amazing first look, mark. hopefully, the great leaps forward in both the speedster and the gs/3 (as well as like improvements in recent grinders) will continue to move forward our specialty coffee community.
MarkPrince Said:
i'd like to see a shot timer incorporated into the machine - perhaps, keeping with the retro feel, an analog stopwatch / speedometer kind of dial that engages as soon as the pump does, perhaps even two such devices - one on the left for overall shot time, and one on the right showing just the pump activation time. It would keep with the automobile / racing plane theme of the front and sides of the machine.
in extending the analog stopwatch idea. . . traditional stopwatches can measure splits with one watch face and one hand (with proper use of the buttons). similarly, why not a single analog face with two hands automatically starting in sync during preinfusion: the first stopping and the second continuing forward once the pump is engaged, and the second stopping once the shot is stopped? then the barista has on one dial preinfusion time, total shot time, and pump time (with some minor subtraction). the only button the barista would have to push is the "reset" button.
harry.
"i should pull up the hardwood to see if there's carpet underneath! . . . no, that's never the case."
davidhunternyc Senior Member Joined: 6 Sep 2009 Posts: 15 Location: New York Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sun Sep 6, 2009, 11:09pm Subject: Speedster Espresso Machine
I am an artist and I love great industrial design. Unfortunately, from our coffee machines to the most expensive BMW's, superlative design and build quality has become an anachronism. For example, why is it that every time we push a simple metal knob, it is usually spray painted plastic? Why is it that fit and finish is an afterthought? Alas, enter this stunning machine. Wow! I am speechless. There is too much that is right about this machine and the review was so thorough, there really is nothing I can say that will make a difference. I do have to reiterate one critique about this machine that was so astutely observed in this review. It is a small point of contention but because everything else is so thoughtfully wrestled over, this blemish stands out like a cancer. I agree with the reviewer that the digital read-out does not fit this machine. Keeping with the retro feel, all dials need to be analog, end of argument. I also took the opportunity to check out the new version of the Speedster and I am the type of person who always gravitates towards the most severe and reductive kind of industrial design. The new Speedster gives you the option of losing the racing red and yellow stripes and would then come with more sedate (albeit elegant) and tightened up chrome and black side panels (though I would love to see a midnight blue). I thought that I would like the chrome and black color scheme more but I don't. The Speedster screams retro-futurism and the red and yellow version reinforces this spirit of optimism and celebration. With the Speedster, form and color brings us back to the whale tails, fins, and the neon signs of the 50's. Sans the digital readout, the Speedster is a masterpiece. I would love to see detailed photos of the latest Speedster next to the original 2001 model. Better yet, forget the photos, I want to caress both machines. Is the 2001 version more of a masterpiece? One thing's for sure; it's got legs that could kill.
The first shot I have ever pulled was on Coffee Geek's Speedster, so I might be a bit bias, however, it had me grinning from ear to ear and the resulting espresso shot was awesome. I appreciate the remarkable craftsmanship and racing aesthetic of Kees van der Westen's machine. Brilliant!
I've done three sessions so far with a Scace device to check the grouphead temps - there is some variance at the start of shots because of the nature of the preinfusion chamber / piston design - basically I have the offset tuned so that it will show accurate temperatures if you pull only a couple of shots per session; if you pull more than two doubles in a row, the group actually gets slightly hotter water (about 1f-1.5f hotter) because of the nature of the constant heating the preinfusion chamber gets.
That said, it could be tuned either way - for occasional shot, or for consistent shot after shot.
I've found that with the current offset, the variance at the grouphead is only 0.4F at most, and usually within 0.2F if I give a wait-time of about 1min between shot / measurements.
Lately I've been running Black Cat through it exclusively and as per Intelligentsia website's instructions, brewing it at 198.5 at the grouphead. Epic is getting about 201F.
Transitioning between temps is pretty quick - going up 2F is about a 3 minute affair; going down 2F is quicker, if you're flushing the boiler for 30, 40 seconds.
Everything could be better insulated :) (looking at the typical HX square box Italian consumer machines); the Speedster's steam boiler does have an insulated wrap - I found mine's pretty good - I like that it makes cups on top steaming hot (I never preheat cups from the Speedster); there is a bit excess in top heat, but the side panels do a great job of dissipating heat from the machine - you can always remove the side panels, and even the top panel doesn't get too hot to touch or remove.
andys Said:
Drip tray could be slightly larger and/or incorporate a higher rim to better contain splashes.
I think I'd like to see the back rim of the drip tray a bit higher too - when I do portafilter flushes / rinses, it sometimes splashes the table below / behind the drip tray.
andys Said:
Steam line could come from the factory insulated and ideally should slope continuously downwards from the front panel steam valve to the boiler. This is so the condensation that inevitably occurs while idling will flow back into the boiler and doesn't remain in the line.
Wow, that's pretty detailed - did you tell Kees this?
andys Said:
The brain box is supposed to prevent the auto refill from actuating while you're pulling a shot, but surprisingly, about once every hundred shots it happens anyway.
The first shot I have ever pulled was on Coffee Geek's Speedster, so I might be a bit bias, however, it had me grinning from ear to ear and the resulting espresso shot was awesome. I appreciate the remarkable craftsmanship and racing aesthetic of Kees van der Westen's machine. Brilliant!
I had a more detailed discussion with Kees about the possibility of analog stopwatch dials for the Speedster, and he's quite open to the idea and his team is going to start looking for suitable dials (that match the orman dials), and investigate the do-ability of it. I begged him to make it a "retro refit" kit for existing Speedster owners too.
Kees likes the idea and thinks it would be a great fit for the retro nature of the Speedster and his concept for the machine.
It is not guaranteed of course, but if it happens, the Speedster should be the first machine to show both full shot time (including preinfusion) and pump shot time.... and in beautiful analog!
Mark that sounds great, Speedster sure is looking excellent. Thanks for the feedback on your temps, curious as to what pressure you are brewing at as well?
Thanks in advance for any information you can share. And again great write-up!
I have the machine's pump set to 9.1bar; line pressure is measured at about 50-55psi (depending on the day) comes in just short of 3bar last time I pressure tested it.
Mark PS thanks everyone for the compliments on the article! Seriously appreciated.
I had a more detailed discussion with Kees about the possibility of analog stopwatch dials for the Speedster, and he's quite open to the idea and his team is going to start looking for suitable dials (that match the orman dials), and investigate the do-ability of it. I begged him to make it a "retro refit" kit for existing Speedster owners too.
Kees likes the idea and thinks it would be a great fit for the retro nature of the Speedster and his concept for the machine.
It is not guaranteed of course, but if it happens, the Speedster should be the first machine to show both full shot time (including preinfusion) and pump shot time.... and in beautiful analog!
Wow! That is fantastic that you talked to Kees about the analog dials and I can't wait to see it. I just joined CoffeeGeek.com just because of the brilliant engineering behind the Speedster Espresso Machine. It is nice to know that the best might possibly still get even better. For me, the digital read-out was like scratching on a chalk board (only because everything else is such a work of art). I guess I am a bit sheepish about my next question but I just have to ask it: If you had to compare the 2001 Speedster to the 2008 model, strictly in terms of design and build quality, which machine which would you choose and why?
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