We tested 12 heat exchanger espresso machines side by side over the past weeks and months. This test series was the most comprehensive we have done to date. Each machine was discussed in its own video. We addressed the most important characteristics, worked out differences, strengths and weaknesses.
This text is a comparison of all machines. It was published alongside our detailed test and comparison video of all heat exchanger espresso machines.
We tested the following machines: Rocket Appartamento, Lelit Mara X, ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim, Profitec Pro 500, Bezzera BZ10, Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R, Quick Mill Rubino, ACM Homey, Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID, Elba 1 969.coffee, Bezzera Magica, Xenia Espresso
After testing the 12 heat exchangers, we tested additional machines. You can find a complete list of all tested heat exchangers at the bottom of this page.
The linked video is intended as a supplement to the article. It provides visual material on individual topics. We have set chapter markers to make it easier to find specific information.
As Kaffeemacher, we understand ourselves as a coffee school that supports knowledge transfer and exchange in the coffee market. We run a coffee farm in Nicaragua, a roastery in Basel and two cafés, and share our applied knowledge in our courses, articles and videos.
13 machines: Michel Aeschbacher with Rocket Appartamento, Lelit Mara X, ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim, Profitec Pro 500, Bezzera BZ10, Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R, Quick Mill Rubino, ACM Homey, Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID, Elba 1 969.coffee, Bezzera Magica, Xenia Espresso
What Did We Test on the Espresso Machines?
We go even further with this test report. In addition to the external build quality and condition, we tested the milk frothing capability of each machine. The espresso machine test provides information about the power consumption of the heat exchangers and shows the temperature consistency during espresso extraction. We show the temperature for each machine from the start of espresso extraction to the end point. The temperature and consistency during brewing is crucial for coffee quality. Depending on the application, an espresso machine should be consistent over several shots, i.e. for the first, second and third espresso. This is especially important if the machine is to be used in a larger household, shared apartment or at an event. We call this attribute "catering" or "shared living" capability.
The heat-up time of heat exchangers plays an important role, not just for early risers. We have bad news here upfront. The heat-up time of all machines doesn't differ significantly enough for us to have a clear test winner. We recommend starting all 12 espresso machines 25 minutes before the first shot. Only then are the machines really well heated, and some machines need even longer.
We measured the brewing temperature in the portafilter with this temperature sensor. Water is released through a small valve on the underside so that the resistance corresponds to pulling an espresso.
Why Is There No Clear Heat Exchanger Test Winner?
While testing, experimenting and getting to know the twelve espresso machines in depth, it became clear to us that it would not be right to announce a ranking or a test winner. The qualities of the machines are too different, the strengths too varied, and the possible applications also differ. The tests were mainly carried out by Michel Aeschbacher and me, Benjamin Hohlmann. And even we couldn't finally agree on which machine is our respective test winner.
Michel values power when frothing milk and the external condition of the machine as well as high-quality materials play a major role. For Benjamin, temperature consistency over 5 shots is central so that the espresso machine can also be used well at meetings. And up to this point, we haven't even talked about price-performance.
In short, we decided against an absolute ranking and adding up grades or points per category. Instead, we work out which espresso machines perform best in which category. Based on your own needs, you can then decide which machine suits you best. Sorry that we can't take the decision away from you.
If there were an espresso machine that really rocks in all categories, we wouldn't hesitate to announce it. Unfortunately, there isn't one. Instead, there are only partial winners (and losers), Michel's favorites, Benjamin's favorites and the price-performance winner. Enjoy reading.
Build Quality and External Condition
There's room for debate about aesthetics and external condition. However, four machines stand out in our test. A highlight – also due to the beautiful design with wooden handles and in black, is the Xenia. The Xenia espresso machine can be configured modularly and thus takes on not only the desired look but also the configuration. By choice, the Xenia comes with one or two portafilters, in wood or classic or even bottomless. Each modularity costs separately – but at the same time you're not overwhelmed with useless tools and gadgets. Anyone looking for sharp edges on the Xenia will search in vain.
