Ponte Vecchio Lusso - advice please?

Moon

Just checked TNT tracking Says - Released by Custom OA .. Depot - Melbourne Googled what a Custom OA is? .. one answer - Customs trainee .. that must be it No phone call .. hey, keep up the good work d00d :thumb: Oooooh .. getting close now .. can almost taste the coffee :coffee2:

Moon

Since Koffee Kosmo suggested a hand grinder .. I've been looking around the forums for what sort of hand grinder is good to get .. and after landing in HB forum read a detailed review on the old Spong hand grinders made in England.. back in the 19th Century, haven't been made for over 30 years.. and only appear in places like eBay and antique Bric-a-brac shops. They come in sizes 0,1,2,3,4,5 .. and the ones most useful are the 2,3,4, 5? as they go up in number, so does the size of the conical burr inside them .. and the larger the burr, the less rotations needed to grind the beans.. so anything less than a 2 becomes a bit of a grind. lol. A No2 is the minimum, No3 & 4 are the prize catches .. only they are gaining popularity and therefore the price is increasing .. and more difficult to win on eBay.. especially the 3 & I hadn't seen a No4 being advertised yet. I've been looking out for a No3 .. hoping I might get lucky .. and what pops up on eBay? .. a new listing Spong No4 in excellent condition .. a rarity .. the Crown jewel has presented itself .. and I'm thinking .. Man, once everyone spots this, I've got no hope unless I bid an outrageous price. Well, I sent the seller off an email making an offer trying to get him to change his listing to 'Buy It Now' so that I could jump at it. He replied saying that eBay wouldn't allow him to give me his email address .. and said that he'd already had some interest in the Spong (seller can see views) and would leave as is for now and suggested I put in a bid and see what happens? I'm thinking .. geez .. the auction is 6 days away .. how many hundreds will be interested in that time from all around the Globe .. these Spongs have become a Global phenomenon .. so I emailed him back .. believing this was my final chance at it. I was in the other room and heard my mail ding. He emailed to tell me he'd just changed it to 'Buy it Now' and first in. Well .. I'd bought it within 30 seconds of being re-listed. Timing was perfect. These Spongs allow you the option of screwing them into the wall or using its clamp to attach it to a bench or table top, meaning that it can be operated with only one hand to grind .. and maybe the other to catch the grinds. The grind is adjustable, so according to reviews .. there's no problem getting a fine espresso grind from them. Feel like I just got the Jackpot So .. Koffee Kosmo .. (& Lacehim) -----> hand grinder joins the armoury :thumb: ps. Compak is fab .. and the Ponte Vecchio will be delivered either tomorrow or Wednesday. have to get some boiler insulation. Tip for the Melbourne Cup? *Sea Moon *Green Moon Naturally 😉 Edit: Just noticed there's a No5 The Burr size on a No3 is 10cm (4'') so a No4 would be around 13cm? (5'') Note: To read up on the Spong - Google 'Spong hand grinder' click on an image and then click 'Visit page'

Koffee_Kosmo

Well done Moon Wife is shaking her fist at me saying I have 6 hand grinders already But darling it's the coffee taste that counts in the end was my answer

Moon

Cheers KK So long as your wife doesn't give you the ultimatum .. ''it's your Coffee gear or me'' ..yeah? :rofl: :coffee2:

Koffee_Kosmo

Moon wrote:

Cheers KK So long as your wife doesn't give you the ultimatum .. ''it's your Coffee gear or me'' ..yeah? :rofl: :coffee2:

That won't happen anytime soon as I am -- The head coffee roaster and the head barista of the house KK

