Worlds Best Loved Coffee Machine

New Atomic Book

2010-12-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

It's been a while, but at last there is another book about the Atomic. This one is by Mikael Janvier, and in it he reproduces many of the leaflets, brochures, manuals, advertisements and news clippings about the Atomic and Stella models, right back to the earliest times.

Available at Blurb.com
.

Early Jug Handle Shape

2009-11-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

Just came across a jug in a second-hand shop - on its own, just the jug - which caught my attention because of the shape of the handle. It is almost triangular in cross section, and is a very simple "ear" shape.

On closer inspection, I made the further discovery that the handle is riveted to the metal, not bolted. This was common with the early models, so I'm picking this is a fairly early example. I have seen pictures of this handle shape before, but this is the first time I have actually seen it in real life, so I thought I'd post a pic or two.

Black Knob Stemac on TradeMe

2009-09-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

You don't see 'em very often, but a Stemac Robbiati model has been offered on New Zealand's TradeMe site with a black steamer knob. The machine looks a little bit tired around the badge, but otherwise very tidy, and the relative rarity of the knob should make it interesting for a collector.

At a rough guess, I would say that 98% of all Atomics that change hands have the classical deep red steamer knob. Early Sassoon models often had light blue or light red knobs (these were slightly smaller in diameter than the "standard" model). The American La Sorrentina (the original ones!) sometimes had an emerald green, but these are fairly rare. Black knobs and yellow knobs are also out there, also fairly rare.

OTTO Now Available in New Zealand

2009-08-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Otto Espresso, easily the cutest salute to the genius of the Atomic, debuted at the Auckland food show and is now available at Atomic Roasters in Kingsland (Auckland) and Caffe L'Affare (Wellington). Retail is NZ$875. My friend Graeme has tried the coffee and says it is pretty good. I understand supplies are still limited, so if you want one it would pay to get in early.

More on Electrical Atomics

2009-08-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

Frank Kletschkus sent in these photos of a recent Atomic acquisition. It looks too professionally made to be a backyard mod. The logo on the badge curls gracefully around the pressure gauge and the bar in the base of the coffee clamp is nicely engineered from a metal that expands and contracts at the same rate as the machine.

He notes: I have just bought an electric Atomic like the one in the [earlier] blog on German ebay. The Atomic is somehow bolted to the hot plate which makes a nuisance for cleaning, and renders the unit unusable for camping, which in my opinion is one of the great places to use an Atomic. Though a couple of years ago I saw also on German ebay the same type with the same hot plate as a seperate unit. The badge is very interesting. Though it reads Atomic, it is not in the familiar shape but in circular writing to wrap around the gauge which is centrally mounted. The gauge's needle just starts moving when coffee begins to pour, and reads just above 1 bar when it's time to froth the milk. I used the Krups stainless coffee basket and tamped lightly. Instead of the infamous brass steam wand this Atomic has a little stainless wand with small holes and a bakelite lever so the coffee flow can be shut off. One has to be careful though not to burn the fingers when doing this. The wand's material seems to have the same expansion rate as alloy, as it is doesn't get stuck after cooling. Also it gets hot and expands with the group holder, whereas the brass rod is inserted cold into the hot alloy. The wand and its holes look professionally done. So is it a prototype or some engineer's home conversion?

Anyone able to share any more information about it?

Enduring Design 2

2009-07-17T23:54:00.000-07:00

I decided it was about time to incorporate all the ideas, suggestions and critiques into a new edition of the book. So keep an eye out on blurb.com - Enduring Design 2 has now been published, replacing the original book. Main changes are:
a. chapters on anatomy and variants have been combined to reduce duplication
b. new chapters on early manufacturing history and marketing arrangements based on conversations with those involved
c. some new reseller badges
d. more details on research resources

Overall, about 20% more text and 20% more photos, but a few less pages because the new edition is single-spaced instead of 1.5.

My thanks to all those who have contributed.

Green Bakelite Atomic on eBay

2009-06-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

There is an Atomic (badged La Sorrentina, but genuine, if you know what I mean!) with green bakelite, just been listed on eBay. Currently in Japan. Bit worn around the badge, but otherwise looks OK.

UPDATE: That machine sold for AU$1225 (US$975). Is this good news?

The Mystery Deepens...

2009-06-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Lucio del Piccolo decided recently to call the Robbiati family in Milan and ask them about their involvement with the Atomic. He spoke to Robbiati's daughter and soon discovered that the family does not really want to discuss Atomic history. They have their family memories and that's the way they want it to stay. Lucio thinks this is a great shame, and so do I, but on the other hand the family is entitled to their privacy -- and it leaves us free to pursue the myths and legends around the Atomic, and to create new ones as we wish.

Electric Atomic

2009-06-14T18:06:00.001-07:00

Troy Davis supplied these pictures and would like to know if anyone has any information to share. It appears to be a standard late-model Atomic, badged Robbiati, mounted on an electric element. The quality of workmanship is high. There are several known electric Atomic variants, but this is one I haven't seen before.

