I am posting this here for those considering this unit.

Buying Experience:
I ordered this unit from 1st-line and have to say, just about everything about the company was setting off alarm bells. No Refund, No Return, 90 day labor warranty, shipping to CC address required and fax back signature for orders over $200. Had I not read all the testimonials here, I never could have pulled the trigger.

Shipping:
Once under way I tracked this thing several times a day to see updates. Ground shipping does not have a lot of updates... the week crawled. It arrived and the box was well taped with no external damage. Opening the box I found packing peanuts up to the brim. Removing these, I found the factory Bezzera box. Inside where about a dozen insta-foam packing blobs that took up every square inch of extra room. No damage whatsoever but it was wet as described on the 1st-line website and on a FAQ note that was packed with it.



So I set it up on the counter and removed the two top panels and tank and am waiting the 48 hours.



What I can say now is this machine is better looking than on the website. It is stainless everywhere that is visible, has a powder coated undercarriage and only the tank and various electronic bits are plastic while the steam and water toggles are Bakelite. I was worried it would look a little like a toy, none of the pictures or videos I have seen have given it much scale so I was pleasantly surprised. It would fit under my normally sized counters if I had to deal with that but I am not sure how one would get water in it, maybe with a funnel and hose (beer bong)?



On the back it has a clear logo affixed with a label below that reads BEZZERA Dal 1901. I am not sure why this is not pressed in to the steel, perhaps they are OEM'ing this to others in some other markets. Who knows, I'll likely never see it again once I start brewing.



Other things I noticed, it looks like it was tested in Italy a year ago so these things are not flying off the shelves. Here is the overall internal shot.



This is the pipe and heater wires going through to the group head.



Once it gets out of water quarantine I will post more about it.

HyperSprite

My primary machine for a number of years was a Bezzera BZ40P. Very well built and not a moment of trouble. Bezzera, at that time at least, built all of their parts in house.

That is a nice looking and compact machine. Keep us updated as to your results.

The Rough Start:
Well, I got off to a rough start. After the 48 hour wait for things to dry out. I filled it with Crystal Geyser and turned it on expecting the pump to run to fill up the boiler. Only the power light and the three blue drink lights came on. I waited for a minute or two and nothing else happen. I then turned it off and back on again and the power light, two drink and continuous flow blue lights came on as well as the pump. So I held the steam tube open and waited for the boiler to fill up. It filled all right, all the way to the top and out of the steam tube. I had read about this and thought it might be the water but I measured the water with a multimeter and it was conductive. I sent an email off to Jim at 1st-line. Next morning he called me and we went over it, he suggested I try tap water, at least to see if that would fix it. When I got home, I tried that and it still did not work, even after running through about three gallons of it. One thing I did notice is that each time I started the machine, a different set of drink lights would come on and stay on. Some times the pump would run, some times it would just sit there. Some times water would come out of the group head, sometimes it wouldn't. More email to Jim about this and he decided to try switching out the brain and overnight'ed me one. Turns out this is the same brain unit used in the Livia 90 automatic. I wrote down the wire colors and switched it out, taking about 10 minutes to replace considering the sides were already removed.

Jim was amazing and considering this brain is used in a bunch of different models, I think I just got a dud. I would still buy this machine again from 1st-Line.



The Moment of Truth:
I fired it up and the green power and all three blue drink lights came on. Then the drink lights turned off as the pump ran and stopped, a relay clicked and the orange water level light came on. I then noticed that the group started warming and gurgling came from the boiler. ITS ALIVE!

I waited for it to get up to pressure and run a "water only" test with the two shots button. It measured out my two shots of steaming hot water exactly as I had expected. When I tested the steam, my first instinct was to turn the knob because that is what I do at work all day long, then I tried pushing it down and it worked as expected. Then I tested the hot water and it worked as well.

More On The Steam and Water Lever:
I have noticed on other threads people were worried about the steam lever. Not enough control and inability to use both hands on the pitcher. The two hand pitcher thing is true, I am not sure how someone would manage that, I use a thermometer directly in a stainless tumbler so I its not an issue for me. The control on the other hand is not bad, you can adjust how much steam comes out by how far you move the lever. Maybe not as good as a knob, but it is easier to turn off.

The Blue Drink Lights:
As I indicated, the drink lights are blue, this is one of my least favorite of the LED colors, probably due to their overuse on just about everything as of late. Had I designed this, I would have used a classic LED color or white to give this beautiful machine a more classic look. Luckily they are not on all the time.



The Reason:
At this point it was well past 9:00pm but I had to know, so I made myself two shots and steamed a little milk and I was in heaven. I hardly slept last night, thinking about making more coffee or was it the caffeine pulsing through my veins. This morning I made a few more for my wife and I as I headed out the door. I am getting decent crema but the flow is not as uniform as I would like so I want to play with the tamp and grind to see if I can do better.



