Izzo Alex Duetto II discussion thread

[Morgz]

..............BUT I friggin love making coffee on this machine.....

Me too... in fact I miss my Izzo more than most of the other stuff I have sitting around at home. I'm going to ship it up here to KL as soon as I move into my new apartment; a man can only stand so much crappy coffee On a positive note, I've tracked down a cafe here in KL which makes a great coffee on really cool looking a Kees VDW. the place is called RAW if anyone is visiting and really needs something approaching a decent cup.

[brettreaby]

I just spent 4 days there and didnt get an espresso for the whole time ( staying a few kays out of the main city) except at the airport harrods shop ( YUK anyway). Next time I'll track down RAW!

Seems like KL is a good opportunity for someone to promote the coffee culture.

On a positive note, I've tracked down a cafe here in KL which makes a great coffee on really cool looking a Kees VDW. the place is called RAW if anyone is visiting and really needs something approaching a decent cup.

[Pete39]

Well after solving a very wet steam problem, I have practiced steaming milk until the cows come home (and go out again) and still cannot get nice, smooth micro-foam with the stock two-hole tip. Have tried different jugs (350, 400, 600 and even 1L) mainly focusing on the 400 which gives me the right amount of milk for the two small flat whites I usually make twice a day. I have tried different milk. I have tried different steam boiler temps. Although sometimes I get close to a reasonable result, it seems that things just happen too fast for me, especially in the initial 5 - 10 seconds and end up with visible bubbles. In the end I caved and blocked one of the beast's nose with a tooth pick - I could then get good results pretty consistently without much effort. However, it seems a pity to waste all that steam power.

I would love to see a good video of someone steaming enough milk for a couple of small flat whites (about 100mL each - the small ACF cups) and doing a bit of simple latte art (say a couple of hearts) and then pushing a teaspoon through the result to show the quality and depth of the foam. I will try to video my attempts (although I'm not really geared up for videos and might have to find someone with a decent camera so people can see what I'm doing, or not doing as the case may be!). The quest continues ...

Pete

[specialpants]

Well after solving a very wet steam problem, I have practiced steaming milk until the cows come home (and go out again) and still cannot get nice, smooth micro-foam with the stock two-hole tip. Have tried different jugs (350, 400, 600 and even 1L) mainly focusing on the 400 which gives me the right amount of milk for the two small flat whites I usually make twice a day. I have tried different milk. I have tried different steam boiler temps. Although sometimes I get close to a reasonable result, it seems that things just happen too fast for me, especially in the initial 5 - 10 seconds and end up with visible bubbles. In the end I caved and blocked one of the beast's nose with a tooth pick - I could then get good results pretty consistently without much effort. However, it seems a pity to waste all that steam power.

I would love to see a good video of someone steaming enough milk for a couple of small flat whites (about 100mL each - the small ACF cups) and doing a bit of simple latte art (say a couple of hearts) and then pushing a teaspoon through the result to show the quality and depth of the foam. I will try to video my attempts (although I'm not really geared up for videos and might have to find someone with a decent camera so people can see what I'm doing, or not doing as the case may be!). The quest continues ...

Pete

Here's a video I did a while back Pete. I think it's a 600ml jug, and I'm using a regular latte glass (approx 150ml i'd say)
Espresso at home using Alex Duetto II and Mazzer Kony-E - YouTube

I can do another video with a smaller jug (400ml) using my ACF cups - i've been looking for another excuse to create another video. Just let me know what you prefer. I can do the teaspoon thing too if it helps.

Keep at it - you'll get there eventually. I had troubles initially and initially found it too fast too.

FWIW, the 2 tip works really well for me. I changed over to a 4 hole tip last week but haven't churned out creamy/silky milk. It seems to heat up milk even faster, so I probably need more time to adjust.

[Pete39]

Hi Specialpants,

Funny, was going to mention that clip but had to shorten my post to get the kids from school!!! Nice work - have you turned your steamer temp down a bit? Quite impressed with your final milk temp. Nice setup too.

Yeah, if you're happy to do a couple of FWs out of a 400 ml jug (or the 600 - whatever) that'd be great, but I've watched your other clip a few times as encouragement that it can be done, so thanks. Interesting to hear about the 4 hole tip. Had noticed an OS seller flogs a four hole with smaller holes and have been thinking about trying to get hold of one or making one. Did you get your's from CoffeeParts?

Thanks again,

Pete

[specialpants]

Hi Specialpants,

Funny, was going to mention that clip but had to shorten my post to get the kids from school!!! Nice work - have you turned your steamer temp down a bit? Quite impressed with your final milk temp. Nice setup too.

Yeah, if you're happy to do a couple of FWs out of a 400 ml jug (or the 600 - whatever) that'd be great, but I've watched your other clip a few times as encouragement that it can be done, so thanks. Interesting to hear about the 4 hole tip. Had noticed an OS seller flogs a four hole with smaller holes and have been thinking about trying to get hold of one or making one. Did you get your's from CoffeeParts?

