The S1 Cafe - Helping Your Espresso Dreams Become Reality

I'm working on a series of videos with the Vivaldi S1 and VII in action. It will be an ongoing project showing steaming, shot pulling, tamping and whatever else Spaz related thing comes to mind.
I figured this would help all of us see the behavior of our machines in normal day to day operation and perhaps give the prospective buyer a better idea of the machine in a different perspective.

Here's the first one, it's just a clip of a simple plain water backflush on the S1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T28KSXVhPAs

This clip shows how fast this baby can take 8 oz's of milk to 160F in no time flat, sorry about the angle (I promise to get an actual clip of the milk rolling in the pitcher next time):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF9EDe6rJAI

Like I said, this is ongoing so more clips will follow but if anyone else has something to add, please do!

Niko wrote: Here's the first one, it's just a clip of a simple plain water backflush on the S1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve1AWgrNXcw
Please excuse the green digital noise in the beginning, it was encoder on the website.

Hmm, when I backflush (or when I choke the machine), it's the middle yellow lights that blink, not the left green ones??

That's because I used the Single Cup dose button, the yellow ones blink when you use the Double Cup button.

Niko wrote:That's because I used the Single Cup dose button, the yellow ones blink when you use the Double Cup button.

Ah, thanks! :)

A beneficial project, Niko. Thank you for putting in the effort.

I was reminded that I could squirt my post-froth steam burst into an empty pitcher instead of swinging the steam arm back over the drip try. This will save me wear and tear on the arm, which has already needed tightening once.

If you can think of anything you'd like to see on video or have anything you would like to add, please feel free to post a link. I'm also taking requests....I'll be the guest "CJ" (coffee jockey).

I've got a few more in the works, just simple short clips of the little things involved in our obsession.

Since you ask, Niko, I would like to see how you grind with your MACAP MC4 with particular attention to the chopstick work that clears the chute.

In the meantime, here's a video clip showing a warming flush to bring the group up to temp, the Scace Device attached to the bottomless PF was just locked onto the group just a couple of minutes beforehand. The brew temp is set at 94C, notice at the beginning of the clip that the PF is only at 135F and the S1 launches the temperature into the "zone" pretty quickly. It's just a warming flush so it's ramping the temp up. The readings following that flush were pretty much DEAD-ON at 201.2F without wavering past that half degree celsius +/- like they claim (in fact, it was tighter than that).
Once the group is up to temp and the PF is hot, the S1's temps do not move. A single warming flush will do but another will really heat it nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0nTzX1Hb-g

Here's a clip showing how fast a bottomless PF loses heat once removed from the group. It goes to show you, keep it in the group at all times especially when you plan on using it within the next 30-45 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43nFDBUCZOQ

This one is not as much Vivaldi-related but it's the MACAP Autotamp in action. I talked about this on another thread, I'm adding it to this area since it's video.
I mentioned how good the fit is, it's actually perfect because it was custom made to fit a Spaz basket. Look how it holds the (empty) PF in place after tamping into it.
There's no sound until the last 11 seconds (too many people talking in the background), you'll here the "thwack" at the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPu_Te8XHOI

Thanks for letting us see that, Niko. Probably no other way I will ever get that chance.

That's a sweet little device, conversation provoker, novelty, and reality check all in one.

Seems a little slow and fussy to line up for everyday use. I imagine its real purpose is as a training device in a cafe brought out for new employees or to see if there has been some drift in the tamp department.

Actually, it's faster than any other way to tamp. I was going slow to demo it for the video. It literally thrashes every other tamping method known to man, with a quick alignment and a throw of the arm you get channel-less pours to die for. I swear it's like cheating so I try not to use it often, it is definitely a conversation provoker and a novelty.
Another thing is you cannot buy this thing ready for a Spaz like this, I ran into some luck. It was purchased (cheaper than dirt) from a cafe that closed down after only a month of using this tamper. I then sent in the 57mm piston to have it turned precisely at 53.4mm, the rest is history and anyone visiting can tamp a shot with no effort. There is no grinds leftover on the walls of the baskets and no polishing moves required to finish the tamping...just a quick WHAM and you're done.

