Arkel Coast Review: The Portuguese Challenger

There are those moments when a new player enters the field and should make the established top dogs nervous. The Arkel Coast is exactly such a candidate. We are dealing here with a dual boiler espresso machine that does not come from the classic Italian forges in Milan or Florence, but is manufactured completely in Portugal.

With a price of around 2,300 euros, it places itself in an extremely exciting segment. It is more expensive than the classic entry-level machines, but significantly cheaper than the cult objects from La Marzocco, which often cost twice as much. But how much machine do you really get for this money?

We have tested the Arkel Coast over months, looked at different iterations, and can state today: The model standing before us is convincing and definitely doesn't need to hide from the manufacturers mentioned above.

Design & Dimensions: Architecture for the Kitchen

When the Arkel Coast stands before you, with its compact cuboid shape, it looks like a constructed object. It consistently foregoes curves or retro citations. With a height of 40 cm and a width and depth of just over 37 cm, it is an almost square monolith that stands calm and settled in the room.

The front appears like a facade – a smooth, dark glass surface that also represents the control panel. The material underscores this massive claim: The machine tips the scales at an impressive 23 kilograms. Dark metal dominates, everything looks strict and disciplined. We found no sharp edges during our haptic check; the paint finish feels very high-quality.

In detail, the Arkel Coast proves to be functional, but with small idiosyncrasies:

• The Drip Tray: It is huge and a real workflow highlight. We measured a capacity of 1.2 liters. Anyone coming from a small machine will enjoy not having to empty the tray after every shot.
• The Portafilter: The handle is designed very thin. It looks elegant, but might not sit fully comfortably in everyone's hand. In return, the fit is technical perfectionism: Between the included tamper and the basket, there is very little play of only 0.65 millimeters – a top value.
• The Workflow Disadvantage: The strict architecture exacts a small tribute regarding operation. Because the brew group is integrated so deep and hidden, you almost have to bend down initially to lock in the portafilter. You don't see the mount directly; locking it in requires some practice and muscle memory.

We rate the build quality of the Arkel Coast at 7.5/10 points and the accessories with high-quality tamper, portafilter, and basket at 8/10 points.

Technology & Heat-up Time: A Sprint for a Dual Boiler

Anyone who knows classic E61 dual boilers also knows the waiting: It often takes 25 to 30 minutes until these chrome bolides are truly heated through. The Arkel Coast breaks with this unwritten law. In our test protocol, we were positively surprised: The machine is ready to start after only 12 minutes.

How does it achieve this? The engineers rely on a 0.7-liter coffee boiler that is integrated directly into the brew head as a saturated group. This is supported by an auxiliary heater intended to guarantee temperature stability from the start. The 1-liter steam boiler in the rear acts completely independently and can be switched separately. That means: If you only want to drink an espresso in the morning, you leave the steam boiler off and save time and energy.

These 12 minutes are a real practical advantage. A spontaneous espresso in the morning? No problem with the Arkel Coast. With this, it poaches in the territory of fast thermoblock machines, but offers the thermal mass of a real boiler. However, part of the truth is also: While it outpaces many boiler colleagues, there are now machines with thick-film heaters that are ready after just five minutes. So, the Arkel is very fast for its design type, but not the absolute record holder on the market.

Energy Readings in the Lab Check

Part of the test of every espresso machine in our protocol is the incorruptible look at the electricity meter. Here, the Arkel Coast benefits noticeably from the fast heat-up time, but shows two faces – depending on how you use it.

• Without Steam: If we leave the steam boiler switched off – i.e., in pure espresso mode – we measured extremely low consumption: Only 0.14 kWh are on the clock for heating up and the first shots. That is an outstanding value, almost on the level of small single-circuit machines. On our efficiency scale, it would clear a strong 8 out of 10 points in this scenario.
• With Steam: If you switch on the steam boiler, the thermal mass demands its tribute. The total energy consumption rises for the same scenario (heating up plus five shots) to around 0.25 kWh to 0.29 kWh. This places it in the lower mid-range – on our scale that is still 4 out of 10 points.

The efficiency of the Arkel Coast literally lies in your hand: Use the toggle switch for the steam boiler consciously, and you have one of the most economical machines of its class in your kitchen.

Taste & Espresso Quality: When Physics Meets Craftsmanship

Let's talk about the most important thing: What lands in the cup at the end? How does the espresso taste that we brew with the Arkel Coast? That naturally depends on the choice of beans and our implementation. But the Arkel Coast provides the foundation.

The Temperature Profile: A Character with "Lift"

A basic prerequisite for good taste is a stable temperature. In our detailed analysis in the lab, the Arkel Coast shows very specific behavior here. Once it has warmed up, it hits the target temperature of 93 degrees almost perfectly – we measure a mean value of 92.87 degrees in the steady state. That gives full points in the "Target Achievement" cluster. But be careful with the first espresso in the morning: The "First Shot" is on average around 1.5 degrees below the target temperature. A blank shot with hot water through the portafilter therefore makes sense so that the temperature is spot on from the start.