A short-lived miracle

2009-06-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

I'm told (14 June) that Bon Trading are once again advising customers they are out of stock with supplies expected "in a few months". Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Some more reseller badges

2009-06-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more reseller badges. The Robbiati Milano one comes from Francesco Ceccarelli and the Frentana one from Greg Dahl. I'll add these to the website shortly.

Plus ca change...

2009-04-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, it's taken a while, but Bon Trading have finally delivered on their promise to import brand new Atomics. You can see one below. I haven't seen it personally, but I'm told it is a dead ringer for the vintage models, right down to the sample coffee grind in the manual and the bland cardboard box. With two important exceptions. First, as you can see in the top photo, the underside of the kettle has an embossed stamp on it saying "Made in Italy". The second, as you no doubt guessed, is the hole pattern in the baskets. This is circular rather than star-shaped, but since BT has been supplying the round pattern for several years, this is not a surprise.

It remains to be seen whether the market will come to regard these "modern" Atomics as simply a continuation of the vintage pedigree, or whether they will be viewed as yet another pretender to the Atomic throne alongside the La Sorrentina reproductions. The first clue is already here - prices for good vintage machines are flat, which might just be a reflection of the global economy, but maybe it also suggests buyers are happy to accept the modern versions for their looks alone. And prices for the modern versions have been set within a fairly narrow band, which might stabilise prices around this level, and provide a "ceiling price" for vintage machines. I guess we'll see.

My grateful thanks to Jon for the pics.

Two New Badges Added to Website

2009-03-22T17:01:00.001-07:00

Ugo da Milano has thoughtfully provided images of two badges from his collection (which you can see at his website) The one at left is a Swiss badge - Culinor - while the one at right is another Milan one: Stemac.

New Bon Trading Atomics Available?

2009-03-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Just got a report that a new Atomic has just been purchased from Bon Trading in Sydney. How do we know it's new? Well, the underside of the base has a "Made in Italy" embossed stamp which distinguishes it from the "vintage" machines that don't have any stamp at all. Cost was A$495. I hope we'll get a pic of the stamp to post on the website sometime soon.

Nothing much else has changed, reportedly. The box is still plain and junky, the coffee sample is the same, the manual is no different. So in some respects tradition dies hard. We'll have to wait for history to tell us whether these new Bon Trading Atomics are regarded as an unbroken continuation of the vintage tradition or merely another modern version.

So the "Atomic wars" are hotting up... Now we have these "new" Bon Trading machines joining the ranks of pretenders to succeed Robbiati's vintage cutie, alongside the La Sorrentina reproductions, and shortly the Otto espresso.

Long live the Atomic!!

Earlier date for brass steam rod?

2009-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

A seller on New Zealand's TradeMe auction site has an Atomic (no badge, but a Thos. Cara manual) with the brass steam rod included in the coffee clamp. I always thought this innovation was quite a late one - most likely 1980s - but the seller is adamant that she bought the Atomic in the 1970s. So I guess I'll be rewriting that little bit of my version of Atomic history!

Who can you believe?

2008-11-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

A quick look through the published references to Atomics (and it has to be quick, because there are very few published references!) shows some very strange-looking Atomics, as well as some more conventional views. Ernest Bramah gets it pretty much right - he gets the dates right and here is his illustration...

Ian Bersten also produces a familiar image, but he attributes Robbiati's patent to 1956...

From here on, it gets weirder and weirder. Fumagalli sets the date at 1950, which is approximately right, but his illustration indicates some mix'n'match activities with the jug...

As does Bhaskaran...

The jugs in the latter two illustrations are certainly from the right period, but I'd bet money they were never designed by Robbiati.

For details of the books concerned, check out the Atomic Website References

Aetna - a new Atomic Badge?

2008-11-04T00:47:00.001-08:00

Rachel Greene just sent me this pic of an Atomic with one of the very few badges that does not mention the word "atomic" anywhere. (The others are La Sorrentina and Life-Ware.) The machine in question appears to be a 'B' type with a small, tall jug. Because there is no mention of the reseller's location and the patent statement is in Italian, I'd guess they were in Italy, possibly in the 1960s.

Atomic Patents

2008-10-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

Paul Schilperoord reports the following patent numbers associated with the Atomic coffee maker, together with links to the original documents in some cases.
- IT 757219 (Italy)
- US 2549132 (USA)
- GB 633988 (UK)
- DE 838493 (Germany)
- FR 955982 (France)
- AT 167450B (Austria)
- BE 478076 (Belgium)
- NL 67725C (Holland)

Using the Atomic pressure gauge

2008-08-27T22:11:00.001-07:00

Some of the Thos Cara Atomics were fitted with a pressure gauge and marketed as a "de luxe" model - probably the only time in history that "de luxe" denotes something less desirable than "standard"! If you have one of these machines, here are the instructions:

"For best results in frothing milk... wait until gauge reaches 3 kg. Do not overheat machine or plastic dial cover will melt. The plastic piece is replaceable (really?). If gauge indicator recedes to zero while machine is in operation, turn off the heat, this indicates that the water has been completely depleted."