Now you have me interested, and I had never considered it before. The idea of cheating--well, let's just say that it doesn't put me off.

Taking the diameter of the piston down is the real obstacle, then. And, of course, the price. I take it that the piston is not threaded onto the vertical shaft, and you cannot merely swap it out for, say, a Reg Barber or other broadly distributed piston.

Oh it's threaded all right, Wes.
Check it out...

I shot a clip of a double being pulled.
I slowed it down and the sounds came out really eery...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVXJzOV3XqA

of course I added a couple of them myself later but almost all of it is natural background noise from two people talking and some other little things going on.
It's kinda' like turning our espresso machine into a performance artist.

Looks like the title sequence for "Naked Portakiller."

Weska wrote:Since you ask, Niko, I would like to see how you grind with your MACAP MC4 with particular attention to the chopstick work that clears the chute.

I haven't forgotten about this, Weska.
I moved my MACAP to another location and I'll shoot this as soon as I get it back in a couple of more days.
Someone borrowed it....

Someone recently asked me for a clip showing the steam flow out of a Vivaldi. I thought I should make it public, the rest of you S1 owners already know what this little beast is capable of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FniCAAmZH9Q

That video of the chopstick work will be of interest to me and others, Niko. Thanks for keeping it in the queue.

However, it's too late too influence my purchase. I was back and forth about doserless, a path common to many of us. But the doserless with stepless combination was too tough for me too buy under reasonable conditions.

I'm used to working around my doser in the MDF so cleaning up after a presumably better one won't strike me as a big step backward. Also my reading leads me to believe that the access to the exit is easier with the doser because tje opening is more visible and broader once the finger guard is removed. At least it is more obvious.

That's where your chopstick comes in because you seem to have a solution there to the complaint of others that the doserless snout clumps a lot and traps a lot. As I said, still of interest to me and others.

Here's the clip you've been waiting for, Wes.
I did it really fast (and sloppy) in one take since I didn't have a tripod handy or a person to operate it while I did this.
I usually fill the basket evenly and without dropping grinds onto the white paper towel. I blame this on the Mazzer, it has made me a lazy man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgEsWqG3Zqw

Thanks for that, Niko. Makes me wish I had found a doserless.

Very nice black chopstick, and a good-looking technique for distribution. That's a bonus that I hadn't expected or asked for.

I may try to imitate at least that much and see what happens. Shall we call it the Chopstick Chop?

The "Chopstick Chop" sounds good.
The trick is to find a really good chopstick, the majority of them out there are not good enough, it needs a nice small pointy tip (a nice taper) so you can break all the little clumps as they fly into the basket. I've tried it with bigger sticks and things get messier and clumps aren't worked out all the way.

I love all these names of techniques they come out with: The Chicago Chop, The WDT Technique and the Stockfleth's Move....sounds like some kick-ass martial arts moves that can be lethal if you step in front of any.
Funny thing is I've used every one of these moves on my own without even knowing there's a name for them! Especially the Chicago Chop, who on Earth doesn't use that to overdose a basket?

My friends and I had a get-together.
It was Spaz vs. Spaz.

Can you count how many Vivaldis are in this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32j0ExDOWmA

Crank up the sound, don't worry...no annoying music in this one.

niko, what is the material you have on the counter that you place the portafilter on when you tamp

did you have les make the wood handles for your portafilters; i see that they are done in the original shape; they look pretty cool

It's a rubber tamping mat, There's a long one in front of each Spaz (6X18) and I use several 6X8 ones scattered throughout the counters. I'm a free-tamp kind of guy so if someone stands around me too long, I'll tamp on them if those mats around to cushion those blows coming form Les' tampers.
Les made 3 handles and 3 matching tampers for me, they're very nice indeed.

