Top Vivaldi Tricks

Tips and Tricks you have discovered with your S1, VII, Mini-VII, Dream, or Dream T that lets you do any aspect of coffee making, steaming, maintenance, etc better.
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Endo

Top Vivaldi Tricks

Post by Endo »

Top Vivaldi Tricks (or How I learned to Love my Vivaldi)

After more than a year with the Mini Vivaldi, I've slowly adapted my technique to the point that I am pretty happy with results. I thought it would be nice to have some of the top tricks written down in one topic so that the newcomers won't need to do so much searching. I'll try and list them in terms of order of importance:

1. Use fresh coffee.

OK. I know. This is an obvious one. But it's worth mentioning first since without it, you might as well forget everything else. Also, the Vivaldi uses a smaller 53mm basket. The idea behind it is that the increased puck height around the edges should reduce channelling. Good idea, but I'm now convinced it does the opposite and actually increases channelling. But don't worry, it just means you need to pay a bit more attention to your technique. As you know, fresh coffee tends to stick together better and reduces this channelling, so this is a good place to start. It also tastes better.

2. Use a good grinder.

Another obvious one, but for the same reasons as above, if you want good espresso you need a good grinder too. The minimum is at least a $400 Vario grinder. Don't laugh, I bet there are quite a few users out there using pre-ground Illy.

3. Dose 15g to 16.5g

This one is a little less obvious. The Vivaldi basket was designed around the typical Italian double (14g dose). Actually, I suspect the Italian 7g single was a determining design factor as well. For these doses the puck height is ideal and the proper headspace is maintained. You can go higher, but taste will suffer. The triple basket is another option, but while I admit I have not tried it, I suspect the height may be too large for proper extraction (which is why La Spaziale does not produce a triple basket).

4. Nutation

This one is not so obvious. When I found this trick, my shot quality jumped from good to great. I think it has a lot to do with what I mentioned at the beginning. The tall basket is more prone to side channelling so a little extra edge pressure goes a long way. I grind fine and even add a couple of small PF taps to help aid settling in the basket. I believe this helps provide a more uniform density than finger distribution techniques like “Stockfletch” or “NSEW”, which I believe only compress the top layer. Similarly, the usual 30 lb tamp is not as effective since most of the compression is achieved in the upper layers. I prefer a lighter 10 lb tamp and finer grind.

5. Longer shots

This one might be a bit more of a personal preference, but I find the standard 25 sec rule too short for the Vivaldi. Once again, I blame it on the taller puck, which takes longer to soak from top to bottom. I find the 35 sec shots taste the best. Richer, more viscous, more flavours. It most cases, it does NOT taste over extracted. Using my bottomless PF, I find the best tasting shots are the ones that start very slowly (many thick drops, equally distributed around the basket) which join together in a single middle stream. The shot should “accelerate” slowly but most importantly, show good contrast and “tiger striping” for the entire 35 sec. Don’t get hung up on the time. Stop it before the contrast and striping disappear. I made a close-up HD video to show when to cut the shot. The shot is just a little on the slow side, but still it gives a good idea of what to aim for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mQrudgO2l8

6. You’ve got temperature adjustment…..now USE it.

The Vivaldi is one of first few machines that has temperature adjustability. Still, many of us find a good middle temperature (93C) and leave it there for all blends. Try the lower 91C for the new fruity S/Os. Try 97C for a traditional espresso blend. Then switch around and see what happens. Don’t bother with 1 deg C adjustments. GO big and you’ll get a better idea of the impact.

7. Use the stock steam setup and PRACTICE

I’ll admit. I’ve obsessed way too much on this one over the last year. If you learned on a single hole steaming machine like me (Silvia, Gaggia, etc), you are in for a “powerful” surprise. On the other hand, if you are a pro barista who uses a commercial machine, you’ll be very comfortable with the power. The main thing to keep in mind here is the stock setup is the best. You can play around with all tips and wand lengths as I did, but it will most likely just lead you back to the stock setup. It takes time to master. You need to figure out the right volume of milk, pitcher size, tip position, etc. But once mastered, it produces very good microfoam VERY quickly. Start with the stock setup and a 12oz pitcher half filled. Put the steam tip in the middle ( or 1/3 from the side), give it only two or 3 blips to stretch in the beginning 5 sec, sink the wand down ¼ in and roll for the remaining 15 secs. The key is NOT too overstretch and not to overheat. You can save on milk by practicing using Scott Rao’s “water and one-drop of dishwashing soap” technique. If you are at wits end, you can get the new 4 hole “no-burn” tip which despite being advertised as the same as the stock tip, is actually a little slower (La Spaziale holes are larger than advertised).

I’m sure there are lots more good tips. Feel free to add yours!
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