Recent content by OldSalt

La Pavoni CafeV, I owned and ran a La Pavoni Europiccola for years that I got in Italy as a memento of working there for sei anni. It is a beautiful machine, and of the best quality - fit to maintain or frame, and have for a lifetime. It is, by most estimations I've seen, the ultimo d'...

Vicky, I lived in Willmar when I was a boy for a year, and now have 8 kidlets. Must be some good water in Foot Lake! David

I find the grinder within this and other Gaggia/Saeco branded machines more than up to the task of an acceptable grind. As far as I can tell, it is the same mechanism I had inside a small La Pavoni conical bur grinder I used to use with my Europiccola machine. That was a bargain at a couple...

Hey, Kit! Welcome from down the road in Abu Dhabi! I find it amazing that espresso machines are so novel and pricey in this country. At least acceptable beans can be found, if you can keep the locals from loading them with cardamom... Enjoy the forum and keep the faith!

I will not attempt to re-write Gaggia's marketing stuff, but should weigh in on my experience with this machine. I brew about 9 double-shots a day to fill my .75 liter thermos in the morning. It runs quieter than most low-end SA's though not as quiet as some mid-level machines I have used...

They said it was healthy for me, so I usually take only three or so 6oz cups - but that is espresso, straight from the bean, so I guess that qualifies as five or more cups... An added benefit is that I can get aerobic exercise just by vibrating in my office chair!

Howdy, Fanalone! Not to question the wisdom of the impeccable mod, PinkRose, whose commentary is always on-point and welcome; I would like to suggest that you will find a lot of "coffee beans" here. (Don't ban me!)

Pedro, Welcome to Coffee Forums! I grew up in Minnesota and now live in Abu Dhabi. It is warmer here. I hope your friends are faring well. I am not familiar with a bag supplier there, but use U.S. Plastic Corporation | Plastic Tanks | Plastic Buckets | Plastic Bottles | Labware |...

Welcome, Jasmin! We'll look forward to sharing wisdom and bean lore with you. All the best, David

If this is a repost, please accept my humble apology. I found a bunch of delightfully-well presented coffee meme stuff over at Facts - I Love Coffee. Here is one attributed to the site:

Beautifully done, LL! Thanks for sharing your art with us!

Jaes, Your quest is not difficult and it should not go unrequited. You don't have to become a coffee roasting aficionado, and you don't need to resort to chocolate syrup, unless you want to - I find that solution very much apropos, if you want an additive. However, I've found Trader Joe's...

Distributor in Michigan... Not sure if it she's in the market as a distributor, but in my hometown of Hillsdale there is a wonderful and well-visited coffee shop named Jilly Beans. Even if she's not interested herself, she'd probably be a great network connection. Good hunting!

Richard, I have yet to find a reasonably-priced outlet, except that the Bai brand seems competitive at many soft drink counters. Sozo has packets of powder available if you follow the link and drop in the code above, but even it seems to remain at novelty pricing. Please let us know if you...

I had this problem and can't say I truly figured it out, but what seemed to work was a thorough cleaning of the tamper assembly and pre-loading the spring before installing. I think it got out of position during my fumbling around with it and it was finicky about wanting to be back in just the...