It is unlikely to have escaped your attention that in recent days some participants in a particular espresso forum have expressed their dismay at our derogatory remarks of other machines
The truth is we’ve been incredibly restrained in terms of the full catalogue of espresso equipment disappointments i would love to bullet point in this blog, and indeed feel i would be well within my rights to do so. A blog is a diary that is open for the world to read, if they happen upon it, written in the stream of consciousness style of narrative & often in the small hours of the morning after everything else has been seen to
I have tried not to offend people unnecessarily – we just think that across the board the average build quality of domestic espresso machines in particular (less so commercial machines) is in a similar place to the British automotive industry in the 70s in many cases – beyond the shiny casing its pretty disappointing
Given that we’ve been roasting since 2004 and trading since 2007 and people are only taking offence now that we are building an alternative tells you all you need know I think – the manner in which the blog is written in consistent from the very first entry – there’s no ghost writer involved
But there hasn’t been much reciprocation of the favour, so lets talk about Ponte Vecchio lever machines in full colour
We bought with our own hard cash both the 1 group Export model and the 2 group Lusso. Some of you will recall it appearing in this forum some time ago. We purchased them with the expectation of becoming a reseller, so we went into it with high hopes
When they didn’t measure up we had to dispose of them and take a significant loss on sale
I’ve got a good Australian customer in Oxford, who has become a friend as a result, but that doesn’t make me hesitate to publish this – he’s too darn normal to take offence because someone (in this case me) said they found the same machine that he owns & likes to be a disappointment
The good points? They are very good value for money if you are running within a tight budget, no shame in that. They are for example much better value than La Pavoni manual levers, which tend to trade on the romantic factor. That said, while La Pavonis struggle to deliver consistency, the good shots from them are great
The fact that the Ponte Vecchios have a spring lever improves the consistency of your results dramatically
They do give a nice dense, authentic, full bodied espresso, no issue there either. We might even learn to live with the low shot volume; probably not actually
But here’s whats on the other side of the ledger;
The build quality is unbelievably poor. We weren’t just unlucky, it went to the heart of the design. But, if you like you could say, but hey, what else is there at this price point, and we might grudgingly agree with you in some way, although we’d probably still say hold on to your money an put it toward a more expensive machine
But here’s the kicker for us – we have someone on a forum holding forth that a Ponte Vecchio can match the clarity and taste definition of a 58mm commercial spring group
We’re not defending any machine we sell here; pick any 58mm commercial lever – they are spinning in an orbit far far beyond any Ponte Vecchio machine if you are talking about the ability to taste the most subtle notes in the roast
The Ponte Vecchio is fairly easy to get a nice dense full bodied espresso from, far superior to a La Pavoni, no question. But I’m sorry, it compresses the spectrum of flavours in whatever roast it is you are running to give a single, homogenous taste. If you like that style of espresso you will of course be very happy with that result. Just please don’t castigate us for being arrogant or pernicious just because we write that a 58mm commercial spring lever group gives superior definition of the full spectrum of tastes in the roast. It just does. I can’t believe I’ve taken the time to respond, its that pronounced. Its not a theoretical, semantic, academic hair splitting we’re talking about – its night & day
That doesn’t mean we have a downer on La Pavoni, or Ponte Vecchio, or any of the other machines in that price bracket. We fully understand that everyone operates within a budget, we’re not sneering at anyone
But give us a break, the taste definition of any commercial lever is so superior relative to even many highly respected multi group commercial E61 machines, which is why levers are enjoying such a renaissance
I can’t see what is so contentious about what we are putting forward. OK so perhaps its the manner, perhaps I use the wrong tone, come across too aggressive, whatever, you’re probably right, but that doesn’t of itself make what I’m saying wrong. And a forum isn’t meant to be sanitised like a nice little corporate memo that is honed and refined so many times so it doesn’t offend anyone that it is as dull as ditchwater
Lets get some perspective, I thought the Olympia Cremina was an incredible machine, and it is, until I bumped into a Bosco for the first time. There’s just no contest. The definition from the Bosco is in a different league. That doesn’t make the Cremina a bad machine. It is peerless in the shot quality if delivers relative to the space it takes up. But it can’t hold a candle to the Bosco for definition. Not even close.