Comments on: La Marzocco Strada – first thoughts

By: Tim Wendelboe

Tim Wendelboe — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:29:48 +0000

I think you are better off with a Mazzer Electronic. Means you are more flexible.

By: Keith Loh

Keith Loh — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 13:56:54 +0000

Would a LM swift help to keep the dose and tamp consistent? I’m saying that because for the EP Programming to work it seems you have to keep everything else the same.

By: Tim Wendelboe

Tim Wendelboe — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:14:41 +0000

Interesting John. Yes, the ramp up is a bit slow on the gear pump, but I am still quite satisfied with it, even with my blend from time to time. Just need to try it out more.

By: Tim Wendelboe

Tim Wendelboe — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:13:23 +0000

Maybe you should build a grinder like that ;-)
I personally work a lot with our espresso blend to taste the way I want it to, so I would hate it if my baristas started playing with it. After all it should reflect what I believe is a good blend. That’s why my name is on the bag.
I also don’t see why more possibilities should be a bad thing just because it is difficult. I think this machine is the most powerful tool we can get when it comes to making great espressos repeatedly. We just need to learn how to use the different parameters (like taking a drivers license) I am quite sure that in a year or 2 we will endorse this even more.

By: John

John — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:33:56 +0000

Nice write up Tim, I’ve been waiting to hear what a pro that had time on this capability thought of profiling. You pretty much echo what I’ve found, with a very interesting observation of Kenyas, again same here. I get a fair amount of coffee sent to me and always look out for the different Kenyas just for profiling, in fact a couple weeks ago Jeremy from “Four Barrel” asked me if I had any favorites from some he has sent me, and that’s just what I told him.

For me, I don’t really profile blends, they become mud(with a few exceptions), I mainly use them for SO’s or maybe brighter style blends like some Ritual blends, or 49th Epics I’ve had.
The other thing I’ve noticed with the gear pump profilers I have(I’ve seen switched to a faster system), is that the initial ramp speed I like for most blends is a bit too slow, even when full on in the beginning as compared to standard rotary pumps. I don’t have LM’s version gear pumps, but you may see similar differences.

If I had a default profile, (not SO’s)
No pre infuse(.6mm gicleur installed) most of the extraction @ full pressure, and a slight tailing off somewhere toward the end just to bring up mouthfeel a bit.

If you want some really interesting differences, throw in heat exchanger falling temperature profiles vs. Standard duel boiler temps

Jepy

By: Terence T

Terence T — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:51:53 +0000

Hi Tim,

Seems like this whole pressure profiling thing is making things a lot more complicated than they already are. Definitely not a machine for the faint hearted.

Maybe you could suggest to LM to develop a multi hopper grinder where you load up the different origins of a blend, dial in the blend ratios, set the required dose by weight (because this grinder can calculate ratios automatically and weigh the beans as they are dosed and blended), grind, dose and automatically tamped (and of course the tamp pressure, rate and polish can be profiled as well). There, the Swift II has just been created. You can even tweak the blend profile on the go! Need a bit more body and edge for that cold winter morning? No problem, just push up the ratio on that sumatran. Imagine the possibilities!

By: Jack

Jack — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:32:17 +0000

Hi Tim,

Pressure profiling is another tool in your arsenal, like grind or dose, etc. It’s a means to the end, not an end in itself. When running recorded profiles on the EP, you’re essentially trading variables – trading reproducing profile curves for dose & tamp.

Sure, pressure profiling can produce good tasting shots as well as bad. The process may be a bit tedious and mind boggling to understand. But it’s the POTENTIAL to get those stupendous shots that this machine exists and why we’re spending time on it.

You could start with an idea of how you’d like a coffee to taste. Or, you can play around and see what a coffee has to offer. For your reference, here’s a little poster we made up for Out of the Box: http://lamarzoccousa.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/pressure-profiling-guide-jpeg.jpg

By: Tim Wendelboe

Tim Wendelboe — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:34:49 +0000

Peter.
Good question.
I haven’t really thought about density in terms of pressure and profiles. I have yet not found any consistent results as to what works on different coffees, as I haven’t tested it enough yet. THe only thing that seems consistent is that a high acidity Kenya tastes better on lower pressure than high pressure.

I will be testing some more with light roasts today based upon your experience. Sounds like a great idea to me.

By: Tim Wendelboe

Tim Wendelboe — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:18:54 +0000

Read here for more info about that: http://timwendelboe.no/2010/07/la-marzocco-strada-in-our-shop/

By: Wolfgang Gaggl

Wolfgang Gaggl — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:40:33 +0000

I saw that LM has an electronic paddle (EP) and manual paddle (MP) version of the Strada in the works. Do you happen to know how (or if) the MP differs from the manual paddle one can get on any other of their models? Maybe it offers real stepless pressure changes like the EP, but then that manual valve must be designed different than the MP options on their other models…
Just wondering if you have any info on that.
Thanks for your blog entry, always an interesting read!

Wolfgang