Xenia Espresso in side view
The Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R breaks our ranking in terms of cost structure at +2000 Euro/2400 CHF. Accordingly, it shows off with materials. The side panels made of solid aluminum are 8 mm thick and contribute to the high-quality exterior of the Mozzafiato. The workmanship is generally good and there are only a few sharp edges. The stable feet provide stability and the cold-touch steam wand rounds off the machine. A built-in clock is a nice additional feature. The Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID also belongs to the better-built machines. You can tell with it, as with the previously mentioned ones, that part of the higher purchase price goes into clean edges and thoughtful finish.
The Lelit Mara X is one of the cheapest machines in the entire test. All the more pleasing that it doesn't skimp on external condition. The machine is just 22 cm wide with a depth of 41 cm. Anyone looking for a powerful-looking espresso machine will favor the Bezzera Magica or Rocket Mozzafiato, for example. The Lelit Mara X is different. It has round corners where other machines are angular. It's quiet like a purring kitten, while the Rocket Appartamento next to it sounds like a tractor when starting. But in terms of external workmanship, the Mara plays at the very front. The side walls of the Mara are significantly thinner than those of a Quickmill Rubino, for example – they feel a bit tinny when knocking. But that doesn't detract from the positive external appearance.
Recommended dealers for the Lelit Mara X*.
The Lelit Mara X in side view.
We get solid exteriors from the Profitec Pro 500, Quick Mill Rubino, Bezzera Magica, Rocket Appartamento (embarrassing plastic rail – that's outrageous!), Elba and ECM Mechanika Slim.
You can see and feel the price structure on the two cheaper machines, the ACM Homey and BZ10. Here they simply saved on many edges and not every metal was cleanly broken. You can get annoyed about it, or you can leave it. Because the fact remains: although there are sharp spots, both machines are suitable for brewing good espresso. We think: better this way than the other way around.
Water Tank – Lone Leader
We probably would have skipped this chapter if there weren't such a clear leader. The Xenia espresso machine leaves all other heat exchangers far behind in terms of water tank flexibility. You could also say that here the machine's developer, Holger Dreißig, is the only one who took the water tank seriously and looked for smart solutions.
Free-standing espresso machines have no problem with refillability. But there are settings where a water tank cannot be removed from above and is also difficult to fill with a jug. And jug filling is problematic anyway because it always brings the danger of flooding the espresso machine.
The water tank can be removed from the side on the Xenia. Very practical.
The Xenia offers – as an optional configuration – a side slot. The water tank can be taken out of the machine to the left or right and filled this way. This is very practical in a tight kitchen or a narrow usage situation like a camper van.
By the way, the slot-in variant is also practical because the cups standing on the machine don't interfere. Good solutions for enabling filling or removal from above are provided by the Bezzera Magica, Profitec Pro 500 and the ECM Mechanika Slim. The lid can be removed with cups on the rail. Many other machines offer reduced space for cups and have a lid attached.
The most unpleasant water tank removal is offered by the ACM Homey (Video 11:25). Since no handle is attached and the slot next to the water tank is too small to reach into, removing the tank is a struggle. The water tank removal of the Elba 969 also belongs to the poorly thought-out variants. First all cups must be uncovered, then a plastic grid and finally a lid. The handles of the water tank are meager and so here too follows the finger-water-canister struggle.
Included Tampers
A portafilter is good when it closes flush with the rim of the basket and the metal base sinks so deep that you can feel the rim of the basket with the flush base with your fingers. The tamper of the Lelit Mara X performs this best. The tamper resembles some professional tampers and is the ideal size with a circumference of 58.5 mm. What's clever is that only the lowest ring has exactly this diameter. As a result, the tamper closes cleanly with the wall of the basket at the pressure surface. At the same time, however, the tamper doesn't sit so tightly that a vacuum is created when pulling out. Many flush tampers suck the perfectly tamped grounds back up and thus create potential channeling spots.
The two Quick Mill models also come with a wooden tamper. However, the standard size of 58mm leaves too much space to the rim. Too bad, the base itself has a good thickness and helps with level tamping.
