Group temperature is programmable and stable. Dual boilers with front mounted water reservoir Volumetric dosing or semiautomatic operation Large drip tray and ease of cleaning Dedicated website - http://www.s1cafe.com/ Two year warranty from Chris’ Coffee
Negative Product Points
Limited hot water Could use slightly taller legs
Detailed Commentary
When upgrade fever hit I decided to get equipment that I would not regret buying in a year or two. I have now owned the Mini Vivaldi II for nearly six months. It is capable of making espresso as good or better than what I can buy in local café’s.
This machine has the flexibility to find the ideal extraction conditions of different beans and roasts. Temperature programmability allows for experimentation to explore flavor profiles. The temperature stability of the group makes for very repeatable shots. Volumetric dosing lets me program it so that I can consistently get shot after shot at a party and still carry on a conversation.
It makes steam like no other I have used. It will produce good micro foam in 4 oz of milk in about 10 seconds. The double boiler means simultaneously steaming milk and pulling shots is no problem. The reservoir pulls out from the front (no need to move cups) and can be filled and replaced in about a minute. The drip tray is large enough to work above without much spilling and holds enough to not need constant emptying.
The Mini Vivaldi II effortlessly produces excellent shots of espresso and steam for milk drinks. I should be content with it for quite some time.
Buying Experience
After about a month of Internet research I had narrowed my choices to either a La Spaziale Mini Vivaldi II (1st) or a Quick Mill Andrea. I also decided from this research that I would purchase from Chris' Coffee. A conversation with the staff at convinced me that my first choice of the Mini Vivaldi was the best machine to fit my needs. I purchased one of their buyer’s remorse machines (covered by a 2 year warranty). The machine arrived very well packaged (outer box from Chris’ coffee surrounding the manufacturers carton), however during shipping the ribbon cable connecting the control panel to the main board had come loose. A call to Chris’ Coffee and 30 minutes of disassembly and reassembly guided by the technician over the phone fixed the problem. A longer ribbon cable would make this much easier. It has worked perfectly since then.
