Good news; La Marzocco Strada has finally landed safe and sound in Jakarta, but your curiosity regarding the taste of coffee produced by this seriously pricey espresso machine will have to wait until the end of May. A café on Gandaria street in the south of Jakarta is going to be the new home of this electronic paddle type Strada machine, and as far as I know, it’s also the machine’s first time in Indonesia. Gizmodo calls it as the new wet dream machine, but I prefer to call it as an orgasmic espresso machine – it suits the machine that is also used by big names such as the Intelligentsia. Sensuous isn’t it? Let’s peel its layer off one by one…

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La Marzocco Strada. As far as I know, it’s the first time a café in Indonesia uses an espresso machine with is priced within the 9 digit range.

Indonesia’s coffee landscape – especially in a city as big as Jakarta – is likely to continue be even more fast-paced in the presence of high-end espresso machines like Kees Van Der Westen, Synesso Hydra, and now, La Marzocco Strada. The café that is going to be using this machine is called 1/15, which is also equipped with a massive Mazzer Kony Electronic grinder.

The question is; “Why choose a machine like Strada that weighs up to 90 kg?” Why not?, according to 1/15’s consultant, La Marzocco is ‘a vey long established brand’ and many ‘scholars’ who have worked in the company have successfully established their own espresso machines whose names I have mentioned above (La Mrazocco was established in 1927 and based in the city of Florence, Italy). Moreover, the intention to understand coffee can be realized with various parameters featured in a Strada.

La Marzocco Strada At A Glance.

When this project began ​​in 2009, La Marzocco formed a team which was later on named as La Marzocco Street Team Members. Comprised of big names in the coffee world such as Tim Wendleboe (WBC world champion 2004), Klaus Thompsen (Coffee Collective), Kyle Glanville (Intelligentsia), Liz Hudson (Stumptown), Paul Geshos (Mecca Espresso), and David Makin (Barista Champion Australia twice, the second WBC championship in 2008). They were all asked for opinions, comments and input on the design of the machine; its water pressure, espresso extraction, application, and technical matters that essentially depart from the idealism of La Marzocco espresso machines in order to create something that is the opposite of conventional.

This was the project that gave birth to La Mrazocco Strada, a machine that lets the baristas to have a complete control of water pressure when brewing process takes place. Pressure profiling becomes a new icon for baristas all over the world. La Marzocco ​​made this dream came true through a machine that later on became the benchmark of all espresso machines – post Strada era.

On most espresso machines, the water pressure that flows through the pump is usually around 8-9 bar – a fixed standard that is applied to many espresso machines which is non-adjustable. But through a paddle lever or an electronic paddle found on a Strada, a barista can determine the pressure curve from 0 to the maximum pressure of 12 bar in the period of 25 seconds or during espresso extraction. A small pump – or a magnetic drive gear –  is one of the most important components and it is the brain of a Strada that allows the water pressure remain interchangeable on each group head. This instrument is adopted from the same type of pumps that are widely used in hospitals to electronically adjust drip infusion.

More or less, that’s the theory behind a Strada – a machine that I still; haven’t got my hands on, but nevertheless try to understand whilst the main consultant explained it in a very complicated technical language.

In addition, the Strada can record every pressure profiling through a software that runs from a USB socket at the bottom of the machine to claim more consistent shot results. Temperature settings in each group head can be arranged in such a way with a difference of up to 0.5 degrees celsius. The Strada used at 1/15 consists of three groups and it uses an electronic lever which consumes 6700 watts electrical power at its peak.

The next question is; who will be operating this machine? Doddy Samsura of course! The Runner Up of Asia Barista who is going to be the main barista at 1/15 and concoct all kinds of coffee beverages with international influence. That is intended so the public are provided with alternatives to try different variants of coffee that no longer exist in Indonesia.

I bet we’re all extremely curious about 1/15’s launching date which is going to be in May (exactly on the 30th), especially to taste the orgasmic espresso from a La Marzocco Strada, which will be presented by the Asia Barista Runner Up champion, Doddy Samsura.

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Image 4: Big names like La Marzocco attracted the Jakarta coffegeeks during its installation process that lasted from noon until late afternoon. Field technicians were flown in from Singapore and there were many stages to go through in order to have this machine operates smoothly.

Espresso Orgasmic : La Marzocco Strada

Kabar baiknya, La Marzocco Strada sudah mendarat dengan selamat di Jakarta, tapi sayangnya jam’iyah blog cikopi  masih belum bisa menikmati kucuran kopi dari salah satu mesin espresso langitan ini, setidaknya hingga akhir Mei yang akan datang. Sebuah cafe di jalan Gandaria, Jakarta Selatan akan menjadi rumah baru bagi Strada tipe electronic paddle, setahu saya ini yang pertama di Indonesia.  Gizmodo menyebutnya sebagai the new wet dream machine, tapi saya lebih senang dengan istilah espresso orgasmic untuk sebuah mesin yang juga digunakan oleh nama besar sekelas Intelligentsia. Sensual bukan ? 😀 Mari kita telanjangi .  .  .

Lansekap kopi Indonesia, khususnya di kota sebesar Jakarta tampaknya akan terus melaju dengan kencang dengan kehadiran mesin-mesin espresso kelas high end seperi Kees Van Der Westen, Synesso Hydra, dan kini La Marzocco Strada. Nama cafe yang akan menggunakan mesin espresso ini adalah  “1/15” yang juga dilengkapi dengan raksasa grinder Mazzer Robur Kony Electronic.

