Is the La Pavoni Mignon a recommendation considering replacement parts?

A haven dedicated to manual espresso machine aficionados.
y33brzk
Posts: 34
Joined: 3 years ago

#1: Post by y33brzk »

Hi!

I thought about buying a La Pavoni Mignon (basically a La Pavoni Europiccola without a steam wand and pressure gauge).

But considering the amount of information I was able to find online (which was very little) I started to get worried about replacement parts. For example, I wanted to upgrade the portafilter to a bottomless one and get a puck screen.

But I don't know if La Pavoni used a special locking mechanism for the Mignon or if the bottomless portafilters for the Europiccola will fit the Mignon.

Does anyone here have more information about the La Pavoni Mignon?

User avatar
baldheadracing
Team HB
Posts: 6225
Joined: 9 years ago

#2: Post by baldheadracing »

http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/lapavoni_mi_eng.htm

All of the pre-mill Europiccola parts should fit. The only part that I would say is no longer readily available is the 600w heating element/base of the first version of the Mignon.
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

y33brzk (original poster)
Posts: 34
Joined: 3 years ago

#3: Post by y33brzk (original poster) »

Thank you for your answer.

As far as I know the pre-mill versions have a smaller 49mm basket.

Do you have a recommendation where I can buy
- bottomless portafilter
- 2-cup basket
- Dosing funnel
- puck screen
?

I am unsure about the dimensions.

User avatar
baldheadracing
Team HB
Posts: 6225
Joined: 9 years ago

#4: Post by baldheadracing replying to y33brzk »

I'm not familiar with shops in Germany generally - well, one of them ripped me off for a few thousand dollars; lesson learned to never use bank transfers - so I can't tell you where to buy, but I've put in links so you can see the products to find locally.

This is what I use, but there are many others that I'm sure will work just as well, and there are companies that have copied some of these designs and sell them for less:

- bottomless portafilter
Cafelat All-in-one - https://www.cafelatstore.com/products/l ... ortafilter

- 2-cup basket
Streitman "18g" - which holds about 14g in a Pavoni - https://www.strietman.net/shop/p/ims-pr ... basket-18g

- Dosing funnel
Tidaka (which is in Germany) - https://www.tidaka.net/Trichter/Boardtr ... --242.html

- puck screen
Coffee-Sensor 0.2mm - https://coffee-sensor.com/product/secon ... -pre-mill/
Note that this screen won't work with all baskets - it is a little too big for some of the older baskets that I have.
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

y33brzk (original poster)
Posts: 34
Joined: 3 years ago

#5: Post by y33brzk (original poster) »

Thank you!

Do you think these would also work?

Bottomless Portafilter:

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/La ... -4075.aspx

Tamper:

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/La ... -5471.aspx

User avatar
baldheadracing
Team HB
Posts: 6225
Joined: 9 years ago

#6: Post by baldheadracing »

First, before I forget, keep in mind that the Mignon has no sight glass. I'll suggest making yourself a dipstick or similar. I have an old Europiccola that the sight glass doesn't work very well and takes a few minutes to react. I find that sticking my middle finger into the boiler top works - when the boiler is cold :). When the boiler is full (full is below the group mount), my fingertip is barely wet.

For the portafilter, the one you linked to is the older Pavoni factory bottomless style. As mentioned in the description, it may not work with some larger baskets due to the lip around the bottomless opening. If you're never going to use a bigger basket than the one supplied with the portafilter, then there is no issue, of course.

For the tamper, it should work except that Pavoni changed basket manufacturers sometime in the 1970's. Older baskets will not work with the 49.5 mm diameter (or 49.4mm, which is the biggest that I have).

Note that the Tidaka funnel that I linked to is a "tamp-through" design (keep the funnel on while tamping) that accepts a maximum tamper diameter of 49.3mm. Thus, the tamper that you linked to won't allow for tamp-through with the Tidaka funnel. You can still use the funnel as a regular dosing funnel (remove before tamping). There are other tamp-through funnels that allow for larger diameter tamper, e.g., https://coffee-sensor.com/product/niche ... voni-49mm/
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

y33brzk (original poster)
Posts: 34
Joined: 3 years ago

#7: Post by y33brzk (original poster) »

Thank you again - it's very nice to be able to talk to someone who knows their stuff.

