EvanOz85 Senior Member Joined: 9 Jul 2011 Posts: 258 Location: Lafayette, LA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Preciso, Hario... Vac Pot: Bodum Santos, Yama 5-cup Drip: Chemex, Kone 3, Kalita Wave,... Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Sun Dec 9, 2012, 2:27pm Subject: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
After becoming quite good at home roasting and brewing techniques, I've finally decided to dive into espresso with the La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II.
I ordered from Chris' Coffee along with the bottomless portafilter w/triple basket, pre-infusion chamber, Espro calibrated 53mm tamper, and a pound of the Machristay Black Pearl espresso just to play around with. I'm currently using a Baratza Virtuoso Preciso.
Does anyone have any tips for getting started with this unit? I've done a fair bit of research already but I'm just looking for any and all input I can get. From what I've seen, most people recommend using 16-16.5g of coffee for this machine.
How do you guys set the volumetric dosing? Do you pull a real shot and set it when the volume reaches the desired quantity using a measuring glass...or do you use a scale while pulling the shot?
diggi Senior Member Joined: 28 Nov 2011 Posts: 382 Location: Halifax, NS Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Spaz vivaldi S1 V2 Grinder: B Vario, OE LIDO Drip: Chemex, Espro Press,... Roaster: Poppery I
Posted Sun Dec 9, 2012, 4:40pm Subject: Re: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
Congrats on the move. People do different things with the volumetric options. I set my single as a quick ~1.5 sec flush to use after pulling a shot/use as warm-up flush. I set the double after dialing in, and pull, stopping a tad (maybe a second) on the blonder side of finished (using a scale for weight). This way, if I'm not paying attention, the shot is usually fine though there is some variation shot-to-shot wrt when the shot should finish, depending on age of beans/grind/etc....I usually don't obsess about this too much (the volumetric is a trade-off for convenience vs quality that I'm glad I have; and keeping this variable consistent allows playing with the others more accurate). If I am paying particular attention, I can stop the shot a bit early if the shot is bonding by hitting the double button before the shot is finished. Better than having the shot end early, with no way to extend the shot mid-pull. Most times, I must say, I just let the shot finish according to the volumetric option, then fix what went wrong with the next shot with dose and grind. I usually reset the double volume depending on the blend I'm using and whether I'm in for more of a normale or ristretto. And yes, I find dosing lighter than 58mm baskets. Though I'm usually in the 14-15g range for a shot weight of ~30g give or take.
JohnLyn Senior Member Joined: 15 Aug 2011 Posts: 230 Location: Golden, BC, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldy Grinder: Vario Drip: Bonavita Roaster: Toastess popper
Posted Mon Dec 10, 2012, 10:21am Subject: Re: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
]Welcome to the Mini Vivaldy club. I recently joined in myself.
first question: why did you choose the Mini over the Dream T? personally I did not want to part of working out the early electronic bugs even though I am confident that will be minimized and solved. I also wanted a tried and true machine.
Third: getting started. I am just getting started as well with the mini and will be interested in the comments of others so I will be following this thread. I have wavered between 16 - 19 gr doses as I figure out how to get the most out of my coffee. my coffee's tend to be on the lighter side so I dose up. right now I am using a coffee from Panama and I am settling into a dose of 17.5 gr in the triple. The principle I have understood with the 53 PF is that the double can handle up to 16.5 grams, after that you go triple.
diggi suggested a 14-15g for a shot weight of 30g. In consulting the chart you'll see that it fits the definition of a regular espresso and not a ristretto. 30g is close enough to two ounces. some people do things by sight and volume, others by weight. I am a weigher and I will go between ristretto, regular and lungo depending on what I think is is extracting the best flavours from a particular coffee.
Awesome machine eh! and the steam power!!! out of this world.
EvanOz85 Senior Member Joined: 9 Jul 2011 Posts: 258 Location: Lafayette, LA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II Grinder: Baratza Preciso, Hario... Vac Pot: Bodum Santos, Yama 5-cup Drip: Chemex, Kone 3, Kalita Wave,... Roaster: Behmor 1600
Posted Mon Dec 10, 2012, 10:56am Subject: Re: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
JohnLyn Said:
Welcome to the Mini Vivaldy club. I recently joined in myself.
first question: why did you choose the Mini over the Dream T? personally I did not want to part of working out the early electronic bugs even though I am confident that will be minimized and solved. I also wanted a tried and true machine.
Thanks for the welcome! My reasons were basically the same as yours. I had been eying the Mini way before the Dream T was announced..and I had pretty much decided on the machine already.
Yes, I've been digging through tons of posts on there. I posted here though because I already have an established membership at CG, and the S1 boards seem to be kind of dead..
JohnLyn Said:
diggi suggested a 14-15g for a shot weight of 30g. In consulting the chart you'll see that it fits the definition of a regular espresso and not a ristretto.
JohnLyn Senior Member Joined: 15 Aug 2011 Posts: 230 Location: Golden, BC, Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: La Spaziale Mini Vivaldy Grinder: Vario Drip: Bonavita Roaster: Toastess popper
Posted Mon Dec 10, 2012, 11:20pm Subject: Re: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
It is nice to have a tried and true machine with a great rep fur durability and consistency in the cup.
EvanOz85 Said:
Yes, I've been digging through tons of posts on there. I posted here though because I already have an established membership at CG, and the S1 boards seem to be kind of dead..
fair enough. S1 cafe is not completely dead and a lot of questions have been answered there already. That being said, I was glad to see your thread here because the Mini V is kind of old news and doesn't get a ton of talk. Keep us posted on how it goes when it arrives.
zedex Senior Member Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 126 Location: B.C Canada Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Spaz v2 Grinder: vario
Posted Tue Dec 11, 2012, 9:11am Subject: Re: Finally taking the espresso plunge - Mini Vivaldi
On my v2 i use about 16.5 grams ground beans with about 5 seconds pre infusion. I actually just weigh my grind initially to set up my grinder time. After that i no longer weigh my shots because my vario times out at the approximate dose. I am not anal enough to weigh each individual shot. After my tamp the grounds are about 1 cm below the top of the PF. I play around with the temperature a bit depending on what bean i am using. Usually 93 degrees F. My shots are made into a small clear espresso cup where i can see all the layers. I set up my volumetric dose by first filling my espresso cup with 1.5 ounces of water and noting the level. Dump out the water and pull my shots to that level. I remember with my silvia when i got up in the morning. I would froth my milk and then leave it steam, walk away, go to the bathroom. When i returned the milk would be the right temperature. No doing this with the V2. The steam is crazy fast and powerful and could actually be dangerous to the in experienced.:).
Enjoy that new machine.
After you have your machine set up and working you can modify it by putting lights behind the PF. Ikea has an led light strip that works perfectly for your machine. Easy to install and makes a big difference in viewing your shot. Cheers.
I have been switching back and forth on which one to buy for a long time now. In the end, I decided that a commercial Trifecta in my kitchen may hinder my chances of getting married.
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