What could be more appealing than a home espresso machine whose 150 components are predominantly produced and assembled locally? We're talking about Olympia Express – a company that has been a pioneer in espresso machine production in Switzerland for over 80 years.
The company and brand are iconic. Their longevity is legendary. In fact, machines are still available that have been producing espresso for 30 years. The espresso machine manufacturer, acquired by Schätti Metallwarenfabrik AG in Schwanden in 2011, strongly communicates its tradition, materials, coffee quality, and experience.
We want to focus particularly on these factors in this test. It's difficult to categorize the price because all the other dual-boiler espresso machines we tested are manufactured "differently" and fall into a different price range (CHF 1,200–2,500). The Olympia Express Maximatic is available for around CHF 4,000 and is listed in the Eurozone at €3,690 , for example, at Manufactum . This makes it the most expensive dual-boiler espresso machine we know of.
Besides cult status, longevity, and coffee quality, we have some expectations.
Materiality par excellence
How we've cursed over the past few weeks and months in our dual-circuit machine tests about unsmoothed metal edges and thin "semi-metal." The Olympia Express Maximatic is no different! This small dual-circuit machine is also one of the heaviest, most robust, and, above all, best-made espresso machines. Its weight of around 18 kilograms is quite impressive. Nothing wobbles when clamping the portafilter.
The polished stainless steel of the front and upper section feels twice as thick as the outer skin of the Bezzera BZ10 . The Lelit Mara X, in contrast, feels as soft as a pillow. And the edges are buttery smooth, even on the drip tray, whose punched holes would also work as a potato grater in almost all machines we know. The powder-coated side panels also make a good impression. It's a joy!
The stainless steel water tank with a capacity of 1.5 liters is also a delight. This is usually made of plastic, and the cheap kind at that. You could probably hammer carpenter's nails into the Olympia's water tank.
The Olympia Express Maximatic
The machine is very compact and, at 19.5 cm wide, narrower than a sheet of A4 paper. A depth of 34 cm and a height of 37 cm ensure that the machine fits easily into any niche, yet still looks impressive on its own.
What we really like is that the brewing boiler can also be opened from the top. This theoretically allows direct access and also makes descaling easier. We advise against doing this yourself with traditional dual-circuit machines, as residue can remain in the boiler and clog the valves. This is less of a problem with the Olympia Express Maximatic (but be careful, never open it when it's hot).
Function of the Olympia Express Maximatic – reduced to the essentials
In terms of functionality, the Olympia Express Maximatic is completely reduced to its function: making espresso and frothing milk.
The machine heats up to operating temperature in about 20 minutes. The machine's own brewing group heats up well thanks to a thermal bridge to the boiler. This is important to ensure that the brewing temperature in the portafilter doesn't drop due to a cool ambient temperature. The machine's brewing temperature remains constant for each brew. We measured an average brewing temperature of 93 degrees Celsius, with fluctuations of only half a degree. That's exemplary!
The drip tray of the Olympia Express Maximatic is very small.
However, the machine's small boiler (0.75 l) isn't designed for continuous use. After the fifth consecutive brew, the temperature drops. Since the Olympia Express Maximatic can't be connected to a mains water supply, it's not designed for continuous use anyway.
Milk frothing with the Maximatic also works well. Initially, the small boiler actually built up quite a bit of pressure, but this dropped significantly during the rolling phase. We therefore recommend only frothing 0.35-liter jugs.
Water dispensing is activated and stopped with a button. Foaming is started with a plastic dial. Unlike most other espresso machines, the Maximatic doesn't have a tea water dispensing feature. We didn't really miss this feature, as we don't recommend using water from the kettle anyway. However, for quickly preparing an Americano (long espresso), a dispensing option is certainly practical.
Missed opportunities and what we don't like
Unfortunately, the precision in material selection and workmanship doesn't extend to all aspects of the machine. The small size of the drip tray is less significant. However, it's certainly inconvenient that it feels like emptying the tray after every fifth espresso. This is because excess water from the pipes drains into the tray when the extraction process is complete.
Tamper supplied with the Olympia Express Maximatic is too small
Olympia describes the milk lance as "extra long." We find it "rather short" and, above all, fixed at a fixed angle. This makes frothing and proper positioning difficult. The plastic wheel used to start the frothing process also feels inferior compared to the other materials.
We were really surprised that Olympia Express doesn't have a rubber cover over the milk lance. While it's not pretty, it does allow you to touch the lance. All other machines on the market have either a rubber cover, a plastic handle, or a "cold touch" tube that doesn't get hot on the outside.
An absolute no-go is the size of the tamper in relation to the diameter of the sieve. A good tamper fits perfectly at the edge of the sieve and therefore tampes the entire coffee cake. The included tamper left a gap of a good 2 mm. This causes channeling, and we actually encountered channeling during extractions.
