Extremely high quality build and extremely high quality espresso
Positive Product Points
Simple to use and program With moderate barista skills, you can produce a 'god shot' almost every time QUIET OPERATION!!! :-) Build quality is absolutely top-notch
Negative Product Points
Steam wand doesn't tuck completely out of the way Drain line itself a bit stiff, and difficult to deal with First shot in the morning not as good as subsequent shots
Detailed Commentary
The preface is that this was going to be a Quickmill Vetrano review - but, see the "Buying Experience" section below. Rather than be redundant, I'll move right onto a review of the Junior.
The La Cimbali Junior DT/1 is a serious piece of equipment. It is fairly large, heavy, and built like a proverbial tank. That means it'll last you a long, long time, provided you take care of it at least minimally. :) Most of us espresso fanatics take enough pride in our gear that maintenance is not an issue.
After unpacking, then hooking up the water and drain lines, the Junior started filling herself immediately upon power up. This was a good sign! The rotary pump did its work just as billed - quietly - and filled the tank for what seemed like just about a minute. Once full, Junior began to heat the water, and thus begins the 90 minute wait before anything else can happen.
OK, it's 90 minutes later, and the Junior is now nice and hot, all steamed up and with somewhere to go. Or at least, with some espresso to make! I ran water through the group head into a pyrex measuring cup just to see if there were any metal flakes, cloudy conditions, or anything in the water to make note of. After the bubbles stopped, the water was crystal clear - NICE!!! Time to make some coffee.
The metaphorical "First shot" of espresso was not a great experience. It took a few times playing with the machine to get going with it. Initially, after the cooling flush, then a second, smaller flush, the coffee came out of the portafilter with so much force, it shot past the rim of the cup. Once it settled down, the streams were too large, didn't produce great crema, and the espresso was bitter. Obviously, the grind was off, and needed to be dialed in a little finer.
The metaphorical "Second shots", gained after some experience, were like the difference between a go-cart and a Ferrari! After adjusting the grind a bit finer, measuring out 15 grams of beans, doing the NSEW tamp (north-south-east-west), plus a twist-polish at the end, the initial 'streams' came out as drips at first which just fell into the cup. The slow drips became two small cat whisker streams of creamy brown espresso. Yum! The demi tasse was topped with a rich, lathery crema, and the espresso was deep, flavorful, lingering and intense. Now, THIS is coffee!
There is very little you have to do to get the Junior to put out beautiful shots almost every time. I found that the Junior is sensitive to the amount of coffee in the portafilter - don't use too much! About 15 grams (approximately 1/4 cup of beans) works for me. Tamping needs to be even (flat and smooth) across the top, so using the NSEW tamp, plus the twist-polish at the end, gets you there. The Junior exerts a considerable water force on the coffee, and without pre-infusion. So, the grind needs to be fine enough and tamped properly to resist this force, and not let the hot coffee come spewing out of the portafilter. It took just a little tweaking to get the grind and tamp right. The results are steady, slender streams from the portafilter.
I have only had the machine a week, and I am completely spoiled by it. The ease of use, combined with the build quality and the unbelievably great espresso that it produces, makes the La Cimbali Junior a winner in my book. This machine will be in my Will, as it looks like it'll last this long.
Buying Experience
This is a story in itself, probably only worth repeating in the general sense. Let's just say I tried to upgrade to a Quickmill Vetrano from the Andreja Premium - twice! Thanks to UPS, I never received a working Vetrano. So, i just skipped this step completely, and moved right up to a commercial espresso machine. The Junior was air-freighted this time, arrived in fine shape, and worked as soon as it was plugged in and warmed up. All's well that ends well.
Mary at Chris's Coffee was instrumental in resolving the issues with UPS. She was sympathetic, kind, understanding, and truly made sure everything worked out. She's the reason I'm still a Chris's Coffee customer. One person can make all the difference in the world. Thank You Mary!
Three Month Followup
after using the junior for 3 months, i find i'm confronted by my own limited barista skills and knowledge. don't get me wrong - the machine makes wonderful espressos! it's just my feeble attempts at consistency, and learning to predict and understand all the coffee variables, that are in question.
since i've owned the junior, i have also started roasting my own coffee beans. this adds another variable into the morning ritual. freshly roasted beans require constant tweaking to the grind size - newer beans are ground slightly smaller than older beans. so, as the beans age over a week, i need to adjust the grind AFTER trying one espresso. it's hard to predict when it'll be time to dial in the grinder just a bit more to get a 25 second pour.
all this is counterbalanced with the junior's superior heat stabilization (it stays constant after pulling the first shot, and remains constant all day after that), and the volumetrically programmed shot sizes (which don't vary). the junior is at least one thing which doesn't change in the quest for espresso perfection. so, even while i fumble and learn slowly, the junior provides my "rock" as its performance is flawless, predictable and solid. if my own barista skills were only half as good, i'd be coffee heaven! check back with me again in 6 months. :)
