Hey all. I wanted to create a thread dedicated to the Bezzera line (or some of it). In particular the Bezzera Unica, BZ10 and Magica since they all could be under consideration for a buyer with wiggle room in that price range. All seem to offer something a little different.

Unica: Single boiler. PID controlled. E61 group head. Small footprint.
BZ10: HX boiler. Bezzera's commerical group head. Small footprint.
Magica: HX boiler. E61 group head. Larger footprint in comparison.

I wanted to get opinions on what type of buyer each machine is suited for as they all have their place. Depending on the user some of the features may be more of a luxury than a necessity.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to contribute to this thread and help out!

Good idea. Sometimes the Bezzera machines get overlooked. They're well constructed with high quality materials.

I own a Magica. With a 2.0 copper boiler it steams like a beast!


Anyone looking for an E61 HX should consider the Magica, or its sister machine the Mitica.

Also, don't forget about the Strega. This lever is well regarded around these parts.

I enjoyed using the BZ07, a slightly smaller version of the BZ10. Small footprint, powerful boiler and steaming, very sweet group with no fuss temperature control. Punches way over its price class.

The group has the same design as the Elektra commercial groups; when compared to the E61, they do a little better for clarity, and finer ground shots of lighter roasts; but slightly less well for big body, and coarser ground, higher dose shots of darker roasts. My 2 cents is to chose the group based on your drinking preference. They both do equally well for all round use (you'd need to go up to an LM to do better), but each has its particular strengths.

The Strega is more of a flat out hobbyist's machine; so it is popular here. But for top rate espresso with not too much fuss, these are all good choices.

I have to agree with Jim on his view of the BZ07/10. Minor disclaimer, I have FAR less experience than Jim, but do own an E61 DB and now own a BZ10 for just over a month so take it FWIW.

I've owned an E61 DB box machine for 4-years now and LOVE it. With a rotary pump, PID and plumbed in feed & drain; it's been a dream for years.

To that end, I needed a reasonably priced machine for my vacation home and my budget was +/- $1k. I struggled to find a good machine for under $1k because a SBDU was out of the question and machines such as the Silvano and some of the Lelits were not my cup of tea.

So I narrowed my search to a refurb Expobar Office Lever (E61) at the time and a refurb Bezzera BZ10 both in the $1k range refurbed/buyer's remorse stock. Since I was used to a DB with PID, and not an HX machine, I decided to get the BZ10 because it had a temp controlled brew group, a bigger vibe pump, a much prettier fit & finish (curb appeal) and a much smaller footprint.

Overall, I must admit that I have struggled with dialing in the grind to get a consistent 9-bar with pulling a shot and getting used to a non-E61 group with vibe pump has been a bit of a learning curve too. But, for the money/budget, I think the BZ10 is a GREAT machine. I think I would have to pay over $1,700+ to get the same end results in the cup IMHO. Plus the steam pressure it sooooo awesome. With the joystick controls and the 2-hole tip my frothing has been a dream.

Hope this helps and YMMV. good luck with your purchase.

In regards to the Unica or any other single boiler machine. I have read that this type of machine is best suited for someone that drinks mainly straight espresso shots. Yet the steaming capability is there so is that assessment fair to make? And the time it takes to get up to temp is only 30 seconds. Only 30 seconds in a fast paced multiple drink environment I can see being problematic. But is it if you are mostly making for one person while occasionally making for two or more?

I am trying to to see what I should spend on a machine and go back and forth from justifying a price jump to playing devils advocate the other way. I see that some say that those 30 seconds (or more depending on the machine) can get old very fast but then you may be waiting for a longer heat up time with a better machine. It seems like no matter what the machine the process requires time. Some of that is machine time and some of that is user time. The wait somewhere in the process seems inevitable though. Of course you want to cut down on the waiting but with a machine like the Unica it could make sense in my mind for a lower volume user wanting the E61 group head. Am I wrong on this?

One thing I cannot dig up much information on regarding the Unica is hot water release. There isn't a dedicated wand for this and they say you can get water from the steam wand but the video I saw showing this seemed spotty at best. For an Americano would you just get hot water from the group head then? I suppose hot water can come from elsewhere too (i.e. tea kettle, etc).

Most single boiler machines don't have the thermal mass to be stable; this one does, so it will be a consistent performer. Therefore, it is a good choice if you only need the steam rarely. If you make milk drinks daily; waiting for the switch over will get tiresome, and you'll upgrade sooner. In any case, 30 seconds sounds optimistic; since the larger the boiler, the slower the switch over.

Almost nobody gets hot water from an espresso machine; the boiler water is not tasty and way too hot. So you are not missing anything. If you need hot water, buy a kettle or a Zoji, it's cheaper, easier, and tastier.

I have owned a BZ10 for almost 3 years now and haven't regretted my purchase for one moment. The main drivers for me at the time were the size of the machine and a preference for cappuccinos. Since then however I have gradually cut back on my cappas (1 a day and a macchiato for my wife) and moved to predominantly straight shots.
Though it would not be a prerequisite, the dedicated hot water tap that a SBDU machine lacks is an added bonus IMO. I use it regularly for preparing tea or the odd americano. With a reasonably high turnover of boiler water the tea tastes great.
if I had to make the choice now I would certainly consider the Unica because of the PID control and the preinfusion feature of the E61 group, but to have an HX with its benefits in the same size enclosure for only 50 Euros more would probably still do it for me.

DeGaulle wrote:Though it would not be a prerequisite, the dedicated hot water tap that a SBDU machine lacks is an added bonus IMO. I use it regularly for preparing tea or the odd americano. With a reasonably high turnover of boiler water the tea tastes great.

That makes sense; I was referring to occasional use of the water tap. There is a hidden benefit -- using the water tap a lot reduces the frequency of descaling, since it flushes the boiler of the minerals that build up when steaming.

Jim, at the risk of straying off-topic here: I am sometimes wondering whether regular use of the hot water tap decreases the scale buildup or actually enhances it due to early exhaustion of the water softener I use in the pump suction hose. For topping up the tank I tend to mix regular tap water (about 7°German hardness, not sure about TDS) with water that has been softened with a Brita jug.

The exhaustion of the water softener is a new variable, and may lead to more calcium in the boiler. Not sure what to say: "all hail chaos and murphy variables?"