Conclusion and thoughts on the Olympia Express Maximatic
First of all: we drank very good espresso and also made a decent cappuccino with the Olympia Express Maximatic. The materials and choice of components are truly outstanding. The fact that the machine is built in Switzerland, the components aren't randomly purchased, and the machine is built to last – all this puts the price of CHF 4,000 into perspective.
To put it another way: if a CHF 500 espresso machine lasts three years and the Olympia Express lasts 30 years, then the Olympia is cheaper and easily pays for itself. And especially in a throwaway production society, we find this long-term perspective very, very valuable, and "local" production even more so. We also find tradition invaluable, but also essential.
Experience and tradition can be used to further develop an already high-quality machine and incorporate market trends. A good example is the steam wand. Cold Touch wands are now standard in espresso machines across all price ranges. This eliminates the need for an unsightly rubber cover and allows you to still touch the wand. Olympia Express has to be there!
It's incomprehensible that a machine that prides itself on precision comes with a tamper that doesn't even fit the portafilter. Tamper technology has evolved continuously in recent years, and with a 58-grit portafilter, tampers of 58.4 or 58.5 are now used, which perfectly line up with the rim. This makes preparing a good espresso easier, especially for inexperienced users.
The Olympia Express Maximatic hasn't seen any further development in a long time, but the product could easily be improved and enhanced. Since the machine is button-controlled, a programmable water dispensing rate would be a great help for any inexperienced home barista, ensuring a good brewing ratio.
We think it's right that the machine dispenses with any digital gadgets. But a stopwatch for reference time would be a tremendous benefit. It could even be equipped with a pointer—how ingenious would that be!
The portafilter itself doesn't feel as high-quality in terms of materials as the rest of the machine. Another easy-to-implement upgrade would be replacing the plastic wheel on the milk lance.
This test is difficult. It's difficult for us to say who this machine is right for. In a pure price-performance test, we have to say: you can get more for less. In terms of value, the Olympia Express Maximatic sets standards, but it also falls short of what could have been.
The machine is a collector's item. And learning to love its rough edges is part of every romantic relationship.
Update: We've received a tip from a user of the machine that the machine's value isn't so good after all. We have repair bills totaling over €1,400, resulting from three repairs in less than four years.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Please let us know in the comments.
What could be more appealing than a home espresso machine whose 150 components are predominantly produced and assembled locally? We're talking about Olympia Express – a company that has been a pioneer in espresso machine production in Switzerland for over 80 years.
The company and brand are iconic. Their longevity is legendary. In fact, machines are still available that have been producing espresso for 30 years. The espresso machine manufacturer, acquired by Schätti Metallwarenfabrik AG in Schwanden in 2011, strongly communicates its tradition, materials, coffee quality, and experience.
We want to focus particularly on these factors in this test. It's difficult to categorize the price because all the other dual-boiler espresso machines we tested are manufactured "differently" and fall into a different price range (CHF 1,200–2,500). The Olympia Express Maximatic is available for around CHF 4,000 and is listed in the Eurozone at €3,690 , for example, at Manufactum . This makes it the most expensive dual-boiler espresso machine we know of.
Besides cult status, longevity, and coffee quality, we have some expectations.
Materiality par excellence
How we've cursed over the past few weeks and months in our dual-circuit machine tests about unsmoothed metal edges and thin "semi-metal." The Olympia Express Maximatic is no different! This small dual-circuit machine is also one of the heaviest, most robust, and, above all, best-made espresso machines. Its weight of around 18 kilograms is quite impressive. Nothing wobbles when clamping the portafilter.
The polished stainless steel of the front and upper section feels twice as thick as the outer skin of the Bezzera BZ10 . The Lelit Mara X, in contrast, feels as soft as a pillow. And the edges are buttery smooth, even on the drip tray, whose punched holes would also work as a potato grater in almost all machines we know. The powder-coated side panels also make a good impression. It's a joy!
The stainless steel water tank with a capacity of 1.5 liters is also a delight. This is usually made of plastic, and the cheap kind at that. You could probably hammer carpenter's nails into the Olympia's water tank.
The Olympia Express Maximatic
The machine is very compact and, at 19.5 cm wide, narrower than a sheet of A4 paper. A depth of 34 cm and a height of 37 cm ensure that the machine fits easily into any niche, yet still looks impressive on its own.
What we really like is that the brewing boiler can also be opened from the top. This theoretically allows direct access and also makes descaling easier. We advise against doing this yourself with traditional dual-circuit machines, as residue can remain in the boiler and clog the valves. This is less of a problem with the Olympia Express Maximatic (but be careful, never open it when it's hot).