The tamper of the ECM Mechanika Slim and Profitec Pro 500 is pleasing in terms of workmanship and also sits almost perfectly in the portafilter. It fits more flush than the Rocket and Quick Mill tampers. However, the thickness of the tamper's base is somewhat lower, which is why the tamper sinks into the portafilter when tamping. This makes it more difficult to guide the tamper straight.
The two Rocket models each come with an aluminum tamper. The distance to the basket rim is too large. Handling and aesthetics are certainly a matter of taste. For larger hands, the tamper is too small. The upper pressure point has a straight edge in contrast to the other tampers. Less pleasant – but certainly not the end of the world. The tamper feels fitting next to the Rocket Appartamento. With the Rocket Mozzafiato in the top price segment of portafilter machines, a higher-quality tamper would have cut a good figure.
The other espresso machines are delivered without a tamper or without anything that deserves such a name. Many machines have a plastic alibi tamper included. However, this is a bad joke next to a high-quality heat exchanger machine. With the Xenia, purchasing a tamper is optionally possible. Makes sense from our perspective.
A portafilter manufacturer doesn't have to be a tamper manufacturer. But if they include a tamper, then please a proper one. Tampers are often collector's items and are bought separately anyway. There are many great tampers from small manufacturers, e.g. from Tidaka, Hauck, Prorista.
Portafilters of the Espresso Machines
Portafilters and baskets are important tools for the brewing process. They differ in handling, tamping ability and also in the quality of the baskets. In many videos we have discussed that a good portafilter positions the spouts away from the espresso machine. The main reason is that only this way you can tamp at the counter edge, which is the best option in everyday use. It's quick, clean and the portafilter doesn't have to be awkwardly threaded into a tamper station, potentially loosening the grounds again.
With the variant on the left, you easily slip when tamping and destroy your puck.
Our view is shaped by "gastronomy". We have already installed tamper stations in coffee bars, but in the end the barista always tamped on a tamping mat at the edge of the bar. This is always possible with commercial machines because the spouts are positioned accordingly.
The spouts of the portafilters of the following machines make tamping easier.
- ECM Mechanika Slim. However, it's somewhat unattractive that the spout is very wide and therefore the espresso flickers when flowing out and flows from left to right. This has no effect on taste, but sometimes looks like channeling and doesn't deliver such nice photos. 😊
- The Xenia Espresso portafilter is chic – we got a great wooden design. You pay extra for it, but it makes quite an impression. The spouts are positioned in our desired direction, but unfortunately are also as wide as the ECM Mechanika Slim, which can lead to the described flickering effect.
- One of the most beautiful portafilters in the field comes with the Profitec Pro 500. "Built the right way around", pointed spouts and it sits well in the hand.
- Similarly appealing is the portafilter of the Elba.969 and the ACM Homey. Both have matte portafilters that sit well in the hand.
"Too futuristic" says Michel. "Clever" says Benjamin. The portafilter of the Lelit Mara X
The portafilter of the Lelit Mara X breaks from the structure of classic portafilters. The espresso is released backward and then flows forward and is visible. Michel's and my opinions diverge here. Michel finds the portafilter "too futuristic". I like that Lelit was once again creative and offers new solutions. It looks good how the espresso flows forward and becomes visible. Although you can't tamp the Lelit portafilter at the counter edge either. But since the spouts don't rest on the ground, they don't get dirty and don't carry coffee particles that later end up in the espresso. That's one of our main arguments against tamping with standing tampers. In addition, classic portafilters stand at an angle, making it difficult to tamp straight. The Lelit portafilter stands straight – so this problem doesn't exist.
The portafilter spouts of the other machines are twisted and make tamping more difficult. They are otherwise "classic", although the portafilter of the Bezzera Magica still deviates with its shape.
The twisted portafilters are directly related to the size of the drip trays. The further a drip tray extends from the espresso machine, or the closer the brew group sits to the body of the machine, the less danger there is that water drips in front of the machine during rinsing and brewing. Besides the BZ10, the Rocket Appartamento and the Bezzera Magica drip onto the counter surface during rinsing.
