I'm an espresso nut... Long story short, I've been looking for a vintage lever-action espresso machine for years, but never found one I could afford... A few months ago, my wife found this at a yard sale for $20 and snagged it for me... It's a late '60s LaPavoni Europiccola. It was basically pristine but the top group seal was leaking and the original hammer tone paint was coming off. So I blew it completely apart, replaced all the seals, repainted and re polished it. It's beautiful and makes a great cup of coffee to boot...
Piston espresso maker for $20 bucks !!!! Best coffe you can have ! I still use the stove top one, good strong brew, shot of cognac in it .... great way to start your day!
Yep, I used one of those for years, but the seals tend to be crap and I got tired of changing them. This one was a nutty deal... Or steal... I actually feel a little bad about it, but my Wife assures me the lady was just happy it went to a good home... She was quite 'comfortable' and selling it didn't seem to be about the money... She said it was her Italian Mother's and she made a cup of espresso every morning with it until she passed. I had been looking for one in the $500 range, and had no luck. At least not one that wouldn't need multiple parts replaced. I have a Pasquini semi-auto I bought off CL in Austin, that this replaces and I paid $400 for that one and thought it was a steal. But Austin loves it's coffee, so those prices are a little elevated.
Vittorio Arduino My brother had one of these in his restaurant. Believe it or not $25000 dollars new ! All hammered copper and brass. It is a work of art. I have a seico superautomatica as well Put beans on one side and water in the other, set your grind and get a coffee. Works great. Needs the boiler replaced, back to the stovetop. It takes up a lot or counter space. The Italian bakeries usually have the flat gaskets for the stove top model I buy them 5 at a time Usually good for a year. I’m a certified coffee junkie.
Thought I already replied to this... Guess I didn't hit post. That's a thing of beauty. There have been some truly beautiful espresso machines throughout the decades. Most of them are way out of my price range. Counter space is a huge issue... We had one of the full auto Saeco's at work for a while. I can't say I was super impressed, but then again, I wasn't able to tune it. It broke down a lot. I like the stove top coffee maker. Maybe I had a bad casting or something. Seals just didn't last. Easy enough to change and find, but it was a huge mess when they went out, and getting a good cup of coffee out of them was a challenge. That said, the coffee out of those little Bialetti stove top makers is way better than 90% of the coffee like drinks you can get out there on the streets.
My seico machine is at least 15 years old. Seico got bought out by some one s few years ago, supposedly the quality of the machine went up. But the quality of the brew went down. Mines had the boiler replaced twice. Ow needs it again, and a few other small parts. It works very well if you use good beans and distilled water. My problem is I keep it in all day, and use Tap water in it.... and I don’t descale it on a regular basis. Yes , I’m an equipment asshole !! Lol
This is an old thread but I added to my collection... My grinder was getting tired and I'd been looking for a commercial grade flat burr grinder for a while, so I found this old La San Marco grinder and restro-rodded it a bit...
I would love a machine like the OP has!!! My poor little stove top is now close to 30 years old. I use a french press almost as much anymore
Yeah, he was a good man.... He always tried to steer me in the right direction.... Half the time I didn't listen....
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