Function of the Olympia Express Maximatic – reduced to the essentials
In terms of functionality, the Olympia Express Maximatic is completely reduced to its function: making espresso and frothing milk.
The machine heats up to operating temperature in about 20 minutes. The machine's own brewing group heats up well thanks to a thermal bridge to the boiler. This is important to ensure that the brewing temperature in the portafilter doesn't drop due to a cool ambient temperature. The machine's brewing temperature remains constant for each brew. We measured an average brewing temperature of 93 degrees Celsius, with fluctuations of only half a degree. That's exemplary!
The drip tray of the Olympia Express Maximatic is very small.
However, the machine's small boiler (0.75 l) isn't designed for continuous use. After the fifth consecutive brew, the temperature drops. Since the Olympia Express Maximatic can't be connected to a mains water supply, it's not designed for continuous use anyway.
Milk frothing with the Maximatic also works well. Initially, the small boiler actually built up quite a bit of pressure, but this dropped significantly during the rolling phase. We therefore recommend only frothing 0.35-liter jugs.
Water dispensing is activated and stopped with a button. Foaming is started with a plastic dial. Unlike most other espresso machines, the Maximatic doesn't have a tea water dispensing feature. We didn't really miss this feature, as we don't recommend using water from the kettle anyway. However, for quickly preparing an Americano (long espresso), a dispensing option is certainly practical.
Missed opportunities and what we don't like
Unfortunately, the precision in material selection and workmanship doesn't extend to all aspects of the machine. The small size of the drip tray is less significant. However, it's certainly inconvenient that it feels like emptying the tray after every fifth espresso. This is because excess water from the pipes drains into the tray when the extraction process is complete.
Tamper supplied with the Olympia Express Maximatic is too small
Olympia describes the milk lance as "extra long." We find it "rather short" and, above all, fixed at a fixed angle. This makes frothing and proper positioning difficult. The plastic wheel used to start the frothing process also feels inferior compared to the other materials.
We were really surprised that Olympia Express doesn't have a rubber cover over the milk lance. While it's not pretty, it does allow you to touch the lance. All other machines on the market have either a rubber cover, a plastic handle, or a "cold touch" tube that doesn't get hot on the outside.
An absolute no-go is the size of the tamper in relation to the diameter of the sieve. A good tamper fits perfectly at the edge of the sieve and therefore tampes the entire coffee cake. The included tamper left a gap of a good 2 mm. This causes channeling, and we actually encountered channeling during extractions.
Conclusion and thoughts on the Olympia Express Maximatic
First of all: we drank very good espresso and also made a decent cappuccino with the Olympia Express Maximatic. The materials and choice of components are truly outstanding. The fact that the machine is built in Switzerland, the components aren't randomly purchased, and the machine is built to last – all this puts the price of CHF 4,000 into perspective.
To put it another way: if a CHF 500 espresso machine lasts three years and the Olympia Express lasts 30 years, then the Olympia is cheaper and easily pays for itself. And especially in a throwaway production society, we find this long-term perspective very, very valuable, and "local" production even more so. We also find tradition invaluable, but also essential.
Experience and tradition can be used to further develop an already high-quality machine and incorporate market trends. A good example is the steam wand. Cold Touch wands are now standard in espresso machines across all price ranges. This eliminates the need for an unsightly rubber cover and allows you to still touch the wand. Olympia Express has to be there!
It's incomprehensible that a machine that prides itself on precision comes with a tamper that doesn't even fit the portafilter. Tamper technology has evolved continuously in recent years, and with a 58-grit portafilter, tampers of 58.4 or 58.5 are now used, which perfectly line up with the rim. This makes preparing a good espresso easier, especially for inexperienced users.
The Olympia Express Maximatic hasn't seen any further development in a long time, but the product could easily be improved and enhanced. Since the machine is button-controlled, a programmable water dispensing rate would be a great help for any inexperienced home barista, ensuring a good brewing ratio.
We think it's right that the machine dispenses with any digital gadgets. But a stopwatch for reference time would be a tremendous benefit. It could even be equipped with a pointer—how ingenious would that be!
The portafilter itself doesn't feel as high-quality in terms of materials as the rest of the machine. Another easy-to-implement upgrade would be replacing the plastic wheel on the milk lance.
This test is difficult. It's difficult for us to say who this machine is right for. In a pure price-performance test, we have to say: you can get more for less. In terms of value, the Olympia Express Maximatic sets standards, but it also falls short of what could have been.
The machine is a collector's item. And learning to love its rough edges is part of every romantic relationship.
Update: We've received a tip from a user of the machine that the machine's value isn't so good after all. We have repair bills totaling over €1,400, resulting from three repairs in less than four years.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Please let us know in the comments.
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