Volume of the Espresso Machines
Does the volume of an espresso machine play a major role? Not for the quality of the espresso. But anyone who has skipped their morning espresso because the rest of the household is still sleeping knows how interesting a quiet espresso machine can be. However, it should be said restrictively: almost every espresso grinder is louder. Therefore the volume of the espresso machine might be less relevant. For some, the Rocket Appartamento, which leads the volume field with 83 decibels, might even sound good. According to the motto: even when I drive off on my motorcycle, I want the rest of the village to know.
The other values:
- Quick Mill Andreja: 75 – 78
- Quick Mill Rubino: 79 – 80
- ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim: 79 – 81
- Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R: 68 – 70
- Profitec Pro 500: 78 – 80
- Xenia Espresso: 75 – 77
- Bezzera Magica: 78 – 80
- Elba 1, 969.coffee: 78
- Bezzera BZ 10: 75 – 77
- ACM Homey: 79 – 80
- Lelit Mara X: 71
For the record: we measured the volume quite amateurishly with a phone, maintaining the same distance. Don't nail us down on the decibel. The values still give you an orientation. For all sound-sensitive people: here's the file to listen to yourself.
Power Consumption and Energy Efficiency
As with all electrical equipment, the actual power consumption of espresso machines is hardly readable from the power input specification. For the Lelit Mara X it's 1400 W and for the Rocket Appartamento 1200 W. However, these values indicate consumption at full power. We were interested in how this presents itself over several operating hours and what fluctuations there are with each machine.
For the measurement we used power meters from mystrom. With the appropriate app we arrived at the following values.
| Model | 25 min + 5 espressos | Espresso after 2 h | Espresso + cleaning after 4 h |
| Lelit Mara X | 0.310 | 0.500 | 0.68 |
| Bezzera BZ10 | 0.250 | 0.480 | 0.72 |
| Xenia | 0.240 | 0.470 | 0.72 |
| Quickmill Rubino | 0.300 | 0.570 | 0.83 |
| ACM Homey | 0.260 | 0.570 | 0.83 |
| Profitec Pro500 | 0.300 | 0.580 | 0.86 |
| Quickmill Andreja | 0.320 | 0.600 | 0.88 |
| Elba 1 696 Coffee | 0.260 | 0.580 | 0.90 |
| ECM Mechanika V Slim | 0.340 | 0.640 | 0.92 |
| Rocket Mozzafiato | 0.320 | 0.640 | 0.97 |
| Rocket Appartamento | 0.330 | 0.660 | 1.00 |
| Bezzera Magica S | 0.360 | 0.720 | 1.06 |
How to read the table of power consumption of espresso machines? The machine is heated for 25 minutes. Then, according to the temperature measurement instructions (see below), the extraction of 5 double espressos at an interval of about 1 minute is simulated. After completion of this simulation, power consumption is recorded. Subsequently, 2 hours later, a double espresso is simulated (5 s rinse / 30 seconds water extraction) and power consumption is recorded. After another 2 hours, a double espresso is also simulated and the machine is cleaned. For this, backflushing is done 5 times for 4 seconds. Then the machine is turned off and power consumption is recorded.
The Lelit Mara X is the only machine in the test with ECO mode. More and more machines are being built with eco mode. The ECO mode of the Lelit Mara X kicks in after 30 minutes and stops actively heating the boiler. By the way, this is sometimes annoying in everyday life when you just miss the 30-minute window again. One reason why we can't imagine the Lelit Mara X as a training machine in our Home Barista courses.
It's interesting that the machine doesn't consume more power than other machines despite repeated heating. The insulated boiler contributes greatly to the fact that there is no major temperature drop and so after two hours there is still plenty of temperature in the boiler. In fact, the machine was ready to use again after just 5 minutes (normally it heats up for 25 minutes). Over the length of the test, the power efficiency of the Lelit Mara X gets better and better.