where do you get the rubber tamping mats

You can get them from EPNW: http://www.espressoparts.com/product/6030

Espresso Supply is even cheaper but there's a $50 minimum order:
http://www.espressosupply.com/Merchant2 ... y_Code=336

did you have your thor tampers made with flat or convex bottoms; do the convex bottomed tampers stand up on the counter or do you have to lay them down

what material did you have les use for the bases of your tampers

I'll post a video clip illustrating the bottoms for you to see.
They stand up fine on their own, the normal convex bottoms wobble when you bump them on a countertop. The Thor tampers hardly move, they have a very slight convex to them where you can barely see the light of day when you view them at eye level on a flat surface.
For the the base material, Les uses Lignum Vitae - one of the hardest woods on earth. He is now starting to offer Corian bases with them, perfect for those who like to polish their grinds to the max. I myself prefer the wood, there's nothing like a nice heavy chunk of Cocobolo or Desert Ironwood in the hand to mash down your grinds in one quick killer move with no side movement whatsoever, they have an extremely tight fit.

michael wrote:do the convex bottomed tampers stand up on the counter or do you have to lay them down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYw0MvSErK0

NIce demonstration of the differences.

Here's the Mazzer Mini E Type B in action at the beginning of this clip. A different approach when compared to the MACAP doserless. Similar chopstick action is demoed but I only use it with certain blends, most of the time I go bareback with this horse....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A73IrZyMa8

Milks a steamin' on the 'ol S1, move over VII...here comes your old man ready to roll that milk out the pitcher:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyfTaOq4JRE
(Trying to make up for the last steaming clip on the VII with this, at least you get a glimpse of the milk in the pitcher this time )

DOUBLE BASKET:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A602-tMHxq4

Here's the SINGLE BASKET in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yIA0qEDC7M

Niko - just wondering, with all the shots you're pulling and videos you're making, what do you do in your spare time? Or is the espresso that GIVES you spare time?

Good stuff, keep it coming.
Steve

4vDesmo wrote:Or is the espresso that GIVES you spare time?

Damn!...you figured out my secret

No Burn Arm steam pattern...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxm4LdEGgSE

Here's a 21 gram (Triple) shot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21BNXXeZAf0

Beautiful...I can almost taste it now!

Gary Dahl

Nice mega shot dude :P

sorry for the lack of light, my first ever video of my coffee routine:
http://video.google.pl/videoplay?docid= ... 7952252295

edit 2010:
the link doesn't work, here is a new one for your pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzak8rdj-u8
Btw, suprise, the post is editable after 2 years...

It just needs more sub titles so we can follow your running dialogue. :)

Pawel,
really nice to see the stuff in action!

Niko wrote:Pawel,
really nice to see the stuff in action!

Thank you Sir!

It just hit me that was you in the video...
very nice, it's good to see what the man behind the avatar looks like. Most of us hide, I do a good job of ducking out of my videos (I don't want to scare anyone :D )
I wish more Mini VII owners would post some video action of their machine, I'd love to hear some vibe pump action and watch the reservoir refill ritual.

getting my mini monday/tuesday next week so i will post a video next week...woohoo!

btw, my wife will be gone until wednesday night so if anyone wants to come over to help unbox and setup...please do so. LOL

A nice, comfortable routine you have, Pawel. And it is good to see the man behind the emoticons.

OK, Wes...
You're next
The homework assignment is video "show-and-tell" and include yourself in the video. :D

Niko and Weska, thanks!
It's good it works everytime, but I am stubborn and wish to learn the 'advanced' tricks... well, I did a 'stockfetch for dummies' and it worked too last time, and it is faster.

Scary assignment, Niko. For one thing, I have no video camera. Maybe flip cards.

I'm in the middle of moving my setup to a more favorable location in the kitchen. It will free up countertop and put the espresso works out of reach of my young son for another few months. I'll have more room to maneuver too.

Once that is in place...maybe, just maybe...some kind of documentation.

(Actually, my routine is just now a lot like Pawel's.)

And, by the way, I don't recall seeing more of you than your hands.

Weska wrote:It will free up countertop and put the espresso works out of reach of my young son for another few months.

