MAKING THE STRADA BETTER.
I've been using and engineering on the Strada EP for a while now, if you've read my previous posts on what it's like as a machine to use day-to-day then you'll know that whilst I love it, it's not perfect by any stretch. If you haven't read them, humour me and read them now.....
Practical Guide to Strada Husbandry
Those will help if you've got or are thinking of getting a Strada now, but what about the next gen Strada, how can it be made better? Consider this an open letter to La Marzocco, a memo if you will;
MEMO
from: Me
to: La Marzocco
re: Strada mk2
Hi Guys,
given the plethora of new machines coming to market, it seems logical that you should be working on a new version of the Strada, or its replacement.
With that in mind, just thought I'd pass on a few observations vis-a-vis the current machine and what I'd like to see from the mk2.
Scales - lets get the biggie out of the way first. Drip tray scales are a must. It's not essential in my view that they control the shot length on the Strada, but the option for gravimetric dosing would be nice.
Most importantly they should be lockable (if you don't want to use them and to protect the load cell), easily carry up to 500g with 0.01g reading and have a very quick Tare function.
LCD Display - linking in neatly to the scales is the problem with the current display, its just too small. Time and Weight should be the largest readouts, with good contrast to enable easy and quick reading.
Better Steam wands - when i say better, I just mean easier to use, the current ones are poorly positioned and a little awkward at times, an easy fix. Simply making the wand loop higher over the lever would be a good start. oh and cool touch would be nice.
Steam Wand tips - whilst you're at it, why not include a couple of different steam wand tips, 1/2/3 hole, knife style etc.... It's a common upgrade even though the standard ones are great.
Shower Screens - Hands down the best thing I've done to my Strada. Made a huge difference to the ease of use and consistency from the machine.
The standard LM shower screens are old technology and act like it. A precision machine like the Strada deserves precision shower screens.
Pressure Control - the current pressure control system using feedback loops creates too many problems, controlling the pump speed by varying the voltage would appear to be a step forward in consistency.
see Nick Cho's work on this for details. Click Me.
PC interface - being able to save a profile to USB is great, but the software is clunky and annoying. Making this more user friendly with greater access to data logging will be of benefit.
Profile sharing - on the same subject, it should be easy to download a profile from a web based library for use on your machine and vice versa. It's not, because the software doesn't function that way and the website doesn't exist. If they did the Strada would be far more user friendly.
The Street Team - for a start, the name is a little silly, but then so, to some degree, is the make up of the team. More specifically what appears to be lacking is feedback and input from working baristas with experience of using the machine day-to-day. Obviously that was not possible with the current machine, hence the lack of representation. Now you have the chance to canvas useful feedback from across the world.
Big names and engineers are all well and good, but few of them still serve daily using an analogue of the machine they will be trying to improve.
The little touches - don't rush it, the small touches like the water mix jog wheel and the name plate on the drip tray make an impression, get these right and the machine as a whole feels and looks better considered.
I think that's enough to be going on with, rest assured I'll drop you another memo if i think of anything in the future.
Good Luck.