In addition, with the Xenia Espresso and the BZ10, the two machines perform well that do NOT have a classic Faema E61 brew group with circulating thermosiphon principle. In both machines, the brew head is electrically heated. From an energy technology perspective, the potential of this principle is shown here. The Xenia Espresso also demonstrates that a corresponding brew head in no way harms temperature consistency. Machines with large boilers and those without insulation perform particularly poorly.
Milk Foam and Frothing Capability and Cappuccino Power
Heat exchanger espresso machines are characterized compared to single boilers by the fact that espresso can be pulled and milk can be frothed in parallel. How quickly the milk gets hot, how much power the respective machine brings into the 0.6 liter pitcher when frothing, and how frothing feels overall, we compared.
Michel Aeschbacher locked in the espresso and started the extraction. After 10 seconds of running time, he briefly released the condensation water from the steam wand. After about 17 seconds we started frothing.
In the direct comparison of the machines, we also gathered new insights for ourselves. The displayed boiler pressure is not to be understood 1:1 as power on the steam wand. Some machines acted rather powerlessly when frothing despite a display of +1 bar, other espresso machines still delivered decent pressure at 0.8 bar.
Regardless of pressure, some machines heated the milk faster than others. Basically, this enables longer frothing before the milk gets too hot. This can extend the stretching and rolling phase and tends to be an advantage – especially for latte art beginners – namely more time. The ideal performance is: powerful pressure with simultaneous slow heating.
Frothing Capability in Direct Comparison
The Rocket Appartamento froths with a lot of power. It's a joy to froth, brings swirl into the whole pitcher without further ado and yet the milk doesn't heat too quickly. Good for beginners and pros.
The Lelit Mara X has less power than the Appartamento. However, the built-up pressure is absolutely suitable for frothing. At the same time, the milk heats relatively slowly. Pretty good for beginners.
With the ACM Homey, real power comes from the steam wand. It froths hot quickly. Needs some practice.
The Bezzera BZ10 also has real power and gets the milk spinning without further ado, even if the perfect point in the pitcher isn't found. Very well suited for frothing for ambitious beginners and pros.
The Elba 1 from 969.coffee also delivers a solid performance. Michel's statement on it: "It maybe gets hot a bit faster and has less pressure at the same time. But that's now more a felt statement." Overall good and we have nothing to complain about.
The Bezzera Magica also delivers a good performance. Lots of power and a nice rolling phase are guaranteed. Does get quite warm quickly though.
Parallel milk frothing during extraction doesn't go quite smoothly with the Xenia.
We studied the Xenia Espresso most in terms of milk foam. It already had difficulties in our first test enabling simultaneous brewing and frothing. The Xenia has two modes: the classic espresso mode, which delivers very consistent temperature and correspondingly good espressos, and a reheat mode. If you press the start switch to the right during extraction, the espresso mode runs. With a button press to the left, the Xenia reheats during espresso extraction and thus stabilizes the pressure in the boiler.
In espresso mode, the pressure in the boiler dropped to below 0.5 bar. Difficult to nearly impossible to froth milk this way. The milk can't be properly set in motion and so many large bubbles remain on the milk.
In reheat mode, the pressure is more stable and no longer drops below 0.5 bar. It's then easier to froth. However, compared to the other machines tested, the frothing performance is still at the back end of the table. The manufacturer is constantly working on workarounds and is very close to the user community. Anyone who values milk frothing more than espresso performance can improve the setting with a firmware change. However, it seems more sensible to us to wait longer after pulling espresso so that the pressure in the boiler stabilizes. The milk foam performance gets significantly better this way, even if not good.
The Profitec Pro 500 has markedly less performance than the other Faema E61 brew groups. Michel compares the frothing behavior with the Xenia switch combination left (reheat mode). Interesting for us: the displayed pressure in the boiler stays way up. But we feel little of it in the pitcher.
Michel has frothing fun with the Quick Mill Rubino. Nice rolling phase, lots of circulation. This is how you can make good milk foam.
