1970 Rancilio z8 lever piston vs Rancilio 1974 z9

Aka Mario vs Luigi

Around 12 months ago we were fortunate enough to take ownership of 1974 z9 lever piston. After a few minor tweaks and adjustments the affectionately named Luigi was pulling some of the most amazing espresso we’d ever tasted. Then, around a month ago we saw Luigi’s “older brother” for sale on the bay of evil, a 1970 z8 lever piston... In red! “Hey, it’s Mario!” one of our friends exclaimed.

Unfortunately we couldn’t justify the funds to purchase dear old Mario at the time and the Auction ended without a buyer. After much tossing and turning another colleague got together the funds and contacted the seller. He arranged the purchase of Mario and not having anywhere to store the contraption asked if Mario could live here, at Bar 9.

A short couple of weeks later Mario arrived and the Microwave was removed from to make room. Now the two brothers sit competitively side by side vying for the next sweet shot of espresso.

Needless to say we were super keen to hammer the two machines to find out what differences, if any, existed between the two.

Side by side Mario (1970 Rancilio Z8) looks in better condition than his younger brother Luigi (1974 Rancilio Z9), though Luigi is almost entirely comprised of original parts (reconditioned) while some of Mario’s are aftermarket.

The flow rate of Mario is slightly faster than that of his brother (reaching 30mls around 2 seconds earlier), though the pressure curve on both is around the same (I say pressure curve as they are both lever pistons the pressure profiles in a bell shaped curve. Ramping up to 8.5bars fairly quickly and trailing off throughout the length of the shot).

After dialling in both machines until they tasted at their best, the temperature curves were wildly different, representing the biggest distinction between the two machines (besides their colour). Luigi’s temp (in the puck) starts at 97C and ramps all the way down to 88C by the end of the shot (we cut it at around 24mls). Mario’s temp however begins at 94C and drops gradually to 92C by the end of the shot (much more in line with general espresso theory and what is expected to taste good).

The end result is two machines remarkably similar to look at while vastly different in the cup. Luigi’s s’pro is rich, complex and wildly body dominant while Mario produces a fresh cup, with increased sweetness.

Both machines are gathering a stern following with coffee lovers divided in naming their favourite.

Upcoming AASCA meeting

We are looking to hold the next AASCA meeting on Tuesday the 3^rd of November at the SA Coffee Academy at 6-30pm.

Items on this agenda will be as follows:

State co-ordinator

Roasters Guild and Cup of Excellence

SA and the 2011 WBC bid

2010 Nationals on the Gold Coast

If you're a member your attendance would be greatly appreciated and if your not but think you might be interested please feel free to contact Bill on 0407714560

AASCA update

On Friday Aasca (Australasian Specialty Coffee Association) held its annual general meeting and here are a few key points that were decided.

Ross Quail elected as the new President/Chairman.

Bill Comley as Vice President.

Tom Beaumont as Treasurer/Secretary.

Other regular members of the executive are Ian Callahan (that's me), Mark Barun and Bruno Maiolo.

In other news, Robert Forsythe was officially welcomed as a lifetime member, in order to give recognition to the fantastic work he has done for our industry over the many years.

Well done to all those appointed and who put up their hand to help strengthen the specialty coffee industry here and abroad. For those of you who haven't seen the new website or are interested in becoming a member please head over to www.aasca.com for more info.

This week's wrap up

Well I've decided to do a bit of a concise wrap at the end of every week, partly to act as a summary journal, and partly to let you all know what you missed out on if you couldn't make it through ;p

This week saw the first official week with 3 phase power at bar 9. This has meant that the lovely 40amps that the Synesso has been massively overloading our power grid with, is now taken care of, which leaves us with enough power coming to the site to fire up everything else we need without worry of tripping fuses and blowing out Etsa Boxes (yes, it happened - sorry ETSA).

This has meant a gradual introduction of some new menu items. We now have toasted panini being supplied by "queen st cafe", cakes and pastries by local pastry chef Shane Joppich and various other savoury items and house made chutneys etc by locally renowned chef, Scottie Butcher. We've finally got enough power to run a freezer which has meant the exciting introduction of Brazilian super food, Acai. For those of you who haven't tried it come in and ask for a free taster, we assure you, it's pretty damn amazing!

