Giotto Steam/Water Wand modification

Wow, It's been a long time since last update and a lot has happend since then.

I was newer quite satisfied with the steaming performance on the Giotto Classic and went

through all kinds of tests in order to improve this. I tried descaling and changing the boiler water level but it didn't make much difference. After speaking to fellow coffee freaks I came to the conclusion that the ECM Giotto Classic Steam and Water Valves are simply not cut for the job the machine is able to deliver. After seeing a fellow coffee nerd at the Swedish coffee forum http://www.rigtigtkaffe.se making steam mod using Izzo Alex part, I believed I had the answer.

The Izzo valves lets out more steam and as a bonus you get ball jointed mountings.

So lets get started.

Here you see the Giotto Classic before Waterwand was replaced.

This is the new and complete water wand

A picture of the old valve in place.

The old valve taken out

Replaced with the new valve - Voila!

Here's the final result! Replacing the steam wand is exactly the same operation. You may however need to spend more time adjusting the cobber pipes though.

Here a short video of the steam power after the mod.

New espresso setup

Having owned a VBM domobar (single boiler) and Isomac Granmacinino grinder, which are both great espresso equipment, I was hit by the famous upgrade fever. It started when I found a second hand ECM Giotto Classic which I got in a quite good deal. After having sold the Isomac grinder I started looking for grinders at eBay. The grinders I bid for were primarily La Cimbali Junior and Mazzer Mini/Super Jolly due to the great reviews at e.g. http://www.homebarista.com/ and http://www.coffeegeek.com/. I ended up with both a Junior and Super Jolly.

Both are fantastic grinders with each their pro's and cons. I think I'll end up with just the Mazzer SJ as this is the one my wife prefers.