With the Faemina, Faema is entering the home espresso machine market. Faema has recently been popular in the kitchens and homes of home baristas, particularly thanks to its iconic brewing unit, the Faema E61. Meanwhile, the company's focus was on commercial espresso machines with the E71.
With the Faemina, Faema aims to build on the success story of its brewing group and position a single-group portafilter machine in the high-end segment. The massive espresso machine costs more than 6,000 euros (7,000 francs). The name, with its diminutive "-ina," is just as unsuitable for the price as it is for the machine's dimensions. The Faemina weighs a whopping 37 kg, is 41.5 cm high, 51.7 cm deep, and has a width of 37.5 cm. With the portafilter clamped in, it reaches a depth of 62.5 cm. The diminutive is therefore not very appropriate here, but it does fit the machine's range of functions. The Faemina has one main strength: it brews coffee well and consistently. You won't find any flow rate control or pressure profiling in this elegant block. At least the machine boasts a smart pre-brew function, which sets it apart from, for example, the similarly priced GS3 from La Marzocco. And the Faemina can brew filter coffee, so in principle. Let's dive in and take a closer look at the machine.
Buy Faema Faemina Dual Boiler
The following specialist retailers sell the Faema Faemina dual boiler, and we recommend purchasing a machine from them. They all offer offset adjustment.
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Strengths and weaknesses of Faemina
Pros of the espresso machine
- Fast heat-up time of the espresso boiler of only 7 minutes
- Very good temperature stability
- Quiet machine with only 51 decibels
- easy to control via control on brewing group
- Powerful foaming
- Relatively low power consumption, especially when the steam boiler is switched off
- Interesting machine for small catering
Cons of the espresso machine
- Processing of the drip tray
- Limitation of flow and pressure adjustment options
- App crashes
Positioning and classification
Yes, the Faemina is a single-group espresso machine. Yes, Faema also wants to strengthen its presence in the home market. However, it's still up for debate whether the Faemina isn't actually a single-group commercial espresso machine. The components used certainly are. With the exception of the pump, the Faemina uses the same internal components as the President and others. This ensures excellent performance and makes the Faemina a very consistent and high-quality espresso machine.
From brewing to steaming performance, the Faema delivers excellent performance and is a true asset to any restaurant. I would now say: perfect for small cafes or bakeries. If the Faema itself weren't so bulky, you'd have to find a place for it first.
Of course, the Faemina also performs brilliantly at the barista's home. One of the strongest arguments for this espresso machine is its incredibly fast heat-up time for a boiler. The 0.6-liter brewing boiler sits directly above the portafilter, ensuring that the portafilter heats up quickly. Furthermore, the Faemina prioritizes energy first to the brewing boiler, making it ready for use in just 7 minutes. The machine itself signals after just 5 minutes that the heat-up time is complete. Anyone wanting to brew a cappuccino will then have to wait a few more minutes.
This rapid heat-up time rivals many thermoblocks. Admittedly, after testing many espresso machines with Faema E61 brewing units, which take a good 25 minutes to heat up, I still have to get used to the 7-minute heat-up time of a Faema.
Good espresso thanks to temperature and pre-brewing
A consistent brewing temperature and a cleverly designed pre-brewing process contribute to the Faemina's ability to produce excellent espresso. The Faemina is a reliable machine, as demonstrated repeatedly in all our measurements. Both the coffee maker's log and the much more detailed WBC log, with its high intervals between brews, demonstrated the espresso machine's high temperature consistency.
The WBC protocol compares the consistency of the espresso machine's brew from seconds 4 to 25. The Faemina demonstrated excellent consistency and a standard deviation of only 0.49 across all brews. The PID temperature control can be operated via the app and directly via the controls in the brewing group.
Impressively, the Faemina machine was able to brew to temperature after just 7 minutes. This is clearly visible in the following KM temperature log. All measurements were taken with the Scace 2.
Pre-brewing thanks to water diversion
The Faemina features a pre-brewing function with a lower flow rate. This is achieved via a branch that, when the function is activated, directs the water to the brewing group via a hose reduced to 0.6 cm. This allows the coffee puck to be saturated with water first before the brewing water is dispensed onto the coffee at full pump power via the larger inlet tube. It's a bit of a shame that, while the flow rate reduction works, almost 3 ml per second is still delivered to the coffee under counterpressure. This could be reduced to make even more effective use of this function.
The control of the water branching, as well as the ability to completely pause the water supply, are also important functions for using the Faemina's filter coffee option.
