Coffee Appreciation

I’m in England for a few days and am on my way to Prufrock to drink espresso from Daddy Hoffman’s restored Faema and I am so pumped. Csb.

I'm hoping the queues and general hoohah around that has died down a bit.

Fuck yeah. Interested to hear how it is!

Likewise. I just had some of the coffee they roasted for the Faema this morning through my Dad’s Decent and it was… decent. Good, but not £24 for 350g good. But that might be down to the Decent rather than the coffee.

This is an area I know [barely] the basics of, despite being quite selective about coffee, but is the Decent programmable to match the extraction profile of the Faema?
How true is the factor of machine:machine variability in output quality?
Regardless of above- given those beans are simulating an Italian roast- no matter how fancy they are, this is going to change to a taste profile that most of us have shifted away from, I guess.
Based on the fact my parents- who drink predominantly deep roasted, borderline Peet's level insipidness- don't always like the lighter roasted coffees I like to drink.

You will probably get just as good a spro by walking round to Dose near the Barbican.
(as long as they still maintain their standards from when i was a regular visitor, they pulled a guest shot looked at it and said “i’m not happy with that, can you wait while i pull you a better shot)

Edit: didn’t realise it was an italian dark roast love-in.
I only drink that standing up in an italian station cafe, seems to taste fine in Italy but rough as fuck over here.

I dunno tbh. My dad used a lever profile. And I think to describe it as Italian espresso would be unfair. It didn’t have any of the burnt, bitter undertones that I’d associate with Italian espresso, but it also didn’t have the viscous, mouthfeel that I expect from Italian espresso, so swings and roundabouts.

Any good sites to buy espresso tools/accessories? looking for a bottomless portafilter, tamp and WDT.

Etsy

Im looking to do a service on my Dad’s Pavoni lever machine. There are two main issues (that I’m aware of):

1.Boiler rotates in stand
2.Steam escapes from group head -> boiler connection

Anyone done this sort of thing and can give me some pointers? There’s lots online so can always fall back on Google- also a lot of noise so prefer to speak to someone here :~D Tia

Well, I guessed the coffee correctly. ‘New school’ vs ‘old school,’ that is. And you know, actually pretty similar to how it tasted via the Decent, maybe slightly more mouthfeel but realistically, flavor was very similar. Maybe extracted sliiiightly better here with more complexity and a longer finish - but the core flavors were definitely the same.

God I sound like a cunt.

I thought the chocolatey-ness and sweetness that he said they tried to amplify (in the video about the blend) really shone through, and I preferred the Grifino blend from the Faema than the Red Brick. There's something about the Red Brick blends that I never seem to enjoy, it's got this inky liquorice quality that really puts me off. For me it was a comparison that was doomed to failure because of that.

Edit: sorry I've just realised what you said and my reply wasn't relevant.

1.Boiler rotates in stand

No idea personally, but I think it's pretty common to remove it as part of a full service, so I guess try to find some servicing docs and see what they say about loosening & re-attaching the boiler

2.Steam escapes from group head -> boiler connection

I'm guessing you've checked the two bolts holding the group on to make sure they're not loose? There's a gasket in there that's generally included with a standard servicing kit that's possibly disintegrating and just needs replaced. @TW Did you have this issue recently? Fairly sure someone on this thread was talking about it

This sort of thing should cover you for both: https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/en/GB/La-Pavoni-Lever-Service-Kit-New-Group---45002/m-2256.aspx

1.Boiler rotates in stand

I've not come across this yet - then again, I've not tried removing it.

This is a useful page though.

2.Steam escapes from group head -> boiler connection

This happens in mine, and, as far as I can tell, is pretty unavoidable.

I have wrapped the group to boiler gasket in PTFE tape, which has improved it somewhat.

Pulling a shot without any basket attache can help, if you are starting from cold.

Also, part 83 (in the picture, not the table) can perish and split. It's possible to buy brass versions,
although this can lead to the group heating up way too much.

@mmccarthy is personally responsible for all Europiccola faults though.

Also, part 83 (in the picture, not the table) can perish and split.

Ah yes that was it, I think the kit I linked to only provides part 85 in that area.

Speaking of leaks and PTFE, do you have issues with the steam wand not shutting off fully so dripping a little water out? There's a sort of cone shaped piece at the end that shuts off the path between the boiler and wand that I'd previously just wrapped in a bit of PTFE which sorted it for a good few months. Will probably just re-apply that and see what happens though.

@mmccarthy is personally responsible for all Europiccola faults though.

I mean if that also makes me responsible for all the great things about them then so be it! (I realise the irony of saying this after complaining about a small leak...)

Slightly niche question but I’m going to be in Paris at the end of the month and am wanting to buy an Alessi 9090 6 cup stove top espresso maker for less than it costs to grab one over here.
Anyplace I should be looking online, or in person to find one, going to be staying in la marais/bastille area..

Hello, I had the twisty boiler. It's because the front of the gasket gets compressed over time so loosens up. If it's loose, check you haven't got a load of rust forming underneath the base from escaping vapour. If so, naval jelly will fix it up. The boiler is normally screwed on pretty tight, I used an adjustable 3-prong oil filter wrench to get it off to fit the new gasket.

I use espressoshop service kits, they work great.

@mmccarthy I solved the steam drip in a similar way. Used a hi-temp silicone end cap with the end cut off. Got a pack of twenty and go through about one a year with daily use.

Used a hi-temp silicone end cap with the end cut off.

Ah yes I remember that suggestion! May go down that route as it seems a bit more tidy than the PTFE route. Though I think I probably got about the same duration from the PTFE, maybe I'll just use it as my "your machine could do with a light service" marker!

Now to get an hour or two of peace and quiet away from the investigative 5 year old to actually service the thing.

Bit the bullet and treated myself to an upgrade:

1 Attachment

Love it. Jealous of the small countertop footprint!

dope af

One day I’ll own a lever press.

I definitely recommend it.

In terms of maintainability & reliability they're hard to beat IMO. Naturally something without electrics like a Flair or Robot will be better in that regard, but with a built-in heating element there's fewer concerns about thermal stability.

They will struggle with doing more than 2 cups consistently due to temp fluctuations. Though when my in-laws are visiting, I'll regularly do a round of an espresso, 2 flat whites and an americano. I'll leave the flat whites to the end as the milk does a good job of covering any espresso issues due to higher-temps, so it's not a major concern unless you're expecting to pump out consecutive consistent espressos. As an aside, I did pop on a little stick-on thermometer on the group. Ended up taking it off as frankly I never paid attention to it and just got used to getting a feel for when it's at the right temp.

My main concern was difficulty in dialling in due to the manual input for pressure & the fixed water volume to work with for each shot, but it's really not a concern at all IMO. It would be nice to have the option to use whatever volume of water you want, but truth be told I've never really used that functionality when it's been available to me.

But yeah, money no object, I'd still be going for a Europiccola as my go-to espresso machine. Maybe an Olympia Cremina, but no way in hell is it worth 5x more.

Empty yer bin lad!

Looks great in the white and the matching bits of wood 👌