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  Show and Tell: Hand Pull Espresso Machine

  Posted by Kevin, mechanical engineering - January 27, 2012

  At Speck Design we revel in the process of transforming a concept into a physical product that makes its way into the marketplace.  We also appreciate the design features of products we use on a daily basis.  As part of our weekly show-and-tell blog series, we talk about some of our favorite everyday products, sharing insight into likeable features, how the product stands out compared to similar products, and which improvements could be made to the product from a design, engineering, and user experience stand point.

  My most cherished kitchen appliance is my Italian La Pavoni ‘Professional’ espresso machine, which I use ritually every morning.

  PRODUCT: La Pavoni ‘Professional’ Espresso Machine.

  DESCRIPTION: Professional style manual espresso machine, about 16 inches tall and about 12lbs.  The design is really simple, with a large boiler and a long lever to force the hot water through the grounds.  The machine makes up to 2oz of espresso per load of grounds and includes a milk frother attachment for steaming and foaming milk.
  
  LIKEABLE FEATURES: To sum it up, I like the manual operation, use of quality materials, and its vintage/industrial appearance.  What I like most about this style of manual espresso machine is that the entire operation is up to me.  By raising the lever, I control how much hot water is allowed into the coffee grounds and when I lower the lever, I can control the pressure of the water that’s forced through the grounds.  Together, these variables affect the flavor of the finished espresso and the ‘crema’ warm tan foam on the top.  Automatic espresso machines don’t allow this level of control, they do it all for you – it’s the same every time.  With this machine it does take a bit of patience and keen attention to detail to dial in the fineness of the coffee grinds, figure out how much the grounds are tamped down into the coffee holder, determine the amount of coffee to use per shot, decide how much water to force through and with how much pressure, but…the reward is a delicious cup of espresso that I’ve made myself.  Not to mention, the process of making the coffee and the caffeine help get my mornings going!

  DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS: I made one visual improvement to the machine: I took the plastic cover off of the water level gauge exposing the glass sight-tube for a more steam-punk look.  One inconvenience is that in order to add more water, you have to allow the machine to cool and the pressure to drop before you can open the boiler to refill it.  To refill the coffee grounds for the next shot, you have to wait a bit for the pressure to release or the used grounds can pop out and make a bit of a mess.  Also, a friend of mine has the same machine and ended up overheating and ruining it by letting it run dry without water.  One solution is to add some sort of internal sensor that could detect when the temperature is too high and automatically shuts off the heater.  That said, the whole experience has more of an ‘art and soul’ feeling, an experience that requires a bit more effort from the user to get great results. But, like many great Italian products, the reward is not just in the results, but in the process.

  *Side note: Before you can make your delicious coffee, you need to grind them beans.  Alex, our industrial designer, knows just the right way: With his vintage Braun coffee grinder.  And, what fits perfectly with your cup of coffee?  Why frothed milk of course.  Read about Alyssa, our mechanical engineer, and her Nespresso Milk Frother.