Moon

Good to hear KK 🙂 Great news, my Lusso arrived today .. well packaged and intact. I then rode off to Spotlight on my motor Scooter to get some InsulBright and a cork sheet to insulate the boiler and pipes to prevent any potential heat issues from occurring in the future. Bit of a drag having to open up a new machine and do some maintenance work, but I figured best to get it sorted at the start and then full steam ahead. I double layered around the boiler, sealed off both ends with cork, wrapped the hot water & steam pipes as well as the one going to the group .. and secured it all with cable ties.. then took some pics to post later. I also dropped the boiler pressure which was sitting on 1.35 Bar down to 1.1 Bar as recommended. Cleared off a new section of the kitchen bench where the new setup was going and pulled my first shot using the double basket after measuring out 14 grams to grind. Not much in the way of crema, although it was the tastiest coffee I'd ever made so far .. so no complaints for a first effort on my new lever machine. I'd imagine the tap water and new metal in the Lusso contributed to the flavour.. The beans were fresh, probably too fresh .. as they were only roasted yesterday. I only rinsed the boiler out a couple of times and probably should've done a couple of dummy runs before drinking one .. only I couldn't wait to try it out. At least it turned out better than expected. I reckon I had too much of a gap in the basket .. and will have to reduce it to 3mm as Jack suggested. Will also have to play with the tamp pressure and grind. The puk broke up as I was tapping it out .. so it either needs to be tamped firmer or I have the grinds too course .. well, that's my guess at this stage? I ordered a new cartridge for my water filter today which should arrive later this week or early next week. Spong hand grinder is on its way .. so plenty to play with on the coffee front. Nice little machine the PV Lusso .. decent spring in it too. Miniature portafilter and basket .. seems odd after the 58mm.

C-man

i would welcome a grinder shoot-out with any grinder, manual or electric I would bring my mini Rosco, Paid $340. with delivery not saying it is better, just that I have ground for many good machines including pioneers Roasters and everyone was always impressed by the thick syrupy shots.

Lacehim

Have fun.. Just look over this again. It might help you get the dose right. http://www.bestcafes.com.au/forum/espresso-machines/ponte-vecchio-lusso-advice-please/50/?msg=42388 It's more than capable, so don't worry that you don't get it first time! New machines take time to learn.

Moon

Howdy I considered the Rosco mini .. one quality designed & made unit that.. it was very tempting, bit like Lacehim getting another Ponte Vecchio Lusso ??? My 2nd shot this morning was better .. tamped firmer and filled the basket up to about 3-4mm from the top. The puk was dryish and more solid when tapping out. I've been doing the fellini move to get the 40ml shot, which is perfect for my lattes. It poured mainly on one side of the PF .. so I will have to try grinding into a container and giving it a shake to break up the clumps, and work on getting a more even distribution of grinds in the basket .. and yeah Lacehim, fill half way, tamp and top up .. forgot about that tip. I'd like to either convert or get a naked PF to watch what's happening with the pour? Also, will get some Professionally roasted quality beans .. most likely from sponsor 'mycuppa' soon.. to see what difference that makes compared to the green beans I've been roasting myself .. using a Popper. Phew .. satisfying .. certainly doesn't leave you feeling like another straight away .. hmm? speaking of .. checks clock .. yep, must be about time for another ;D

Ol_Grumpy

C-man wrote:

i would welcome a grinder shoot-out with any grinder, manual or electric I would bring my mini Rosco, Paid $340. with delivery not saying it is better, just that I have ground for many good machines including pioneers Roasters and everyone was always impressed by the thick syrupy shots.

Careful now... You might have our resident Croc Whisperer wingin it down here with his mighty HG1 under his arm..... .... Better still, the Izzo under the other arm.... PS. I've got a HC Rossa now and the Pharos has been handed over to USPS, si it'll be here in a week or two... I'm lookin forward to the next social... I'll bring the Bodum Pebo for a 'clean black' to cleanse the pallet.... Bring it on C-man.... : beats chest .... : collapses on ground in a fit of coughing and gasping

conikal

Moon wrote:

Great news, my Lusso arrived today .. well packaged and intact.

So, did the dreaded "Duty Man" take his pound of flesh ?.. ..or did the Lusso fly under the assesment radar ?