I've been there, my kid won't even get near either of the Vivaldis...in fact, she stays waaaay back whenever it's on - even the blinking green standby light keeps her away.
Makes me wonder if she had an incident with the steam wand when I wasn't looking :D

Weska wrote: And, by the way, I don't recall seeing more of you than your hands.

I knew you'd catch that one!
Nothing gets past you

One of these days I'll make a fast appearance, we'll see if anyone catches it.

really good one coffee tool :D

Hi!

One of my first triple shots...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p61yq7jKcsI

The video was cross-posted on home-barista.

John and Keith, thank you!

You forgot the most important: the taste.

Btw. This week I pulled my first triple shots too. . The triple basket gives a new range of options to play with different coffees. I don't understand yet:

- Why La Spaz do not make triple baskets that fits into unmodified PFs (spouted PFs, please). IMHO, Chris Coffee probably could be the only one who could press La Spaz to offer this, or as an alternative, try to found a manufacturer than could make it. Specially when Chris is working for the american market.
- Why some S1 users who have owned a triple basket, they have sold it.

Chris told me that if he was going to have triples made up his minimum order would be 2000 baskets. Considering how few requests he gets for them he would have a hard time selling even a fraction of those. I've got a Synesso triple basket that will hold up to 24g & I seldom use it unless I break out the mega latte mug. I find that 18-19g in a double is more then enough caffiene for me in one shot. The nice thing about the triple basket with the Vivaldi is that it allows you to dose at 18-19g without hitting the screen.

I didn't - mentioned it was intense. Today I made a triple again with finer grind - sweetness like thick hot chocolate. Yet the brightness was gone, transformed into some spicy pick.

JohnB wrote:Chris told me that if he was going to have triples made up his minimum order would be 2000 baskets.

Didn't seem to be an issue for Dalla Corte.

Either:
a. Dalla Corte expect to sell a LOT more machines than La Spaziale (or, at least expects to sell to a lot more users who want a triple).
b. Dalla Corte knows where to get shorter runs of baskets produced at a reasonable cost. (This would seem to be backed up the the fact that DC triples were available for a while, but seem unobtainable now.)
c. Dalla Corte figures that just having a triple available as an option adds value to their machine. (I wonder if there aren't at least a few prospective buyers who, when learning that there is no triple available for the Vivaldi, have purchased some other machine. I don't think that would be anyone's primary decision maker, but it could possibly be the facter that tips the scale for some enthusiasts who value that option.)

JohnB wrote:Considering how few requests he gets for them he would have a hard time selling even a fraction of those.

I wonder how many actual requests Chris has gotten from people who want a triple basket. I highly suspect that most people who've even heard that a triple basket MIGHT be available heard it from the same forums where they're also informed that Chris doesn't sell triples. Knowing that Chris doesn't sell them, how many would go to the trouble of contacting CC with what would seem to be a fruitless request?

I think the last Triple Request poll on this forum had wish-requests for over 60 triple baskets, even if they were hand-made, and would cost $50 (or more.) And that's not even a very recent pole.

I wouldn't be surprised that if a triple basket was on the Vivaldi ordering page - and at a price closer to a regular double basket - many Vivaldi purchasers would just add it to their order because it would be an interesing option, and many current owners would add one to their next parts order. I'm not saying that 2000 triples would go flying out the door, but I think Chris would sell more triples than he thinks. (Of course, I'm not the one who has to put up the dough to get them made, so it's easy for me to say!)

JohnB wrote:The nice thing about the triple basket with the Vivaldi is that it allows you to dose at 18-19g without hitting the screen.

I totally agree. I sometimes dose at 20 grams (which I can't really do with any of my double baskets, at least not without several settling taps.) But more often I dose at more like 18g, and appreciate the headroom.

-JohnY

+1

Totally agree with everything you say. There's got to be some low volume manufacturers that would make a smaller run than 2000! You'd have to pay a bit more, but still. Geez, they sell 3000 machines but they still charge $200 for a timer that coud be made in China for $2. Following that logic, why not sell a $50 triple basket?

I like just about everything Chris Coffee does, but I think they really dropped the ball on both the triple basket and timer. Someone should have invested a bit more time making this work for the sake of the customers.