Superb!

I love this. Looks like it was taken out of the International Space Station

It's an Olympia Cremina 67.... first made in 1967.... the serial number shows that this one was produced in '76

The slightly yellowish marks on the mechanism are where the chrome has worn away and you can see the brass underneath.

Nice! How much difference do you see/taste with a La Pavoni?

Never tried a La Pavoni. I think with good coffee, lever machines are probably similar in terms of results.

I am often accused of being pedantic and I am.

But this is an espresso machine. Do we now consider espresso and coffee to be the same thing? I suppose you could say that all espresso is coffee, but not all coffee is espresso, but this thing doesn't make non-espresso coffee.

But that's a beautiful machine and definately bifl.

When you say coffee, do you mean the beans, or the drink? :)

I'll take it.

drink. I don't have a machine to make beans.

How about caffeine machine

Go to Europe, ask for a coffee—you’ll get an espresso.

You’re just thinking as an American.

As you’ve pointed out espresso is a coffee so that would make it a coffee drink. Also any coffee seed (bean) can be ground and used in this machine

Coffee is a drink made from the roasted seed of a plant.

Espresso is a subset of coffee. Drip coffee, Turkish coffee, cold brew coffee, French press coffee, Japanese ice drip coffee, all are different preparation methods. There's tons of different combinations of time, pressure, and temperature that can produce coffee.

My dad has one of these from the early ‘80’s, uses it daily (the gaskets have been replaced a few times but that’s it).

Same, the occasional change of gaskets (once every few years) and it's as good as new.

I don't think you're the only one, these things are quite expensive.

I have a La Pavoni, and it`s quite a journey I can say. Definitely not a starter friendly machine :D
At least that was my experience. You have one too?

Serious Q (as a non-passport holding Midwesterner) - How does one go about ordering a “regular” cup of coffee in Europe then? Is that possible, or is it just espresso everywhere?

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You order an Americano, I believe.

An americano is espresso topped up with hot water to fill a large cup. That’s kind of like drip, but will still have the roasted espresso notes.

If you want your typical North American coffee, you can ask for drip, pour over, or an “American coffee.”

It's definitely a cool journey. But yeah, got one second hand. It's a f*cking tank and I love it.

Daily driver for daily cortado, and still trying to learn how to do decent latte art. Emphasis on "trying".

Depends on where in Europe. Here in Sweden ”a coffee” will in most cases give you a classic drip coffee.

Being one, I find it hard to think as anything else.

But is Turkish coffee espresso? Most German and Scandinavian coffees I am familiar with are drip.

> ask for a coffee—you’ll get an espresso.

I think this is the key. I never ask for a coffee. I make coffee.

I am not well traveled. I also believe that the proliferation of fancy coffee shops has somewhat influenced this as they tend to focus on upscale espresso based drinks. Do people drink espresso at home?

This is exactly what I said. All espresso is coffee. Not all coffee is espresso.

> any coffee seed (bean) can be ground and used in this machine

Well sure. Espresso is not just a machine it's a roast and technique. You can use any bean. I would argue that if you put a light roast in an espresso machine you are not making espresso. But any bean, if roasted properly would be.

Sorry, I should’ve clarified-south Western Europe-Portugal,Spain, Italy.

I’ve had plenty of good experiences with light roasts ran through an espresso machine

Very popular in Switzerland, see them for sale a lot here

Good to know, thank you! Will file that info away on the very unlikely chance I find myself on that side of the pond ever haha.

Even I do have two “espresso” machines (a Breville and Nespresso, if the latter even counts to the purists) and a French press at home.

But sometimes you just want that plain ol’ Mr. Coffee Folgers :)

I’m an American and drink espresso at home, with steamed milk or cream/half & half. I usually use my Nespresso as my $$ Breville is too much hassle to use / clean. The Breville grinds beans even but I have failed to get the hang of it so haven’t used in a couple years.

Espresso take a different machine and have to buy actual espresso coffee for it (capsules for the Nespresso, otherwise beans or ground) which is NOT the same as buying regular normal coffee (beans or ground) so I thought your statement made total sense 🤷🏻‍♀️

Haha, ja a tank it is, and I love it. Yesterday I had to make four espressos for some guests. It was a mess :DUnfortunately after almost a year I'm not able to pull a proper shot.Since I only drink cartado too I don't care to much :D
Edit: And dont get me started on latte art xD

The pic is a still from a slapdash latte art video I made:

https://youtu.be/UJOxE9IrvQM

A lot of people (myself included) would say that there is no such thing as an espresso roast

I totally get it! Same here!

oooh, a lever!

I showed this to my DeLonghi just to make her cry

Until you are in central/south America and parts of the Caribbean. Then drip is cafe Americano (as that's what translates to American coffee in Spanish).

Depends on where in the world you are. Americano is actually espresso topped with hot water but in the Americas (specifically the Spanish speaking parts) cafe Americano is standard drip coffee as that's a direct translation for American coffee.

I've never used an actual Espresso machine. I figured out how to use a mocha pot but for me, I use a drip machine that actually produces pour over coffee...or a french press...or a perculator...or sometimes even cowboy style.

Context. We were specifically talking about ordering a 'regular cup of coffee' in Europe.

They still make the Cremina. Would LOVE to have one but 💰💰💰

However: all espresso is coffee but not all coffee is espresso.

Well, shit. I guess if something doesn’t make every type of coffee, can it make coffee at all?

Get your freeze drier out, kids.

Yes, Aussies definitely do. That drip shit isn’t great at all, barely qualifies as weak bean water here.

It was brought here by Italians. Who drink espresso.

I always hear about how many people are Italian in the states and yet, espresso is lacking there?

That's like calling a Ferrari a "sedan."

Put a drip basket under the shower head and don't put in the portafilter and now you're making drip coffee with this.

Is there any food safety problems with 50 year old pipes in such a machine?

Not the metal components, however, early models used asbestos insulation for the boilers.

I think Italian ancestry is localized to certain parts of the U.S., I definitely wouldn’t say there are “lots or many” outside the east coast (NYC, etc) or maybe Chicago. Like I live in Minnesota and it’s mainly all Norwegian / Scandinavian heritage. Lotta folks seem happy with the Folgers lol 😂

It’s not like our Italian population isn’t concentrated in particular areas either.

Our country is physically as big as the us even though it’s more sparsely populated.

We have still managed to have the humble espresso spread everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

My husband it sorta mad, he actually liked drip coffee for the years it was available out and about! Now, no.

That being said, at home plenty of people still drink instant coffee. No one is a monolith.

We often have espresso machines at home too, some will have a French press instead, and rarely people will have a drip set up.

Stovetop coffee pots are common enough too.

I know this is a week old but likely you aren't using good beans.

Check out red bird espresso, it's freshly roasted and is damn good in the breville. The breville is tricky as it's harder to dial in like other espresso machines. My next one will be a manual press.

Love those old lever espresso machines