At the top end of the flagpole, the Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R gives gas. Frothing is powerful, but also quite fast. Definitely interesting for ambitious users.
The ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim delivers solid foam performance. "Not much and not little," Michel summarizes frothing.
The Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID lines up at the table end with Xenia and Profitec Pro. The pressure is too low to get the milk completely into rotation. Since we're already at the upper limit with brewing temperature, we can't increase the pressure in the boiler further.
How Is Milk Frothed?
In the first phase of frothing, we bring temperature and volume into the milk. Air is incorporated and bubbles form. This part of frothing is called the stretching phase.
In the second and following rolling phase, the formed bubbles are broken down and the milk foam becomes creamy-silky and shiny. This consistency is very well suited for pouring latte art on a cappuccino.
Temperature Consistency During Extraction and From Shot to Shot
To brew very good espresso, temperature consistency during the brewing phase is essential. In an article and video, Philipp Schallberger and Michel Aeschbacher worked this out. In their comparison test, they recommend an average brewing temperature of 93 degrees. At temperatures of 88 degrees, the tasted coffees had an unpleasantly sour, harsh taste and an astringent aftertaste. Channeling also occurred more frequently. At temperatures of 96 degrees, bitterness was overwhelming and at the same time acidity was no longer integrated. Texture decreased although the concentration of dissolved coffee particles (TDS, strength) increased.
As part of our test series, we examined two things.
- Consistency during extraction. We recorded how much the temperature consistently deviates during an extraction from the 1st to the last second. As a sample extraction, we examined the second shot of five shots.
- Family, shared living and catering suitability. Anyone who only wants to drink one espresso is less dependent on the third and fourth espresso still being at target temperature. But if several espressos are pulled in a row in the morning through a larger household, temperature consistency over several shots plays a role. It's also important to give the user security. If the temperature constantly fluctuates, it's unsettling when brewing.
How Consistent Does the Temperature Stay Over 25 Seconds?
To measure consistency along brewing time, we compared the temperature at three temperature points and looked at the difference after 5 seconds, after 13 seconds and after 22 seconds.
In the first seconds, the coffee grounds are wetted and the actual brewing temperature at the sensor must first be reached.
Overall, it can be noted that almost all machines deliver an amazingly good temperature consistency during brewing time. Particularly noteworthy are the Rocket Appartamento with a fluctuation of only 0.17 degrees between seconds 5 and 22. The Bezzera Magica lines up with a difference of -0.18 degrees. In addition, the Xenia (switch right), the Rocket Mozzafiato, the Elba 1, the Quick Mill Rubino and also the ACM Homey deliver good results, with less than 0.5 degree fluctuations during extraction. This is sensational and everything much better than we would have expected months ago.
The Quick Mill Andreja (0.53), the ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim (0.87) and the Lelit Mara X (0.89) still deliver good results. The Bezzera BZ10 comes to a value of 1.02 and the Profitec Pro 500 to -1.44 – that's all perfectly fine. With the Profitec Pro 500, it should be added that this drop only occurs at the very end of extraction, where not much essential is being dissolved from the coffee grounds anyway. It may be that with one coffee or another, this temperature drop at the end can even have positive effects.
Important notes: for the measurement we used the second espresso as a basis. We recommend using the first extraction to heat the portafilter and rinse the shower screen to remove any residue from cleaning powder.
The measurements were taken after the temperature adjustment of the machines. A real criticism point is that some espresso machines were not delivered with sufficient brewing temperature. While you can adjust a PID control relatively easily yourself, although you don't know exactly at home what temperature you're then at, we had to adjust the pressure and thus the temperature via the pressurestat for the Bezzera BZ 10, Bezzera Magica and the ACM Homey. We would advise you to buy these machines exclusively from local dealers and have them guarantee that the temperature was checked on site!