Regarding the portafilter - is this the bigger basket you were referring to? The 20g IMS?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/La ... -5449.aspx

I don't know - what do you think. Is the upgrade worth it?

Regarding the tamper - what I read from your text is basically to avoid the 49.5mm tamper and use a 49mm one, like this? Is that correct?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/Un ... -2515.aspx

User avatar
baldheadracing
Team HB
Posts: 6225
Joined: 9 years ago

#8: Post by baldheadracing »

y33brzk wrote:Thank you again - it's very nice to be able to talk to someone who knows their stuff.

Regarding the portafilter - is this the bigger basket you were referring to? The 20g IMS?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/La ... -5449.aspx

I don't know - what do you think. Is the upgrade worth it?
For your original link, I suspect that the website was referring to the Elektra double basket: https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/El ... -5405.aspx The Elektra basket was popular with people who wanted a bigger basket than the stock Pavoni double basket. However, Pavoni eventually got IMS to make bigger baskets, which are available with and without Pavoni branding. (The ones branded Pavoni cost more but are otherwise identical.)

Just in case you're wondering, I can't say which basket is "better." I have the IMS 20g (B582TH29E), the Elektra, the Strietman (also made by IMS), various Pavoni, and various Olympia. They are all different. However, I haven't done a rigorous comparison.
y33brzk wrote:Regarding the tamper - what I read from your text is basically to avoid the 49.5mm tamper and use a 49mm one, like this? Is that correct?

https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/Un ... -2515.aspx
I was just thinking that the baskets that come with the machine could possibly not work with the 49.5 - but given that you are buying a new basket anyway, AFAIK there is no issue with new baskets (and there may not be an issue with your stock baskets).

The only comment was that the "tamp-though" functionality of the Tidaka tamper won't work with 49.5 - I think 49.1 is about the biggest. (Tidaka sells a 49.1mm tamper.) For 49.5mm, the coffee-sensor funnel that I linked to works - or there are also a bunch of possibilities on Etsy.

(I have an older style of Tidaka funnel that is limited to 49.0 mm tampers. The newer style has a wider opening, but not as wide as I had thought initially.)
-"Good quality brings happiness as you use it" - Nobuho Miya, Kamasada

User avatar
drgary
Team HB
Posts: 14345
Joined: 14 years ago

#9: Post by drgary »

While you are thinking of buying a Mignon, I think you recognize that it's essentially a downgraded Europiccola. Lacking a sightglass is inconvenient and only worth it if you have a very early and rare Europiccola, where they all have high/low switches and steam wands. As the OP noted, Mignons have no steam wands. The original post incorrectly implies that La Pavoni Europiccolas have pressure gauges. This is always something that people add on, except on early versions where the top of the sightglass is a sealed metal fitting, i.e., versions 1.3 and 1.4 made from 1963-1968. Mignons were budget models sold only in Germany. The heating element on the first version may also be a compromise, which only has on/off power at 600W. The second version has a high/low switch for faster heating.

If the heating element fails on a version 1, you could still maintain the desired pressure for shot-pulling by adjusting the valve that vents steam, but without a sightglass pressure gauge or a steam wand to attach a pressure gauge I don't know how you would do that precisely. I guess you could toggle power on/off to reduce overheating. To achieve shot consistency, you'll want to attach a thermometer or a temperature strip to the outside of the group. That won't tell you temperature within the group but it will indicate when to start pulling a shot and whether the group is overheated. You dial this in by taste.

Here is Francesco Ceccarelli's reference page for the Mignon.

http://www.francescoceccarelli.eu/lapavoni_mi_eng.htm
Gary
LMWDP#308

What I WOULD do for a good cup of coffee!

y33brzk (original poster)
Posts: 34
Joined: 3 years ago

#10: Post by y33brzk (original poster) »

Thank you both so much for your answers.

Is there a big difference between a 49.0mm, a 49.1mm and a 49.5mm tamper? I would rather choose the 49.0mm one and be on the safe side regarding baskets.

Post Reply