Coffee machine Victoria Arduino – Venus Bar
In 1905 Pier Teresio Arduino founded a brand that markedly rewrote the world of coffee. Victoria Arduino was born with self-confident goals: they wanted to produce coffee machines that did not compromise on quality, materials and performance. Simply, they wanted to produce perfect machines. It didn’t take long and this desire turned into reality.
One of the most recognizable and most advanced machines of its time is the Venus Bar, which comes from the Venus series. This vertical coffee machine was produced in the late 1960s and its production continues to this day. The name Venus is not random, it is a reference to the Roman goddess of the same name, which symbolizes the essence of beauty, richness of form, elegance, grace and femininity. Just one look at the coffee machine and these abstract words are given a very concrete form.
Each piece was handmade, even the copper cover which was created by hammer, and could be purchased in three versions – copper, chrome and brass. Victoria Arduino coffee machines have been designed so that 4 waiters can work around at the same time. For its 100th anniversary, Victoria Arduino introduced a limited edition of 100 Venus Century. Interesting fact is that Pope Benedict, who is known for his love of espresso, pleased the first piece of this “limited series”.
Reconstruction of copper Venus Bar
We were lucky enough to get the Victoria Arduino – Venus Bar copper version. We were less fortunate when we saw machines condition: really scrap. When we went into the refurbishment, we wanted it to be the same machine as it was 50 years ago – not only visually, but also technologically. That was the reason we spent more than 200 hours to rebuild this historical coffee machine.
What did we do? The copper cover of Venus Bar was polished by hand using silichrome. Here, the visible result came quite quickly and gave us courage. When we saw the rusty frame, the dirty tubes and the damaged electronics, we knew that we could really use that courage.
We disassembled the machine and started: we sanded the frame and sprayed it, we scalded the dirty tubes in acid and electronics? We improvised, tuned, used various improvements and “graduated from the college of refurbishment of historical coffee machines”. Eventually, we replaced all the electronics and seals, wired what was needed, and then tested and prepared coffee.
And whether we succeeded? Victoria Arduino – Venus Bar looked like in the time of its greatest glory, but in the workshop did not warm up for a long time. This historic coffee machine went live – for about half a year it was preparing espresso at Orlove Castle, which now houses the 4-star Gino Park Palace. Although the coffee maker is impractical in some ways for today’s needs, the timeless look and no compromises promised by the manufacturer have really remained. Even after more than 50 years.
And why are we doing all this? If you are interested, read about why we refurbish historical coffee machines.