It gets exciting during the shot. We observe a thermal "lift" (buoyancy). Unlike many machines where the temperature drops slightly towards the end, the temperature of the Arkel rises by almost 2 degrees during extraction (Intra-Shot Rise). This is technically not a defect, but has sensory consequences: Heat at the end of the extraction emphasizes bitter compounds. The profile thereby seems somewhat "aggressive".

Additionally, you must be aware of the offset: We found that the display reading does not exactly correspond to the temperature inside the portafilter. With 92 degrees set, about 93.5 degrees arrive at the puck. That is physics, not drama. Since this offset is constant, you can simply rethink: Set the display one to two degrees lower to reach your desired temperature.

Flow-Control as a Taste Tuner

With the flow controller attached to the right side, the Arkel provides a powerful tool for quality improvement or quality assurance. The technology behind it is not a simple needle valve that only throttles the inflow. Arkel uses a bypass system in the newest version. When you move the paddle, you open a branch and divert excess pressure in a targeted manner. The manometer always shows you the effective pressure on the coffee cake.

This opens up three scenarios for taste:

1. Gentle Pre-Infusion: Due to the vibration pump, the pressure builds up somewhat slower anyway. With the paddle, you can amplify this effect and wet the coffee gently at low pressure, which helps especially with light roasts to tame acidity and avoid channeling.
2. Braking the Bitterness: Here the circle to temperature closes. If you notice that the espresso could become too bitter towards the end due to the rising temperature, you simply take the pressure out with the paddle – down to 6 or 4 bar. This reduces the extraction rate at the end and makes the espresso rounder and sweeter.
3. Shot Repair ("The Savior"): My personal highlight in the workflow. You set the grinder wrong and the espresso shoots through way too fast? Instead of pouring it away, you spontaneously regulate the pressure down to 6 or 7 bar. This artificially extends the contact time and saves the shot. The espresso might not be perfect, but often still amazingly good and absolutely drinkable.

The solid temperature performance and the additional flow control are powerful tools to pull very good espressos shot after shot. The Arkel Coast achieves 7 out of 10 possible points in the Espresso Potential category.

Briefly on Volumetrics

Please do not rely on the time automatic for taste. Since the machine only measures time (e.g., 25 seconds) and not volume, the result in the cup varies enormously as soon as you change the grind size or use the paddle. For reproducible taste, there is no way around a scale here. A time-controlled output is better than no output at all. And if the grind is set cleanly once and you work consistently

Steam Power: The Fog Machine

Anyone who likes drinking cappuccino will love this machine. The steam boiler has serious power. In our test, it took only 23 seconds to heat a large portion of milk to 60 degrees. Michel aptly named the system "Fog Machine". The foam is fine-pored and the frothing process hardly buckles noticeably even with many 0.6L pitchers in a row.

That is excellent frothing performance that the Arkel delivers: 8 out of 10 points in our test protocol.

Cleaning and Maintenance

A point that is often forgotten is maintenance. Here the Portuguese have thought ahead. There is a special drain valve at the bottom of the machine with which you can empty the boilers completely if you want to descale them yourself. You read that right! Basically, we do NOT recommend descaling espresso machines with boilers yourself at home. Descaling is necessary every now and then, even with very soft water that is constantly filtered. But for residue-free descaling, most espresso machines must be extensively dismantled and the boiler opened, otherwise the descaling fluid remains in the machine.

It's different with the Arkel: The draining system allows you to empty the boiler completely. And with that, you can undertake the descaling yourself without further ado. That is worth hard cash. A descaling service every two to three years quickly costs 200 to 300 euros! When comparing prices with other classic machines on the market, you can therefore deduct quite a bit from the Arkel in terms of running costs over a five-year view and rather put it directly into the machine.

Catering Potential: Ready for the Club Festival?

We are often asked if one can use such machines for events, weddings, or the proverbial club festival. The Arkel Coast sends mixed signals here but is basically an exciting candidate for mobile deployments.

On the credit side stand the brute steam power and the huge drip tray. Anyone who has to crank out cappuccinos in accord will love not having to empty the tray every five minutes. The temperature stability during many shots in a row also makes it resilient. Furthermore, at 23 kg it is just barely transportable without immediately needing a freight forwarder.

However, there is a catch for professional continuous use: The Arkel Coast has no fixed water connection and the drip tray cannot be connected to wastewater either - after all, it is very large. You are dependent on the 2.5-liter water tank. At high throughput, you must therefore constantly keep an eye on the fill level and refill. For the private garden party or catering on a smaller scale, it is top – for the high-frequency business, it lacks the water tap. Anyone who can live with that gets a real workhorse placed by their side. In a small café, however, the machine would be in the wrong place.

Conclusion

The Arkel Coast is a declaration of war. A high-quality dual boiler espresso machine that is manufactured with components from Portugal or Europe and, thanks to flow control, steals the thunder from machines like the Micra, Zuriga, or Mozzafiato.

Good temperature stability in everyday life as well as contact partners in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) make it an attractive espresso machine and the frothing performance is unparalleled. We are very impressed by this espresso machine debut from Portugal and are already looking forward to the next announced model named "Tide".