spring mechanism in the back facing the wrong direction. Ugh, thanks for the help!

tnvt wrote:In the meantime the shabby old Caravel I posted earlier has been restored and I managed to pull my first shots. I do struggle a bit with the grind settings. With a finer grind setting the shots take very long and I have to push very hard (the taste is not bad), but when I try a coarser grind the resistance quickly gets very low and I end up with a slightly acid taste and a cup with barely any crema. I have seen some video's of people making a perfect looking shot in about 30s (after pre-infusion), but that I do not manage so far. Is it normal that it takes a bit more time to get a good crema or are there some other tricks I need to know?

Crema is also flow-rate dependent, often times with a lever you may get more crema when you coarsen the grind slightly to get enough flow for good crema, but past a certain point there's not enough resistance to produce much crema. Does your grinder allow you to make more intermediate steps between the finer and coarser grind you tried?

Jeff wrote:A lot of crema production has to do with the beans themselves, freshness, roast, origin, and probably processing and others. Some argue that crema is a byproduct, like beer foam, and, while beautiful to look at, adds little or even detracts from the flavor.

I'd go with a grind and technique that gives you the best flavor and take whatever crema you get.

I agree but unfortunately the shots without crema tasted very bad. I now use a finer grind and I experimented a bit with dose and tamping. I am quite happy with the flavour and the texture of the ristretto although the pulls still take quite long (close to a minute I think).

yakster wrote:Crema is also flow-rate dependent, often times with a lever you may get more crema when you coarsen the grind slightly to get enough flow for good crema, but past a certain point there's not enough resistance to produce much crema. Does your grinder allow you to make more intermediate steps between the finer and coarser grind you tried?

You are right, I tried some more settings and I found out that I have to stay very close to a grind that is too fine. Coarser grinds just don't give enough resistance.

armindillo wrote:Yay! Please do post some "after" pictures of that Caravel. The "before" pictures were quite impressive.

When pulling shots I have found that it takes a while for the puck to completely soak and during that time it does not really help to push harder on the lever. After I get a few drops of espresso, I move the lever up for another full load of water and start pushing hard. I guess it's like pre-infusion on a spring lever machine but I've never used a spring lever machine. If the grind is fine, that initial wait for the first drops, while just pushing with the weight of my hand might amount to a whole minute, but after that I can "express" the coffee.

I'll take some pictures, although it is not fully finished. The on/off switch is still missing and I had to 3D print the drip tray as I could not find one second hand. Regarding the pre-infusion. I did experiment with some single pull shots and some shots with a full pre-infusion. I have to say that I like better the result when I do a single pull or just a very quick and short extra pull. When I move the lever all the way up for another full load of water I feel like I do not get the nice rich flavour and texture I am looking for.

I alwyas dosed full almost to the rim (my Caravel required almost no head room). 15 g or more in the tapered double basket I had. I'd grind fine enough that the first 1-2 pulls would be 1/2 pulls to saturate the puck, then one long full pull. I had the grind set so the full pull would require more or less as much force as I could safely use - the machine is designed with very good balance, and one can put a considerable amount of pressure on the lever. The shots were pure crema and had so much body I could almost chew them. WIth a little practice the Caravel can produce shots to rival any espresso maker on the planet. Amazing.

I sold that mojogear Caravel that was featured in this thread, and later got a Vam 1.1. I've never equaled the shot quality of the orgininal, which I think may be due to the straight-walled Ponte Vecchio basket I use. Maybe for Christmas I need to find an original tapered double...

PC

Great machine and very cool that you manage to keep the original look of the indicator. I am surprised that the two silicone seals are too tight. I replaced mine (an Arrarex) and they were very hard to squeeze inside the cylinder, but once they were in, they fit very well. Can it be that the seal folded while sliding it inside the cylinder?

I'm using the red seals from Francesco. Lubed the seals and cylinder bore well. Was a struggle to get them in boiler. Not sure if this had anything to do with the piston 1a type without the bottom mini hole. This piston type adds greater resistance when pulling which is heightened if using the dual silicone seals. The NBR (Nitrile Rubber) seals also have less flare out when installed and do not feel as sticky vs silicone.