mathof wrote:That is so sad. I hope you find a satisfying substitute for your espresso habit. And do drop by from time to time.

Matt H.

Thanks Matt and I'm already dropping in. Old habits die hard.

I suppose in a way, it was inevitable that I join the ranks of lever-heads. My dad has owned an Olympia Cremina since well before I was born, bought at Zabars (for the princely sum of $250 iirc), and I grew up thinking of that Cremina as the archetype of a home espresso machine.

Fast forward to this year, I had been entertaining thoughts of buying a vintage Pavoni as a fun project and got lost in the depths of Francesco's website. I ended up buying an Arrarex Caravel, more for fun than anything else, but I told myself it would be useful for pulling small singles when I get home from work. I've had it for a little more than a month and absolutely love both the espresso it produces and the brilliant design that went into making such a simple yet performant machine.

One of the first shots the Caravel produced in its new home:


With the rest of the family:

Hello hello,

Started with the Rok GC and moved last year to the Flair Pro 2.

Finally made the big move last week with the Olympia Cremina. Its a beautiful C67 produced in 1968. I found it second hand, almost never used. It was sitting in the cupboard of a Swiss family house until they moved to Australia and sold everything.

Made amazing shots after the 3rd try. Just upgraded with the two IMS basket available, a bottomless by Coffee-Sensor and a temperature sticker strip. Next upgrade will be the replacement of the group-head and piston gaskets with the silicon version.

Welcome Gregory! Wow what a score! That machine looks impeccable for its age. Enjoy!

What an amazing find! Beautiful machine!

baristainzmking wrote:What an amazing find! Beautiful machine!

beer&mathematics wrote:Welcome Gregory! Wow what a score! That machine looks impeccable for its age. Enjoy!

Thank you

Hi all,

This is my first post. I've been a long time member (2018) but i've just been reading and observing as i didn't feel i had enough experience to contribute. I still feel the same today but i thought i'd come and join the party.

My espresso journey started a few years ago because i was trying make latte art. I was using a breville roma to make the "espresso" and tried a bunch of different techniques to froth the milk (using an electric hand stirring thing, a nespresso frother, the french press plunger move, frothing by hand...). My quest for latte art brought me to this fine forum where i learned that the coffee i was making was not really espresso (Pressurized portafilter, 15bar extraction). I read for a long time and oogled at all the equipment. I loved the look of the MCAL and the Microcasa Semi, really liked the simplicity of the Cremina. Due to budget and supply issues (i live in the philippines), i eventually stepped into the espresso world with an Arrarex Caravel paired with a Pharos 1.0. I found the pharos here and the Caravel on ebay Italy.

I really liked the manual-ness of my setup, and enjoyed it for 2 years. There's something satisfying about feeling the beans get crushed with the motion of your arm and pushing the lever down and seeing espresso extracted with the weight of your palm. Im also amazed at how both these items look and work like they did when i first got them, and have no doubt they will continue to do so for a very long time.

Today, i now mostly use my breville dual boiler (thanks to @pcrussell50), and I'm planning to upgrade my pharos to an ek, coz All the testimonials here have me convinced I'm missing out on the taste of flat burrs! Though lately, the thought of getting another lever machine (a spring lever like a londinium, or a collector's item like the cremina) has been pulling me... Everytime im on this site, i seem to discover something new... The journey continues.

Thanks a lot for reading, here are my beauties...


And a sample of my late art... "kangaroo mother & child"

LMWDP #592 here

Thought I'd share a very simple video to highlight how easy and awesome the Faer La Peppina is...


Coffee is "Une obscure clarté" blend from Kohi.
14g in and 40ish grams out (sorry I didn't measure the yield...)

Nice video, Jonathan. I like the way you chopped the portafilter.

Nice. The Peppina does look easy.

A touch of tiger striping perhaps?

Does the 95.8 correspond to a cooler temp at basket do you think? I'm not familiar with the machine or whether you flush/ preheat.

I want to drink it.