Consistency Over 5 Shots
"Who needs 5 shots," some of you may rightly say. That's 10 espressos after all. Yes, but…
Do you even know what temperature you're at when it's constantly rising and falling?! The Rocket Appartamento is a good example. The second shot was almost perfect in terms of consistency and temperature. While the first shot had an average temperature of 93.98 degrees, shot 5 was only at an average of 90.32 degrees. With this, the Rocket performed in the middle field of heat exchangers. Clearly more of a machine for two to three shots and one that needs to be learned and understood.
Compared to this, the Xenia when activating extraction to the right resembles a straight line that increases by just 0.88 degrees of temperature over 5 shots.
Even more consistent delivers the Rocket Mozzafiato, with a temperature loss of 0.47 degrees. However, we have another clear criticism point with the Rocket Mozzafiato. At the highest boiler temperature, namely 124 degrees on the PID control, the machine only delivered us 90.48 degrees in the 1st shot. That's definitely too cold. Since no thermostat is installed – but a PID control with sensor – we couldn't set the temperature higher ourselves, which harmed the quality of the espresso. Lots of acidity – not tasty!
In terms of consistency over several shots, these three machines are lone leaders. With just over two degrees of fluctuation follow the BZ10, the Bezzera Magica -2.12, and the ECM Mechanika V Slim with -2.21 degrees.
The ACM Homey (3.28), the Andreja (-2.33), the Appartamento (-3.65) play in the middle field. With both switch positions (steam and brew mode), the Lelit Mara X performs worst.
Also not performing well are the Profitec Pro 500, the Quick Mill Rubino and the Elba 1.
The performance of the Lelit Mara X in particular is of course problematic, especially since it shows such good performance in many other categories. It's worth getting to know this machine very well, and the other machines that lose temperature, to get everything out of them.
Anyone who buys one of the consistent machines like the Xenia, the Mozzafiato or also Bezzera Magica knows what they're getting and has to search less for the right temperature.
Heat-Up Time of the Espresso Machine
The heat-up time of the espresso machine sometimes decides in the morning about the duration of the awake or sleep state. In that respect, it's important! Bad news: anyone waiting next to the espresso machine for the first shot should not buy a heat exchanger. Unfortunately there's no all-clear from us. No machine is significantly faster hot than the magical 25-minute sound barrier. Sorry!
The Xenia Espresso is most at passable brewing temperature after 18 minutes. However, we also measure a temperature of only 88 degrees then and that's not really tasty. If you're really serious about the first espresso, then wait your 25 minutes. Our Xenia model has a heating element built into the brew group. There's also the option to insert a second element and then the whole thing should go faster.
If we can test that sometime, we'll add it here.
Otherwise our conclusion on heat-up time. Wait 25 minutes, set a timer switch or buy a thermoblock. With heat exchangers it takes time until the boiler and brew group are really at temperature. If that stresses you, then this isn't the right machine for enjoyment.
All Heat Exchangers Tested Over the Years
Meaning of symbols:
⏱ tested, will be published soon
✓ tested and published
📦 ordered, not yet tested
We will cover various heat exchanger machines from entry-level to high-end models. At the end of this article, we collect suggestions for tests of heat exchanger espresso machines.
Here you can read what else we have tested.
| Manufacturer | Machine | Technology | Status | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 969.coffee | Elba 1 | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| ACM | Homey | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Bezzera | BZ10 | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Bezzera | Magica | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| ECM | Mechanika V Slim | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Kaffeemaschinen AG | La Basilea Pro | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Lelit | Mara X V2 | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Profitec | Jump | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Profitec | Pro 400 | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Profitec | Pro 500 | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Quick Mill | Andreja Premium PID | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Quick Mill | Rubino | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Rocket | Appartamento | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Rocket | Appartamento TCA | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Rocket | Giotto Cronometro | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Rocket | Mozzafiato R Fast | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Rocket | Mozzafiato Cronometro R PID | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Sanremo | Cube | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Stone | Stone | Heat Exchanger | To Video | |
| Xenia | Xenia | Heat Exchanger | To Video |
*We search for specialist partners for you who we know provide good work and good service. We are in close contact with the dealers. These are commission links. If you order through this link, it doesn't cost you more, but we get a small commission that we invest in new test equipment.
