1990 Olympia Cremina

Rebuilt 1990 Olympia Cremina. 

Hard to say much about a Cremina that hasn't already been said, or that you probably don't already know if you're looking at this.  

Except there IS a difference between this Cremina, and the average used machine you're likely to find on ebay, or your local marketplace.

That "difference" is we've gone through this Cremina with the benefit of years of experience, as with all the machines we sell.  We do everything from replacing seals and gaskets, cleaning, lubing, checking the electric switches and wiring, adjusting the boiler temp, and setting the piston throw, to finally pulling test shots, before we list one.  (Our worst irrational "fear" is disappointing a buyer.)  Which means when you buy a Cremina, or any machine from us, you end up with a serious amount of added "$$$" value, for pretty much the same amount of money.  

This custom orange Cremina is the latest example of that.

We're calling it "custom" because of the color.  It was sold new with the typical "Olympia Brown" powder coat, and the brown paint is still there.  Except it's orange now!  Huh??? 

Ok.  So this Cremina arrived brown, with random edge chips.  Decades of knocking around a kitchen has a way of making old Creminas look a little dull.  The dark brown has a way of exposing the lighter primer underneath when they chip, which just adds to the "tired" effect.  And the dirty truth in our case is we've gotten a little jaded from years of seeing brown Creminas!  Just having one of these Holy Grails of home levers isn't enough anymore to get our juices flowing like it used to.  ("Punishment of Luxury.")  So the thought occurred, "Maybe we should paint this one!?"   But the guilt and reluctance around "messing with the originalness" of a vintage machine is always lurking in the background and gave us pause.  

So what to do? 

New powder coat is always an option.  We've done it the past, and usually change the color to something more exciting while we're at it.  But powder coating is a lot of effort, and easy to screw up.  And you can't go back to "originalness" once you start sanding. 

So we've had the idea kicking around for a while of trying something different.  Using an automotive "wrap."  The flat sides of a Cremina body could be the perfect candidate to test the theory.  And since wraps hold up so well to cleaning and heat, it seemed to make perfect sense on an espresso machine.  It's even theoretically "reversible" (you can remove the wrap with minimal effect on the original paint if you ever want to go back to brown.) 

We just hadn't come across the right candidate to attempt it. 

Until now. 

Hence, our latest custom experiment.  We decided to save the original paint, give it a new look, AND avoid the headaches of powder coating all at the same time.

The orange we found is even super close to the rare optional orange color Olympia offered in the 1980s! 

We think it turned out pretty cool.  (Brown purists have a right to disagree, and they can strip it if they want!)

Being a 90's machine means this is one of the last iterations of the original Olympia Cremina.  Sales were dwindling, and the company was struggling by this point.  (As were many of the home European lever makers.   Olympia wasn't the only company that stopped producing levers, or went kaput by the mid 90's, as consumers became enamored with the new pump machines.) 

But the build quality at Olympia never wavered.  (Unlike, arguably, La Pavonis of the same period, which partially survived by reducing costs.) 

It was remained pretty much the same machine.  The only real minor differences between a 90's Cremina, and the original late 60's icons, were the advent of a plastic drip tray (originally stainless) an "updated" power switch, and of course an "asbestos free" plated boiler. 

Even though the resurrected "New Olympia" machines are beautiful (and even more crazy expensive!) the originals have a timeless quality and a mystique that no modern successor could duplicate.  If you value that kind of heritage, that probably explains why you've read this far. 

And why you'll always be contemplating pulling the lever on a vintage Cremina.  

Comes with a double basket, and new stainless 49mm tamper.