Also, if you have any suggestions for food, or anything you'd like to see on the menu, please let us know, as feedback on this side of the business has been the hardest to get out of people

This week has also seen a plethora of exciting coffee's coming through the doors. Rwandan Musasa, Tanzanian Blackburn Estate (both AA and AB), Bollivia San Juan 8 Estrellas, Kenya Gethumbwini (AA), Tembo and Gaikundo, Columbia Nos Larangas (which we loved so much that we decided to work it into our black blend), Guat and Brazil CoE (both getting on a bit but still quite tasty) two different Aricha's and two different Beloya's, some of Square Mile's summer espresso blend, and finally some Sumatran of which I'm not sure what region/farm but it was damn tasty as a syphon!

Nick Cho's thread on Coffeed.com regarding syphon brewing ratio's has had us really rethinking and experimenting with out syphon technique, however we still haven't made a decent brew with steep time's over a minute (still more tests to be done!). Ben Bicknell suggested a significantly different technique to what we usually employ which has been fun playing around with. Try 12.5g p/cup(120mls) roughly ground for a mokka (slightly coarser than espresso), added during the up draw with only one full stir. Steep for 45-50seconds and allow to draw down with again only one full stir. I'm not sure I'm fully sold on this technique but it does deliver a different but still enjoyable brew. If you do try it, let us know what you think.

Other than that we keep getting busier and busier so thank you to everyone who's come in and had a coffee, and even more so to everyone who's been spreading the word on our behalf, we really appreciate it.

Look forward to pulling you all some more exciting shots next week!

2010 South Australian Barista Competition

Some more news has come to light so here it is. Due to a conflict between sponsors expobar will no longer be supplying a prosumer to the winner, instead a Compak K3 (wbc) will be supplied to the winner. Two K10's will also be made available throughout the comp, one of which will be given to the winner of the Nationals and the other (I am told) will be auctioned off for charity.

There will be spots available for 15 competitors, and maybe a few 'reserve' entries which will be allowed to compete if there is enough time. However there are no guarantees so be sure to get your entry in ASAP if you plan on competing. 7 spots have already been filled by Cibo, and you can bet a few more will go to "C" coffee - on the run, which doesn't leave a great deal for everyone else so if you are interested, it's on a first come first serve basis so ask now!

An information night is being held at the Coffee Barun next Saturday (22nd August) from 5pm or feel free to contact Bill Comley on 0407 714 560 if you have any questions.

Best of luck to all those who are entering!

A quick update on the SA barista comp

It's all very confusing but the competition to crown the 2010 state barista champion of South Australia is set to take place mid september (yes, in 2009). Here's some info taken straight from the minutes of the last meeting:

"The SA state Barista Competition will be held at the RHAS Adelaide Show on Thursday the 10^th of September with the Latte Art and Cupping being held on the 11^th of September. We have been bumped from the Goyder Pavilion. The new location will be between the Goyder and Wayville Pavilions in the food court. This may not be ideal but is undercover and will get us maximum exposure and gives us 2 full days with no interruption."

Now a lot of things are yet to be confirmed but to get the rumour file cracking here's some 'too early to be released information'.

Judges:

Brian Raslan

Brian Lewis

Bill Comley

Craig Dickson

Remo Russo

Mario Macri

Ben Rosenthal

Richard Carman

Cameron Ballard

Alan Holroyd

Ian Callahan (That's me!)

Brad Nixon (still yet to confirm, but I'm badgering him!)

Prizes: Confirmed 2nd and 3rd place getters for the barista and latte art comp will something from the lovely greg pullman (at a guess I'd say one of his fantastic Tamps) and 2nd and 3rd in cupping will get something from Rio (at a guess I'd say some ACF cups). Also, expobar is rumoured to be supplying the 1st place prize so it's probably one of their prosumers but this is still yet to be confirmed.

So if there are any budding baristi out there who wanna step up, or if you want to come lend a hand, send me an email or better yet, contact Bill Comley direct on 0407 714 560.

I'll let you know as more developments occur