HyperSprite

Previous "Machine":
I have to be honest, I had to prove it to my wife that spending money on a machine was worthwhile, that I would make them at home instead of going out to SB or Pete's. For that I got a inexpensive Capresso Classic and Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder figuring I would replace them when they wore out with better hardware having proved my resolve. That was seven years ago and gosh darn it, those Capresso things just kept going but I proved my point. When it started taking a lifetime to steam 4oz of milk, I knew it was time with little convincing. The grinder is still performing like new . Never the less, as bad as the Capresso Classic might have been, it still made more consistent lattes than I could buy most of the time.

Fringe Benefits:
A little over a year ago, I started working at a company with a real single group machine, a Kappa Magister with a Magister grinder. It took me a bit to get used to it but soon I was making better coffee than I ever had at home or got from SB and Pete's.

HB wrote:Nice tamper.

Included Plastic Tamper and Aftermarket HB Tamper from Espresso Parts: (in pic above)
Like most machines, the Bezzera BZ07 ships with a plastic toy tamper that does not even fit the filter basket. I should just throw it away but instead I threw it in a drawer.
As an alternative, I bought a HB 58mm concave stainless base with aluminum handle one that looked like it was fit for the task. This is a serious tamper that is so heavy, I am surprised they have not had one showcased on an episode of CSI as a murder weapon. I like it and it seems to work well .

Included Single Shot and Double Shot Baskets and Portafilter:
I have not used the single shot basket so I don't have any update there.
The double shot basket has no ridge, a somewhat rounded bottom and slightly angled sides. It seems a little shallow for how far the screen goes into the basket. I don't have a scale yet so I don't know if I am over dosing by volume but the puck seems a little small in the knock box compared to the Magister.
The portafilter has the same offset lugs as the other Astoria/Pasquini units. This makes it dead simple to line up with the group head, simply turn the handle until the lugs are parallel to the drip tray, offer it up and it goes right in.

Aftermarket Bottomless Portafilter with Triple Shot Basket from Espresso Parts:
I ordered the Astoria style that is made from the factory as a bottomless along with the triple basket. It is chromed brass with a bakelite handle. The quality of this item is not quite as good as the original but not cheap my any means. For instance, the threaded receiver for the handle is slightly thinner than the original and the mold flashing was only partially removed before chroming so you can see the casting line. I am not complaining, just informing.
The basket has a flat bottom with a ridge around the top. I have been able to pull a handful with what looks like pretty good extractions with the rest having minor issues one way or another. Using the Capresso may be my biggest hold up at this point, a stepless grinder (or at least more steps) might be in order to do much better as I have been moving back and forth between finest and one click to the right trying to get it right.

Some Odd Design Things:
I am sure this had more to do with packaging that anything but had I designed it, I would not have put the power button and lights so low on the front, these should have gone up above the drink serve buttons. For that matter, it may also have been nice to move the gauge up there someplace too. This would have made it easier to clean and less likely to get wet.
Also, the water cover panel should have rubber feet to keep it from rattling with the pump (oddly the cup warmer tray has them).

Life With It So Far:
I still have no regrets, it is making great coffee time after time and has considerably raised the bar at home. For a long time I was waiting till I got to work to make my first cup and my wife was suffering with the old machine and we would take turns on the weekend but now I am making lattes for the both of us before I leave for work and making them all day on the weekend. Having the automatic control and not having to wait to steam makes a huge difference in actual build time even if I am letting it warm up before my first pull.

That is a great idea mhoy any recommendations for a good timer?

We are still lovin' this machine every day and still no regrets.

Drip Tray Capacity:
It will hold 28oz in the drip tray and still have enough room to keep from spilling it on the way to the sink. This seems like plenty of room to me and I don't feel like I am emptying it all the time.

The Manual:
This is possibly translated from IT, to FR, to DE, to ES to EN. Instead of Italian to each directly but this seems inline with other machines in this class. It contains "Troubleshooting" that assumes everything already works. In any case it can be found here http://www.bezzera.it/pdf/BZ07_GB.pdf
It has wiring diagrams in the back that does not include the component reference or wire color so if you don't know what a TG or RG (or any of the other little boxes) you are on your own. 1st-line had a PDF with the component references on their site but the link has gone 404.

Dose Programing:
This is easy.
1. Press and hold the continues dose button for 5 seconds and it will start to blink
2. Press the dose button you wish to program and water will flow out of the group.
3. Press the same dose button again when the water reaches your desired level.
I reprogrammed the single cup to do triples

Indicator Lights:
Green Light: Power
Amber Light: On, Heater on and water level OK.
All Blue Lights: Slow flash, the water level is low in tank. Fast flash, the water level is low in boiler.
Selected Dose Blue Light: On solid while dosing. Flashing, the coffee grind is to fine

Chris,

If you look HERE, the first timer you'll see is the Intermatic DT17C -- the timer that I use on my 15-amp La Valentina in the office -- and if you scroll down, you'll see the DT27C that Mark uses (5th from the top) on the Elektra T1 he modified to run on 15 amps. OSH, Home Depot and any "serious" hardware store should have at least one if not both of these.

