stefanolo's Mini Vivaldi II

[stefanolo]

Proud and happy owner of a superb espresso machine, Mini Vivaldi II, since a week. We're getting along very well and espresso is tastier than ever. I'm really a newbie but felt it was time to leave my Silvia for a potent double boiler. A friend who has had a Mini for a couple of years recommended it to me and along with a lot of positive words on the internet I was pushed over the edge . I've done some maintenance work on it and it's working like new. New group gasket, cleaned dispersion screens and plate and some serious back flushing. Received a new thinner dispersion screen holder/plate from Tidaka's Tamper & Trichter (=funnel) in Germany, tamper, funnel and two new "precision filter baskets".

I think I'm going to change the steam arm to the longer one, but not the "no burn". I'm also curious about the pre-infusion chamber from Chris' Coffee Service.

Some pics:


The coffee corner



Some new stuff from Germany.



New precision filter basket on the left, old one on the right.



Close-up on the new basket.



Close-up on the old basket.



New and old dispersion screen holder.



From the side to see the difference in height. Old 13 mm and new 9 mm.



New group gasket in place.



Dispersion screens and holder/plate before cleaning. Old group gasket on the left and new on the right. Old one dry and stiff and a you can see the deep dent all around the gasket where the filter edge has been pressing against the gasket.



New tamper, the Board-tamper, with one side convex and the other flat. Both 53.4 mm in diameter. Weight: appr. 900 grams. Takes some getting used to handling such a heavy tamper.

[slo]

Hello Stefanolo and welcome.
I will defer to others on advices specific to the Mini... but I agree that the no-burn, albeit the obvious advantage of the no-burn feature, is probably not the best steam arm. I keep on trying it on but removing it for the original steam arm. I never tried the longer S5 but I already have all the reach that I need when using a 20 oz Espro Toroid plus it is very easy to tuck it in for the water/purge purges.

Thank you for the pictures of Tidaka's stuff. This is probably the best side by side comparison I have seen so far. Great pictures.

[txrpls]

I have the longer steam arm and never installed it. I'll give it to you if you pay the postage. I have been using the Tidka stuff fo about a year and it is great. The funnel thing is great for keeping grinding mess to a minimum.

[stefanolo]

slo, thank you very much! I've been lurkin' here for a while to learn about the Vivaldi that I've heard so much good about, and now finally had the chance to buy for a resonable amount.

My knowledge/opinion about the no burn steam arm is only hearsay or what I've read and is thereby not based on any kind of real knowledge or experience of my own. I've read similar opinions about the GS3 steam arm (that the steam might be a little too "wet") so maybe there is something to that "rumour". When my 12 oz steaming pitcher is a little too small and the 20 oz is a little too big (yes, that happens to me pretty often) I think a longer steam arm will solve my problem. Probably I need to work on my barista skills as well Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this .

Hello Stefanolo and welcome.
I will defer to others on advices specific to the Mini... but I agree that the no-burn, albeit the obvious advantage of the no-burn feature, is probably not the best steam arm. I keep on trying it on but removing it for the original steam arm. I never tried the longer S5 but I already have all the reach that I need when using a 20 oz Espro Toroid plus it is very easy to tuck it in for the water/purge purges.

Thank you for the pictures of Tidaka's stuff. This is probably the best side by side comparison I have seen so far. Great pictures.

[stefanolo]

@ txrpls (how do one pronounce that ) : I'm overwhelmed by your generosity. Of course I accept ! Let's work out the details via PM. If we can work it out and I get the chance to test the longer steam arm, and decide to keep it, I will pass my original steam arm on for free like you.

I totally agree on the benefits of the funnel, at least when one like I fills the pf with 18+ gr of ground coffe with my Vario. My Vario isn't spraying the coffee around but when one "overfills" the pf like I do, the precious coffee doesn't by accident fall out of the pf. The funnel also helps with getting the tamper level in the filter basket in the initial stage of leveling and tamping. At my skill level I need all the help I can get .

I just opened a new bag af freshly roasted beans (70% Antigua and 30 % Muthuthi-ini) from my right now favourite roastery, Lilla Kafferosteriet (The little Coffee roastery) in Malmö where I live, and ground 18 grams into the pf, and used my Tidaka tools. The 1 1/2 oz of espresso that left the Mini was by far the best tasting shot I've ever managed to produce .

I have the longer steam arm and never installed it. I'll give it to you if you pay the postage. I have been using the Tidka stuff fo about a year and it is great. The funnel thing is great for keeping grinding mess to a minimum.

[elguapodecarlos]

I just installed my new no-burn steam arm 3 days ago and was not satisfied with it. It seems that I always end up with more bubbles and can not get the great micro foam I am used to get with my burn-me steam arm. My theory is that do to the high temperature difference between the steam temperature (260F) and ambient temperature (~60F), there is always the opportunity for condensation to form no matter what I do. So I am going to go back to my factory burn-me factory steam arm. I asked Chris at chriscoffee and he said that I can not return it because is considered a used part. I also want to mention that I also bought the 4-hole tip that goes with the no-burn steam arm and was dissatisfied with its performance.

[chas]

I tried the no burn steam arm on the S1 when it first came out, I reverted to full burn within days. When I purchased the GS/3, it came standard with a no burn arm. As soon as they made a full burn version available I converted.

The problem I see with the design is that they take a standard full burn arm and run a teflon tube down the middle to insulation the metal part from the steam. This means that you effectively have a steam arm about 1/3 the diameter of the metal arm and a hole that the steam runs through that is no wider than a toothpick. This is just too restrictive to get a good steam flow.