Thanks again,

Pete

I'll do a few FW over the weekend. I'll go back to the 2 hole tip for it just because i'm more comfortable with it. Looks like I may have had the temp slightly down for that particular video - 122 would be my guess going by the pressure gauge, but it has been back at 124 for a few months.

The 4 hole tip was from coffeeparts (8mm male thread for memory). The holes have the same diameter as the holes on the 2-hole tip. The 4 hole tip may work better for me if I was texturing milk for two. I'm finding that I end up with few large bubbles for the 4 hole - purely because the milk is at temperature before I get a chance to 'push/break down' the big bubbles.

[thundering_gerkins]

Hi guys,

I'm following with interest as i seem to have an issue with steaming on my duetto. Sorry pete39, I can't offer any advice, as I think i've the opposite problem. I'm amazed at how quickly the milk was textured in the link that specialpants posted. Is that normal?

My machine seems asthmatic in comparison. I find it quite slow when doing larger quantities of milk for the kids hot chocolates (400ml in a 1 litre jug). the temperature on the steam boiler is set at 126 but drops to 112-114 when the milk hits 65.By then it's really running out of puff! When making making a shorty with a touch of milk and a cap for my better half i steam 220-240ml, no problems texturing, as everything moves quite slowly.

My Duetto is the latest version which only has a 1000 watt steaming element (less than my old silvia when in steam mode!) and the cool touch wand.
Just curious if you guys have the 1400 watt element which i think was in the earlier incarnations and single wall steam wand.

Cheers

[Pete39]

Nice name gerkins!

Just thought I'd update things.

Spent about 1.5 hours straight this morning with a 600 mL jug (that I have used for about 2 years) using water and detergent, and tried all sorts of different steam wand positions. Ended up getting pretty consistent results and being able to stuff it up in multiple ways but knowing how I did it and how to avoid it Thought things were going well. Went to make coffee for morning-tea using my new technique (with the wand almost at 90 deg to the surface of the milk) and things went to s*&t.

I add this so that others who trod this path in the future might have some comfort.

Hopefully I'll report a happy ending soon.

Pete

[specialpants]

Hi guys,
the temperature on the steam boiler is set at 126 but drops to 112-114 when the milk hits 65.By then it's really running out of puff! When making making a shorty with a touch of milk and a cap for my better half i steam 220-240ml, no problems texturing, as everything moves quite slowly.

My Duetto is the latest version which only has a 1000 watt steaming element (less than my old silvia when in steam mode!) and the cool touch wand.
Just curious if you guys have the 1400 watt element which i think was in the earlier incarnations and single wall steam wand.
Cheers

My steam is at ~1.25 bar (124 on PID) but drops to ~0.8 bar (~117 on the PID) once the steam is opened - which makes sense because it's losing pressure. As soon as the wand is closed, it jumps back up to 1.25 bar pretty quickly. I've got the cool touch wand.

Going by the power consumption meter, the brew boiler looks to be about 1050w and steam to be 1500w. The PID obviously needs a bit of power, so actual boiler wattage could be lower.

It's strange that your steam gets out of puff. It seems like there's unlimited steam with the duetto.

[Pete39]

I will look at my steam pressure/temp drops later this morning and let you know how mine compares. My Duetto is also the latest version (bought in June this year) and according to the manual, the steam boiler is 1400W (the brew boiler is 1000W).

[thundering_gerkins]

I steamed 400ml again this morning and the temperature droped from 126 1.4 bar to 111 with just under 0.5 bar showing in the steam boiler.
I checked the manual this morning and the steam boiler element is listed as 1000w which has been written by hand over the original specs.
I'm thinking it has a 1000 steam element to keep the total current draw under 10 amps.
Eg. 1000w brew, 1000w steam, 150w pump =2150 (8.95amps) as against 1000w brew 1400w, 150w pump =2550w (10 .6 amps)
I have a tong style amp meter at work which i'll need to bring home on monday to verify the current draw on the steam boiler.

Sounds like you guys have 40-50% more power than me, no wonder my seems a bit slow
Does make a fantastic coffee though

[thundering_gerkins]

Looking forward to your results Pete39.

[TC]

Hi all,

Yes- 1000W is current spec. The difference is that the PID attends to both boilers simultaneously rather than alternating. We did this for more consistent steam quality as there is an inherent delay when you alternate- therefore requiring a larger steam element.

You should have ample steam for a 600ml jug (all you should ever need for 2 coffees) and the machine will recover by the time you have pulled the next shot. We may go to 1200W simultaneous in the future, but I feel that the V3 configuration is our best yet.

As always, this is a process of evolution.

Chris

[Pete39]

My results are similar to special's - ~1.3 bar, 123 degC idle, ~0.75bar, 115 degC steaming. Seems to hold this ok using a 600 mL jug with about 280 mL milk.

Sticker on the machine displays 2120W max, so mine is most likely 1000W steam. My retailer's website quotes 1500W steam.

Pete

[GMG]

I'm curious about anyone who has considered the Duetto II vs. Rocket Giotto R58 and what factors made them choose one over the other. Anyone?