Hi!

I've owned a Izzo Alex Duetto for a year now, which I honestly believed would be everything I could ever want. But then, after reading and watching Jim Schulman's excellent review of the Strega, I've been hit by upgraditis again. Badly...

I recently bought a lightly used Microcimbali as a second machine, and I find that it's shots are much more pleasant and less bitter than from the Duetto. This leads me to think that I like the lever style shots more, probably because of the declining pressure profile. But the Microcimbalis shots are tiny, and the steaming capability is very limited... I mostly drink straight espresso, but I'd like to have the opportunity to make lattes for my guests as well. I know the Strega has the steaming power, and my hope is that it also would give me lovely, sweet espresso shots without too much fuss, and the ability to experiment when I want to geek out.

As there are no places I can try out the Strega here in Norway, my question is: Do you think this would be a wise decision? Has anyone tried both the Strega and a dual boiler like the Duetto?

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,
Stefan

Stefan, I think Strega is interesting machine, but ultimately still unproven. There is lot of hype about it but its not in many hands yet and we are getting reports from few people only. I am little concerned about its reported higher punch and need for very fine grind or huge dose and how that affects taste when pulling "normal", everyday espresso blends.

Best bet is to find somewhere to try it out first. But thanks to hype if you buy it and its not for you, you should be able to sell it with minimum loss... Let hype continue

There is a third possibility. The Fluid-O-Tech gear pumps used in the LM Strada EP are compact enough to retrofit in place of a vibe pump. These can be manually controlled using a 0 to 12 volts source, albeit one with about 10 to 15 amps current (think old fashioned model railroad controller).

My feel is that in order for pressure profiled shots to work, they need to run fairly long: dwell times at five to ten seconds and flow times at thirty to forty. This makes it a non-starter on most HX machines, since they will overheat on such long shots, but fine in double boilers like the Izzo. So, my guess is that all the home DBs will be candidates for pressure profiling mods or kits fairly soon. These will probably cost in the range of about $300 to $500.

Also, the Strega offers no real advantages on darker roasted, non-acidic blends that are dosed high on conventional pump machines. They pull fine, but no better than usual. The Strega shines on roasts stopped before the second crack, especially with coffees that are both acidic and sweet, where the results are astonishing. These are also the coffees from which I've had astonishing shots at RBH and Streets, where they have become adept at using pressure profiling machines.

If you dream about espresso from light roasted Centrals and East African coffees, some sort of pressure profiling is definitely in your future. The Strega does this, but so will lots of other machines within the next few years. I don't think there's any way to tell which of them is going to gain widest acceptance, and which will die on vine.

The better option to the Strada EP pump (MGCF11S) is the one I'm testing (MGFR) and I hope others soon. It's smaller and require a 24V source + 0-5V signal (a potentiometer on 0-5V source or even 4x1.5V battery works fine). There is some initial information on the TMFR thread. By the way, I discovered the cost of the MGCF11S is $20 less than the MGFR...

I have the same experience on having better shots with declining pressure but longer time. Including my limited time playing on the Strada EP.

Márcio.

The Fluid-O-Tech gear pumps used in the LM Strada EP are compact enough to retrofit in place of a vibe pump.

Pumps, yes; Strada pump & motor, could be close. The motor/pump Marcio is commenting on is very expensive NOW. To put numbers on paper, the MGFR pump/motor + mounting arrangement is $455.14 delivered. To that you need to add a 24 VDC power supply - $41 delivered, a special Omron SSR - $68 delivered, which has 120VAC control and 24VDC load, a potentiometer and some resistors - $10, and some TLC from the adventurer.

The motor for the Strada pump is different than that which Marcio is describing.

I'm probably the only person on the forum who owns both machines, but my Strega is the plumbed-in version. I've owned and used a number of machines, and the Duetto was my first. I don't really see myself ever selling it because it's so versatile.

I have been using the Strega as my only machine since September, and I don't miss a whole lot from the Duetto. It's somewhat more involved, pulling flushes and not having a three-way valve, but it's as capable as any other prosumer HX machine in a home setting. I could certainly live with it as my only machine, which I'd be hard pressed to do with a lot of smaller home levers. I might have gone for the pump version if I knew it would be my only machine, since that gives you the best of both worlds.

Ideally I'd love to have both machines set up in a dedicated bar, but that's not feasible any time soon

I've already taken my hammer out and placed it next to my piggy-bank in anticipation of the first round of results of these pump/motor experiments.

Bob_McBob wrote:I'm probably the only person on the forum who owns both machines, but my Strega is the plumbed-in version. I've owned and used a number of machines, and the Duetto was my first. I don't really see myself ever selling it because it's so versatile.

Ah yes, I forgot you own both... I guess question is which is "better"? Probably hard to answer if you don't have both available at the same time to pull shots, but whenever I am faced with such conundrum (which is often) I say "better" is whatever I end up using the most often...

I don't switch off the 24VDC to the motor, just would cut the 0-5V signal to 0V right when the 3-way valve goes off. I'm still doing it manually, turning off the pot then off the 3-way switch.

The other pump, MGCF11S, requires a PWM on the 24V source to control speed (brushed motor). Probably it's not smooth as the MGFR is on the lower RPM. I heard the lifespan of the motor is lower than the MGFR, so as long as the price is not lower, no advantages for us...

Márcio.

On the matter of Duetto/Strega, love lever shots and action, but if I had a Duetto, I would try this pump or some manual valve that could give the desired pressure profile to experiment before going to a whole new machine.