Pertanyaannya, mengapa memilih Strada yang beratnya mencapai 90 kg ? “Mengapa tidak ?, tapi menurut konsultannya 1/15,  La Marzocco adalah “it’s a vey long established brand” dan banyak “kyai” lulusan perusahaan ini kemudian berhasil mendirikan perusahaan mesin espresso yang nama-namanya sudah saya sebutkan di atas (La Mrazocco didirkan tahun 1927 dan berpusat di kota Florence Italia). Selain itu, niatan untuk memahami kopi lebih mendalam bisa diwujudkan dengan berbagai parameter yang terdapat dalam fitur mesin Strada.

Sekilas tentang La Mrazocco Strada. Saat proyek ini akan dibuat pada tahun 2009, perusahaan La Marzocco mendekati lalu membentuk sebuah tim yang kemudian dinamai “La Marzocco Street Team Members”.  Terdiri atas nama-nama besar dalam dunia kopi seperti Tim Wendleboe (juara dunia WBC 2004), Klaus Thompsen (Coffee Collective), Kyle Glanville (Intelligentsia), Liz Hudson (Stumptown), Paul Geshos (Mecca Espresso), David Makin (Juara Barista Australia dua kali, juara 2 WBC tahun 2008). Mereka semua dimintai pendapat, komentar dan masukan tentang sebuah desain mesin, tekanan air, ekstraksi espresso, aplikasi, dan hal-hal teknis yang pada intinya berangkat dari idealisme La Marzocco untuk menciptakan mesin espresso di luar pakem.

Proyek inilah yang kemudian melahirkan La Mrazocco Strada, sebuah perangkat di mana para barista akan mempunyai kontrol penuh terhadap tekanan air selama proses brewing berlangsung. Pressure profiling menjadi ikon baru dalam dunia kebaristaan dan La Marzocco mewujudkannya melalui piranti yang kemudian menjadi tolok ukur mesin espresso yang lahir setelah Strada.

Pada mesin espresso umumnya, tekanan air yang dialirkan melalui pompa biasanya hanya berkisar 8-9 bar, sebuah standard baku yang banyak diaplikasikan pada mesin espresso dan tidak bisa dinaik turunkan. Tapi melalui sebuah tuas atau paddle elektronis pada Strada, barista bisa menentukan kurva tekanan dari 0 hingga maksimal 12 bar dalam kurun waktu misalnya 25 detik atau selama ekstraksi espresso berlangsung. Sebuah pompa kecil (magnetic drive gear) adalah salah satu komponen terpenting dan menjadi the brain pada Strada dan memungkinkan tekanan air bisa diubah pada masing-masing group head. Alat ini diadopsi dari jenis pompa yang sama yang banyak digunakan di rumah sakit untuk mengatur tetesan infus secara elektronis.

Kira-kira begitu teorinya yang walaupun saya sendiri belum pernah mempraktekannya, tapi cukup mengangguk berusaha keras memahami saat bapak konsultan menjelaskannya dengan bahasa teknis yang rumit.

Sebagai tambahan, Strada bisa merekam setiap pressure profiling melalui sebuah priranti lunak yang dimasukan ke dalam soket USB  di bagian bawah mesin hingga diklaim akan menghasilkan shot yang lebih konsisten. Pengaturan suhu pada setiap group head bisa diatur sedemikian rupa dengan perbedaan hingga 0.5 derajat celsius. Strada yang digunakan di 1/15 terdiri dari 3 group, tuas elektronis, memakan daya listrik  6700 watt pada puncak operasional.

Pertanyaan berikutnya, siapa yang nantinya akan mengoperasikan mesin ini ? Doddy Samsura ! Juara 2 tingkat Asia ini akan menjadi Barista di 1/15 dan menyajikan berbagai kopi khususnya dari luar. Maksudnya, supaya publik kopi punya alternatif untuk mencoba berbagai varian kopi yang tidak ada di Indonesia.

Saya dan pastinya Anda juga tentu penasaran dengan kehadiran 1/15 pada bulan Mei yang akan datang (direncanakan tanggal 30) untuk merasakan espresso orgasmic dari sebuah mesin La Marzocco Strada yang disajikan oleh juara 2 Barista Asia, Doddy Samsura.

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Image 5:

This is the inner part of the electronic lever that will determine the amount of pressure during brewing. The furthest on the right is 0 and it goes up to 12 bar when it is shifted to the left. An integral part where the baristas can determine how much pressure must be pumped while brewing.

Image 6: The Boiler. Not much can be seen inside, except for the boiler specifically designed for steaming, with a capacity of 11 liters. In each group head there is a boiler with a capacity of 1.3 liter (@ 800 watts) for brewing.

The Pump.The rotary pump located on the outside of is used to drain water into the main boiler. While the water supply to the boiler in the head group is utilized through a small pump (or the magnetic drive gear pump) found on the inside of the machine.

The USB. The Strada EP comes with an application to set the pressure profiling and it can be tweaked on the computer (PC) via the USB socket located at the base of the machine.

Image 7: It requires a total of 6700 watts of electrical power to heat the boiler 11 liter (steaming) boiler, including 3 separate boilers for each group head the size of 800ml (brewing). It takes around 45 minutes until the machine is ready to use.

Image 8: Woosh … with a hissing sound, the Strada EP spouts all its strength when the steam valve is opened for the first time. In case brewing pressure rises or falls, then a different power supply should be kept stable, even though the Strada EP is safely protected by 4 safety fuses that act as protection during turbulence.

Image 9: Some of the privileged people who got to experience La Marzocco Strada EP hands on, including the Asia Barista 2012 Runner Up Champion – Doddy Samsura.