My problem is that my "stock" Elektra T1 at home runs on 20 amps, and so I "hid" the timer in the laundry room (right next to the circuit panel), because it is A.B.O.U.T. (A Big, Old, Ugly Thing)!

Cheers,
Jason

Thanks, both of you, I'll head on over to OSH on the way home today and see what they have.

Sound and Noise: (updated on 2009-04-09)
This machine is not as loud as my old Capresso and is quieter than my grinder but is does make its fair share of sounds. One thing I noticed was that the water cover and cup warmer tray both rattled while the pump is running. I added some tiny self adhesive cork feet to the bottom of the water cover and the machine sides where the warming tray sits, this eliminated the rattle noises. All the real noise seems to come from the pump and this makes more noise when it is filling the boiler or running with no load than when it is pumping a shot.

I'll dig out my db meter and get some measurements one of these days. Anyone know if there is a standard for this, like 1 meter distance, or is this not commonly done?

Osh was a bust, all they had was old analog timers with the little clips.

At Home Depot I found a Intermatic DT620CH that looked good, I especialy like the battery backup so power outages wont require resetting. I would not call it intuitive but once done, it works great.

Thanks for the tip, my morning drive is much improved

HyperSprite wrote:Thanks, both of you, I'll head on over to OSH on the way home today and see what they have.

Sound and Noise: (updated on 2009-04-09)
This machine is not as loud as my old Capresso and is quieter than my grinder but is does make its fair share of sounds. One thing I noticed was that the water cover and cup warmer tray both rattled while the pump is running. I added some tiny self adhesive cork feet to the bottom of the water cover and the machine sides where the warming tray sits, this eliminated the rattle noises. All the real noise seems to come from the pump and this makes more noise when it is filling the boiler or running with no load than when it is pumping a shot.

I'll dig out my db meter and get some measurements one of these days. Anyone know if there is a standard for this, like 1 meter distance, or is this not commonly done?

hold the SPL meter at ear level at the location where your head usually is while operating your machine...this will give you your most representative noise exposure level.

For comparison, I'll try to remember to measure mine this week...

Warm up time:
The group is hot enough to burn me and the boiler is up to normal pressure in under 15 minutes. The whole machine is not fully stabilized for about 30 minutes or so. At this point everything is as hot as it is going to get throughout.

Water usage:
It seems frugal with the water overall, as I end up with only a little in the drip tray but I just can't keep water in this thing, granted I am making shots like a fiend, so most of it is probably in my cup . Because of the tubes going into it from the top, pulling the tank out is not practical so I am using a funnel and pouring over to fill it up. I can see why someone would want to direct plumb or remote reservoir a machine if they are making more than one or two a day.

More on the Electronic Dose Control:
This might have been a waste of money for me. It works perfectly, no problem there but I had dreams of steaming milk and pulling shots simultaneously, like I do at work, and making it easier for my wife to make her own. Sadly, I am so mesmerized watching the bottomless extraction that I am not doing anything else while it is running. Never mind that I have made every coffee and hot chocolate for my wife since it arrived even though she has been fully trained on the process

Any updates on the durability or shot quality of your 07 after 1/2 a year? I understand Jim is working on a review of the BZ07, which would be great as english reviews on this unit are few and far between even now. In the meantime, any updates you have for those of us still looking at this compact HX unit would be great.

Thanks,
Mike

I am still enjoying this machine quite a bit and have no regrets.
The wife and I are both doing triples almost exclusively now and with the coffee coming from MoonBeans, a local roaster, ground with a Baratza Vario, and the timer, consistency is great.

Revisiting the steam and water levers, they still work very well for me and I have no problem controlling the pressure and this is critical when I steam directly into cappuccino cups because without control it would be a lame bounty paper towel commercial. Frankly, I find the "instant off" better than the knob on the machine at work.

The only issue my machine has had is with the pressure gauge, it works fine but has filled up with condensation. This might have been better had they mounted it higher as I suggested in my original postings but who knows.

One thing I am mildly concerned about for the long run is metal fatigue from attaching the portafilter. In the past month or so it seems as though the whole body twists just a bit. I don't remember this happening when it was new and will probably open her up and look to see if anything has gotten loose although I don't see how.

Someone had asked about total height and could they take the legs off. I measure 15 1/4" off the counter including the reservoir cover. The legs are 1 13/16" tall but there is a 1" protrusion that comes out of the bottom of the machine, for the boiler, so the legs can't just come off without doing something else.

Hope this helps, let me know if there is anything specific you would like to know and post it here as email typically gets lost.

Hey, long time lurker here, just wanted to post up and thank you for the very helpful information. I too am waiting for the review and in the mean time your post has been the most useful thing on the machine i've found.