Congrats on your purchase and you made the right decision here imo!

Most enthusiasts will own more than a couple of Pavoni's during the course of their lives, but those who get a Cremina usually hang on to them forever. They really are an investment whereas the Pavoni is more of an appliance.

You'll definitely want to look into getting yourself a bottomless portafilter if you don't already have one.

petcmc wrote: I am ok with taking the effort weighting the espresso and timing etc. However, I don't want get involved with add on temperature strips and other gauges as it feels like having a car and adding on after market hot rod accessories that I would not be good at installing and working with.

I think you can rest assured that if you decide it's not for you, it will probably fetch a pretty good price.

I felt much like you when I got mine 12 months ago...I hated the idea of adding anything to the machine. I was getting good shots quite quickly by sticking to a consistent routine after starting heat up. But after awhile I had issues repeating those great shots, especially when I deviated from medium roasts into dark or very light territory, where cooler or warmer temperatures may matter more. That's when I decided to try a thermometer and the results convinced me.. now I'm fairly comfortable that I can repeat an extraction reasonably well once it's dialed in. I have an HX machine here that I use daily for convenience (super easy to pull multiple shots and leave it on all day) but I know that with some efforts I can always do better on the Cremina. That said, not everyone enjoys playing with extractions like that to eek out the last 10% of awesomeness.

If you really do want to resist measuring temperature, just be careful during heat-up and when pulling multiple shots to let the group return to a stable temperature before the next shot (cold portafilter trick). Also don't switch beans right away- stick with something you know for awhile until you feel comfortable that the results are what you expect.

Don't be afraid to share results and parameters here- you'll probably get tons of advice:)

Like several others on this thread, I have had probably a couple of dozen different home levers, pressurized manual and spring, open boiler manual and spring, you name it. The only one I kept is my 1974 Cremina (I sometimes wish I still had my 73 Oly Club but there is another HBer on this very thread who has it now, so I know it's in great hands). I have never been a milk drink guy but still preferred the Cremina over ones like the Caravel, Brunella, and Peppina (I've never had a Streitman but have only heard good things). The build quality of Olympia machines is in its own league as far as home levers and it's definitely more temp stable than an unmodded Gen 2 Europiccola. I'm confident you will be happy with your machine.

petcmc wrote:I am ok with taking the effort weighting the espresso and timing etc. However, I don't want get involved with add on temperature strips and other gauges as it feels like having a car and adding on after market hot rod accessories that I would not be good at installing and working with.

<snip>

On the hunt for the "perfect espresso".

All the best - Peter

Please keep an open mind if you are on the hunt for a "perfect espresso." I have a Cremina and a few vintage La Pavonis and other levers. I've attached a thermometer to the group of my Cremina. Does that look hot rodded? It helps me tune shots for coffees at different roast levels so that they are consistently good. Here it is next to my Olympia Express Coffex (a rebranded Maximatic).

I seriously doubt that you will regret your choice to buy the Cremina. As for getting help using it, there is no limit to the help you can find here. Especially if you are capable of filming your workflow and posting it. You'll be a pro in no time!

drgary wrote:Please keep an open mind if you are on the hunt for a "perfect espresso." I have a Cremina and a few vintage La Pavonis and other levers. I've attached a thermometer to the group of my Cremina. Does that look hot rodded? It helps me tune shots for coffees at different roast levels so that they are consistently good. Here it is next to my Olympia Express Coffex (a rebranded Maximatic).

image

Superb collection!

I received call from Cerini and the Cremina ( and bottomless portafilter) has shipped and expected this Wednesday. I will send out a post with a few pictures on my launch and will post any questions I may have. I was stressed that I spent $3,800 would regret it. At this point with the team's thoughts it's "bring it on, I am ready". I will probably not get the perfect shot as I start but will get better as I get experience, that look like the journey.

Peter

Peter, for me, once I could monitor and control group temperature, the Cremina was by far not the limiting factor in making excellent espresso, consistently. After putting in the work to learn the machine and the coffee I use, I've lost any interest in learning about the latest-greatest machines out there. I'm just not interested in the complexity, size, and added maintenance other machines bring.

petcmc wrote:I received call from Cerini and the Cremina ( and bottomless portafilter) has shipped and expected this Wednesday. I will send out a post with a few pictures on my launch and will post any questions I may have. I was stressed that I spent $3,800 would regret it. At this point with the team's thoughts it's "bring it on, I am ready". I will probably not get the perfect shot as I start but will get better as I get experience, that look like the journey.

Peter

Excited to hear how the journey goes!
I also agree with mikel: once I could track temperature and have it paired with a good grinder, the limiting factor is my own learning and skill.

First welcome to home-barista.com. My son's Cremina is used similarly to your use (i.e. I drink only expressos).

petcmc wrote: Question:
So my question is this. Am I going to have the same results with the Olympia Cremina? I am getting worried that if i cant get a decent shot out of the La Pavoni will have the same issue with the Olympia Cremina - I am worried.

I agree with drGary post #7 that external group-head temperature measurement is very important (I would say essential) for LaPavoni and Cremina. I would not use temperature strip and instead use digital thermometer. Pictured on my son's Cremina is Taylor 9840N with cheapest, best DIY heat insulation (folded paper towel):(

Once you get the consistency and proper manual lever espresso extraction down, you will notice the espresso tastes different from your Expobar. My other espresso machine is a single boiler dual use with E61 grouphead and PID control for boiler. Currently I use the SBDU machine when I want 22 grams ristretto or 1:3 brew ratio espresso (large volumes). It does not have the pressure profile mod (Bianca-fied E61) which I suspect would blur the lines with manual lever machine.

petcmc wrote: I am ok with taking the effort weighting the espresso and timing etc. However, I don't want get involved with add on temperature strips and other gauges as it feels like having a car and adding on after market hot rod accessories that I would not be good at installing and working with.

As "drGary" said in post #24, I think most would agree his Cremina with digital grouphead thermometer is not "hot rodded." Except for my cheap (and lazy) folded paper towel thermometer insulation, I don't think the pictured Cremina looks hot-rodded. I can vouch that the Taylor 9840N thermometer is an easy install. "erics" is home-barista member who posted instructions years ago.

Also I would guess your current Expobar had a PID and thus temperature monitoring? So why not add temperature monitoring to your Cremina?

Besides group-head temperature monitoring and weighing shots for consistency, I would add Gabor's piston rod pressure gauge modification. Again I can vouch that even with little manual dexterity nor engineering skill, I easily installed this. And Gabor's online help was great. At least some on home-barista would consider this "hot-rodding." I respectively disagree. You can search home-barista for my detailed posts on my thoughts of Gabor's ("naked-portafilter") pressure gauge from 2017. Since those posts, I have much more experience with Cremina and different roasts. Once I get to know a bean roast then I will hardly look at pressure gauge. But for consistency, it, group head thermometer and scale are essential, IMO.

Since I never steam milk for myself, I will be researching a Streitman once my son moves out and taking the Cremina. I don't need to steam milk. I still have my SBDU machine for this. One limitation of Cremina and LaPavoni is much more difficult to pull large volume shot. IIRC need to do the "elusive" Fellini maneuver but this risks fracturing the puck. To my understanding Streitman can extract larger volume shots. To be clear, I have never used the Streitman.