Moon

Good call conical - You were on the money .. cheers - I got lucky, as did my sister who got the trifecta in the Cup today ..we're on a roll. 8) Had a 3rd coffee after grinding into a container, giving it a shake to break up the clumps, filling the basket half way .. tamping, filling up and tamping to 3mm from top. Bit more crema and a bit more even in the pour.. although still a way to go. Definitely need to keep working at getting a more balanced distribution of grinds in the basket. Each coffee is getting better .. and micro foam was heaps better after managing to control that steam train that heats the milk to temp in no time .. at nowhere near max output. Loving the Lusso .. it's a little beauty.

C-man

Ol Grumpy wrote:

Careful now... You might have our resident Croc Whisperer wingin it down here with his mighty HG1 under his arm..... .... Better still, the Izzo under the other arm.... PS. I've got a HC Rossa now and the Pharos has been handed over to USPS, si it'll be here in a week or two... I'm lookin forward to the next social... I'll bring the Bodum Pebo for a 'clean black' to cleanse the pallet.... Bring it on C-man.... : beats chest .... : collapses on ground in a fit of coughing and gasping

There will be a grand opening at my place when finished, maybe the next social??? everyone will be welcome! bring the Pharos and we will put it up against my Rosco and settle this once and for all. if it is really better in the cup then I will buy one too. any grinder for that matter I would like to taste the difference! Bring them all on! we should have all of them here, I got the space with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms anyone can sleep over. big commercial teppinyaki bbq that we can fire up too

Moon

:coffee:

Moon

When I was giving the PF and basket a scrub .. I noticed the spring clip came off, and without it .. the basket sits loose in the PF. Where does it go .. under the lip of the basket? It doesn't stay when I put it back there.

SniffCoffee

As I recall there is a small groove on the inside of the PF - the clip sits in the groove and then is compressed when you push the basket down into the PF Sniff

Moon

Oh yeah .. didn't see that .. all good now. Cheers Sniff :thumb:

Lacehim

If it starts to get loose later on just get a pair of pliers and bend the little flick bit out some more. 🙂 How's the coffee going? It's what's in the cup that counts... are you happy?

Moon

Hi Lacehim I'm over the moon .. just had a coffee and it was great .. not much in the way of crema .. but like you say, it's what it tastes like that counts.. certainly no disappointment there. What a ripper little machine the Lussos are. Its been on for for a few hours and the frame is pretty hot .. but not that hot that I can't leave my hand on it .. so the insulation is doing ok seeing it's a warm day. The pour is a little fast .. so I'm not sure whether it is the beans, grind or tamp at this stage. Paying more attention to get the distribution of grinds more even in the basket. I'll have to get a proper 44.5mm tamper off Jack .. as these plastic ones wouldn't be helping in the tamping department. Lusso and Compak are fantastic. Waiting on the Spong No4 hand grinder to see how that goes - after pulling it apart and giving it a good clean, de-rusting and oiling the burrs with a can of Pure n Simple to keep it a fine layer so as not to grease the beans too much. Fun times 🙂 How are you going? Any update on whether to go for a blast from the past .. and get yourself another Lusso? Wonder how ash is going with his --> for sale? 😉

Lacehim

Moon wrote:

Lusso and Compak are fantastic. Waiting on the Spong No4 hand grinder to see how that goes - after pulling it apart and giving it a good clean, de-rusting and oiling the burrs with a can of Pure n Simple to keep it a fine layer so as not to grease the beans too much. Fun times 🙂 How are you going? Any update on whether to go for a blast from the past .. and get yourself another Lusso? Wonder how ash is going with his --> for sale? 😉

Moon, don't oil the burrs! They need to be clean or coffee with stick to it. 🙂 The outside goes win with a little oil to stop rusting, all the inside parts/chutes need to be dry. You'll find the burrs won't be too bad, probably just a bit of minor surface rust. I've just bought an NS Oscar, so hopefully that will suit me for a while.

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