A little bit of New Zealand Atomic history...

2008-08-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

It seems that most of the Atomics brought into New Zealand arrived in the late 1980s. About 150 were brought in by R L Bowden Ltd, most of them in three shipments, sourced partly direct from Robbiati in Europe and partly from Bon Trading in Sydney. Spares were purchased as necessary. The machines were sold to Robert Harris coffee shops, Belaroma, and other boutique establishments over a three-year period. The retail price then was around $70. The folks from Robert Harris were still selling the machines as late as 1992 - I have an invoice from that era for an "Atomic body, clamp handle, basket and strainer", for a total of $92; no mention of a jug! Undoubtedly a few machines have also made their way to NZ with private owners, just as some have migrated back to Australia and the USA as interest in them has grown.

Atomic Google Group Started

2008-08-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

Now there is an Atomic Google Group for people who don't like having their posts moderated. You can find it here . Enjoy!

Atomic Manuals and Brochures

2008-08-22T14:42:00.001-07:00

Just a few of the brochures that have been printed to promote or accompany the Atomic over the years...

Head Knobs vs Neck Knobs

2008-08-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Did you know the early steamer valve knobs (usually red, but occasionally blue) were not only a slightly lighter colour, but they are also 5mm smaller in diameter (30mm instead of 35mm)? Unlike the later knobs we all know and love, the early ones had a circular mounting hole (not square) recessed only partway into the knob (not right through) and were secured to the valve stem by a tiny grubscrew inserted at right angles to the stem (not in line with it). I guess Signor Robbiati got tired of his steamer knob coming loose.

Anyway, the above pic is something you won't see very often - 4 head-mount steamer knobs in a bulk pack, with grub screws.

Removing the Atomic's Boiler Plug

2008-08-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Here's some evidence that the early Atomics were designed to be cleaned from the front. This is from an early Sassoon manual, which suggests the boiler plug should be removed every six weeks and the neck tube cleaned with a wire (supplied). I guess in the 1950s the idea of dismantling your coffee maker was no scarier than servicing your own car. And yes, your Atomic came with a spanner for removing the boiler plug and a spare gasket for resealing it! I've put a picture of the spanner and a spare boiler plug on the home page at www.atomic.org.nz

Head Filters

2008-08-18T14:31:00.001-07:00

I recently picked up a couple of spare head filters. I was just going to chuck them in my parts box when I noticed the hole patterns were different. That made me go and check all my machines to see what patterns were in the head filters. The results surprised me.

My early flat-top Gorrea has a filter with a regular hole pattern around a single, centered fixing screw. The next oldest machine, a Sassoon model with steamer wand in the head, also has a regular hole pattern, but with two fixing screws. The later machines, Robbiati, Bon Trading and La Sorrentina, all have star patterns in the head filter, as well as the two fixing screws.

What do we conclude from this? Well, when you find the star pattern in the filter basket, it generally indicates a "vintage" Atomic (anything from 1950s to 1980s), but when you find it in the head filter, it seems to indicate a later model.

Anyone else able to add to this mini-research-project? Like, for example, which came first - the five-pointed star or the six-pointed one?

Finally, the book....

2008-08-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

The original two Guides have now been replaced with a book, Enduring Design: The Romance of the Atomic Coffee Maker, also available as an eBook. Chapters on the history (and legends), the evolution of the design, care and maintenance, valuation and even making coffee. The book is at Blurb.com and the eBook is on eBay, well sometimes anyway.

Initial reaction has been excellent, but this is no doubt because there is so little previously published. Keep an eye out here for corrections and revisions, because this is where you will see them first.

Want to discuss your Atomic?

2008-07-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

Maybe you have an Atomic and you would like to know more about it. Or you would like to get an idea of what it is likely to fetch on eBay or TradeMe. Or it needs fixing. Bring your problems here. Someone will have an answer for you.

Waiting for Frederick.

2007-03-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got tired of waiting for Frederick's book on the Atomic, and I wrote a couple of short guides - one on Care and Feeding of Atomics and the other one on identifying the various design features that changed over the years - badges, handles, knobs, wand tips, etc. I've tried not to duplicate the other resources that are readily available, but at the same time to be comprehensive enough for the guides to be useful.

What we are talking about.

2007-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

I chose this Atomic for the first picture because it is unusual. Not only are all the bakelite knobs a beautiful emerald green colour, but the La Sorrentina reseller badge is almost - but not quite - unique in not using the classic Atomic logo.

Why are we here?

2007-03-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

I created this blog to provide a way for Atomic CoffeeMaker fans to share experiences and ideas. The website at www.atomic.org.nz is a handy reference tool, but it is not interactive. I get lots of e-mails from around the world with ideas, suggestions and questions, but there is no way to share them. So I thought maybe a blog would help. We'll see.