2004

Szigony Müszaki Vállalat

closed its doors in 2004.

Can you believe it?

Me not.

Or let's say it like this, i am trying to repress the fact...

... when i am not visiting the place in my dreams.

To me, 2004 is like... last night... maybe the night before...

A glass of Chardonnay in the hand,
sitting on the terrace.
A flathead sold by Imre Simon in Budapest in his small shop/factory on my side,
listening to Miles Davis,

over and over and over again.

Brevetti Robbiati / S.T.E.M.A.C. Portafilters

The best tribute...

... Unique, In Perfect condition and Still in use today!!!

One couldn't possibly make a better tribute to Mr. Robbiati!!!

Curiosity is a great motor in life!

"Someone" forwarded Mr.  Brøchner  to me, this granted me with a large grin...
... and watching the pictures this morning a huge smile.

And this for 3 reasons:

• The first reason was an internal vibration: Someone wants to know more about his coffee machine.That was for me the very first step to all that research which ended up on this Blog.
• The second reason was that i had never seen such machine before!!!
• The third reason was that not only Christian was a friendly guy to be in contact with, he also took of his time to take and above all share his pictures with me.

Curiosity is a great thing... no doubt about it. It can't make you achieve things you had no idea you could, and get information many thought was impossible to get.

And, where i stand now, there is one other factor that constantly rose in the last 3 years.
You can try to know everything... but it is sometimes more important to know that you don't know certain things for sure... and instead of going on about the may-bes and could-bes, it is a greater and more rewarding step to say: "I don't know".

So now, Christian confronts me with a machine i have never seen before.
Sure it is similar to this one here. But aren't these machines all similar?

3 machines with this extra Pressure relief valve are known to me.
They were found in Germany, Sweden and now Denmark.

Dating coffee machines from the Brevetti Robbiati business?

• All documents are gone,
• Alfredo Robbiati (born '36) who worked with his father for more than 20 years cannot remember precisely when, for whom which machine was made... and i understand it completely,
• Isn't it a bit pretentious/useless to give a span of production when the history of the Brevetti Robbiati business last 35 years (1948-1983): Dating a machine from the 50s-60s equals to a 20 year span = 57% of the total production time (now that's precise ...not!).

And then of course, you have exception and they are great!!!

Like the "Novate Milanese" badged coffee makers which were made before Giordano Robbiati changed address in 1958,

Like the S.T.E.M.A.C. coffee machines (incl. La Sorrentina), made by Giordano's son Alfredo between 1983 and 1989,

Like the FFWD badged machines, a trademark recorded in 1987 in London, Uk.

Now to your machine Christian!

It has a "Brevetti Robbiati" badge... that means it was made before 1983!

The One-Body improvements on the Flathead was patented by in Italy by Giordano Robbiati in 1950.

It has a broad neck and a very rounded shape.

It has flat screws in the head.

(The last 2 points give only a clue... Both the "La Sorrentina" coffee machine sold in NY in 1984 has and the my Brown one sold in NY in 1975 have the same specifications)

So rather the end of production than the beginning! ;.)

Christian! Your machine is UNIQUE! Cherish it and reward your "ladies" with its coffee and foamed milk!
Stroll a bit on my blog... one or two documents or pictures might interest you!
And 

THANKS FOR SHARING!
YOU MADE MY DAY!!!

Opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead - Close-up n°5

Opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead - Close-up n°4

Pictures showing the place where the portafilter engage:

Opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead - Close-up n°3

Half of the seal on the head, the other half on the body:

Yes!!! This is 60 years old scale!!!

Opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead - Close-up n°2

Inner tube:

Opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead - Close-up n°1

Water arrival from the base to the head:

It's open! Come in!

If Lucio wouldn't have sent me his pictures of his opened Brevetti Robbiati flathead...

... i surely wouldn't have dared to open mine!

A sparkle in Italy... ended up as a fire in Austria!

Thank you Campione!

Seal sandwich n°3

Seal sandwich n°2

Here are my pictures of the seal sandwich.
As you will realise, the larger head seal crumbled in 2 parts... unlike Lucio's, which stayed in whole (i suspect some restaurateur's trick).

Seal sandwich

For me, the most exciting "revelation" from Lucio's photos is the inner life:

the seal sandwich!

The seal sandwich is composed of:

A large seal,

the shower screen,

A round seal,

a round metal plate.

Without waiting any longer, here are Lucio's fantastic pictures!

This is the "naked" top of the coffee machine, with the inner tube attached to it:

The large rubber head seal - cut to fit the form - is slipped through to lay on the platform:

On this large seal, the shower screen placed, kept in place by a round rubber seal:

Last part of the sandwich, a metal plate which has the same dimension than the rubber seal:

The sandwich is ready!!!

Luciobbiaristotle

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Aristotle

Why quote Aristotle?

Well, i didn't find a suitable quote from Lucio Del Piccolo!

Lucio sent me a few days ago the sickest pictures i have ever seen...

The fantastic thing is that he allows me to borrow his eyes... to see his world as if i was him...

... i got infected by his emotions... 

... and the result is the following pictures!!!

Join me to go closer, closer, closer... until the whole flathead explodes in front of your eyes!!!

Now i need your concentration!!!

The coffee machine is made of 2 main parts:

The "Body":

(Couln't unscrew the security valve!)

The "Head":

These 2 parts are kept together by 3 screws:

Between the "Head" and the "Body" are 4 intricate parts:

The shower screen

A large seal

A round seal

A metal ring.

(On the following picture, no larger seal: Half got stuck to the head, the other half to the body!)

The Portafilter "Arm":

The "Filter":

The water "Knob":

The coffee "Jug":

I dismantled my little flathead (18,2cm), Lucio his larger model (20,2).
Any differences?

Wait and see!
Until then:

THANK YOU LUCIO!!!!

Lucky day! Ohori's n°2