A prerequisite for this is also a precise flow meter, which on the Faemina allows programming of five buttons. While this may sound obvious, it's not possible with many espresso machines in the dual-boiler and dual-circuit segment with the Faema E61 brewing group. However, a smoothly functioning volume control is a prerequisite for use in the hospitality industry. And this is where the Faemina's flow meter represents another advantage.
Steam performance with power
The 2.6-liter steam boiler delivers powerful milk swirling. 300 ml of milk is frothed to temperature in 20 seconds. By comparison, the Quick Mill Essence takes over 40 seconds.
The milk froths accordingly smoothly. Here, too, we can see that with this performance, the Faemina proves once again that it can cut a fine figure in the catering industry.
Accessories and processing
Included are a single-cup and a double-cup portafilter, each equipped with classic Faema sieves. The sieves are of adequate quality, but could be improved with precision sieves.
The 58mm tamper is high-quality, but doesn't sit flush with the included strainers. We measured a clearance of 0.85 mm. Also included are the mains water connections and a drain hose, as the rotary pump can be connected to the mains water supply.
Speaking of the rotary pump: It purrs quietly, reaching just 51 decibels. That's exceptionally quiet. The machine's button sounds were louder, but fortunately, they could be turned off.
Overall, the machine's workmanship is good, with a few exceptions. Even with Faema's larger espresso machines, I'm surprised at how poorly-feeling some of the plastic parts feel. The steam activation lever, for example, has obvious seams. It's simply not attractive. However, the plastic drip tray really contrasts with the machine. It just doesn't fit together! The plastic is thin and feels like a foreign object on the heavy machine.
The plastic grille on the machine can at least be argued to protect it from scratches. However, there's another thing that's nice about it. In addition, the screw covers located directly beneath the grille aren't secure and easily slide off when the grille is moved.
However, these minor defects cannot overshadow the overall good workmanship and appearance of the machine.
Filter coffee performance from Faemina
The Faemina features brewing programming for filter coffee. The integrated flow meter, in conjunction with a control system, allows you to program a pre-brew and a number of pulses.
While you can specify how long the pre-brew takes and how much water to use, you can only program the number of pulses and the final pulse for the main brew. Therefore, when calculating the total brewing time, it's important to consider the drain time. For a total volume of 300 ml, a final pulse could be given after 1:40 minutes, for example.
Brewing performance is largely determined by the spray's ability to distribute water evenly and the pulse programming. In our case, the spray delivered water slightly unevenly, which is why the coffee was more swirled on the corresponding side of the filter.
It is also practical that the drip tray can be raised and lowered with a simple movement of the hand, so that at least the filter and jug that fits the machine fits under the brewing group.
Faema itself sells a filter set that fits the machine, but in our test, it proved too wide. A more cylindrical format, such as the clamp-on filter basket developed by Scott Rao (discussed in one of our upcoming videos), appears to offer significantly better performance for brewing espresso with an espresso machine. The recommended filter doesn't get water in the outer areas, and the coffee lying there isn't sufficiently extracted, resulting in uneven coffee extraction.
The pulse adjustment option certainly allows for a good filter coffee to be brewed with a little tweaking. At home, however, I would always prefer a hand filter and a carafe, brewing the coffee well through clean swirling and precise pouring. However, if a restaurant has multiple groups (multiple Faeminas?) or a rarely used espresso machine, the filter function is certainly an interesting option.
Energy consumption
You might think that such a large espresso machine must consume a lot of electricity. And indeed, it does, even at full power and with the steam boiler switched on. However, if you leave the steam boiler off, the Faemina's short heat-up time results in a low consumption of just 0.144 kWh for 5 shots, according to the KM protocol. In this scenario, one espresso, including heat-up, consumes 0.1 kWh.
When we activate the steam boiler, we reach a value of 0.35 kWh, which is remarkably low considering the large steam boiler. If we activate the steam boiler, we use 0.29 kWh to make an espresso. A cappuccino, on the other hand, uses 0.31 kWh. 
Conclusion on Faemina from Faema
The Faemina is an interesting espresso machine. There are many indications that it's suitable for use in small restaurants, catering businesses, or even larger offices with coffee-loving employees. Employees will appreciate the fast heat-up time, and the machine's start-up can also be programmed via the app. For the restaurant industry, the fast heat-up time is less necessary, but still a nice feature. The good overall performance in terms of temperature and steam quality are important prerequisites for brewing many coffees in a short time.
For home use, the size and, above all, the price could be counterarguments, although the fast heat-up time and espresso quality are certainly pros. However, it's certain that there are other machines on the market with greater flexibility and adjustment options for flow rate control for significantly less money. However, if you don't care about these aspects and are looking for a very solid machine with a distinctive aesthetic and good performance, the Faemina is a very good espresso machine.
