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La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

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John402052000
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Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: KY
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 1:00pm Subject: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

I received this for a Christmas present. I've managed to get some good shots out of this, even using the Kitchenaid Pro grinder. I have some issues: 1) It's tricky getting the portafilter up and locked into the group. It takes a bunch of tries to be able to move the handle clockwise and in place. 2) Is it normally really difficult to get the used puck out of the portafilter? I've seen people just sort of tap it and the puck comes out. I've got to chip it out with a small spoon. 3) We got this machine via Craig's list. The instructions that came with it mention a green indicator light. This machine only has the red on/off button and the I and II button. What version would this be? I've seen instructions where the I setting is for pulling shots and the II for frothing. thanks! John

jtrops
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Dec 2008
Posts: 118
Location: Colorado, USA
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Gaggia Factory
Grinder: Zass Turkish/Kitchenaid pro...
Drip: Vietnamese pour over
Roaster: Heat Gun/DB

Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 1:45pm Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

I can't speak to the version you have but I have a millennium version and a KA Proline grinder, so I may be able to help a little. How hard is it to put an empty portafilter in? It can be tough if you have the portafilter over full. I don't know if there is a simple answer to this, but I have noticed that some blends knock out of the pf with a single tap, and other blends need to be knocked repeatedly. It may be that your coffee is in the second category. I'll stay tuned to see if someone has a better answer. Can't say.

John402052000
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: KY
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 2:44pm Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

well -- I was putting too much coffee it it. Just tried another shot and got a much better result. The shot was a little bitter though. I currently have my KA set on 7 but may go a half step higher to 7.5. I still had to chip the puck out with a spoon. thanks!

Posted Tue Dec 27, 2011, 9:09pm
Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

John402052000 Said:

well -- I was putting too much coffee it it. Just tried another shot and got a much better result. The shot was a little bitter though. I currently have my KA set on 7 but may go a half step higher to 7.5. I still had to chip the puck out with a spoon.

thanks!

Posted December 27, 2011 link

If your espresso is bitter you may have too fine a grind already, so I don't think I would go finer. You may still be over dosing a bit.

Have you done any modifications to your KitchenAid? A half step is a huge change in grind. I find that just nudging a little makes a big difference. Right now my grinder is set to about 7 1/16. I think my average adjustment (when I make them) is about 1/100 of the distance between the numbers.

If you haven't made a stepless mod. there are different ways to do it, but the easiest is the Teflon tape mod. It's been a while since I did it, but if you have a hard time finding the info let me know, and I'll give you a step by step. This was an immediate improvement, and it took less than 5 minutes to complete. Unlike some mod's this one is completely reversible so you don't have to worry about what you're doing to your grinder.

John402052000
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: KY
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 8:28am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

I'll look into that mod. I also may need to replace the burrs. I'm not sure if I've got one of the good KA Pros or not. Still pulling what looks like good espresso, although may be a little bitter. It could also be my beans. I roast my own and the last shot I made with the espresso blend from Burman Coffee was excellent. I'm now using Indonesian Monsoon Myamar, which is a much lighter bean. thanks again!

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 9:36am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

before you replace your burrs you may want to try lapping them. Lapping the burrs made the grind much more consistent and the flavor was much better. You could lap the burrs at the same time that you do the stepless mod, and add only a couple more minutes to the job. Those two changes made a world of difference in my machine. I have a set of Mazzer burrs that will go into my grinder one day, but after lapping the burrs the improvement was so striking that I haven't felt the need to swap them out yet.

samuellaw178
Senior Member

Joined: 22 Jan 2011
Posts: 367
Location: State College
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Cremina '83, Faetma Baby...
Grinder: Pharos #161, Baratza Preciso
Drip: Aeropress, Moka pot

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 9:43am
Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

jtrops Said:

before you replace your burrs you may want to try lapping them. Lapping the burrs made the grind much more consistent and the flavor was much better. You could lap the burrs at the same time that you do the stepless mod, and add only a couple more minutes to the job. Those two changes made a world of difference in my machine. I have a set of Mazzer burrs that will go into my grinder one day, but after lapping the burrs the improvement was so striking that I haven't felt the need to swap them out yet.

Posted December 28, 2011 link

What does it mean by lapping the burrs?How do you do that?

John402052000
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: KY
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 9:55am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

Please -- do tell.

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 10:15am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

Lapping is ordinarily done to honing stones to make sure that there is a consistent flat surface for sharpening knives. To lap a stone you put a piece of very fine wet/dry sandpaper on a piece of glass and move the stone over the lapping surface until it is even. I have a DMT diamond plate that I use for setting the bevel on my razors, and it was perfect for lapping my burrs. The point in lapping my burrs was that I saw no real edges on the burrs when I looked at them. All of the cutting edges were fairly rounded. Since you can't get them sharpened (or at least I couldn't find anywhere that would) I decided to give them a few passes on one of my diamond plates. I didn't take very much material off of the burrs, just enough to get a polished surface. While there were still roundish edges the overall grind improved dramatically. I'll take it apart today and take some photo's so that you can see how the lapped burrs look. When I did the lapping I already had it in my head to swap the burrs with Mazzer's so I didn't think it was very risky. The results were significant enough to make me wait to do the more complicated burr transplant. When my burrs finally die the Mazzers will find their home in my grinder.

John402052000
Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jan 2007
Posts: 31
Location: KY
Expertise: Just starting

Posted Wed Dec 28, 2011, 10:26am Subject: Re: La Pavoni Europiccola newbie questions

Thanks for the tip. Oddly enough my brother-inlaw is in town for the holidays and is currently working on forging his own planer blades and has been talking about flat surfaces, his friends La Pavona, sharpening blades, sanding stuff, etc..... Once I see your photos I'll see if he'll give me a hand. How fine of sandpaper are you talking about? Also, and forgive my ignorance, but what is a diamond plate? When I think of diamond plates I think of the metal used on those tool boxes that fit in the beds of pick up trucks.

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