I've approached each review from a different angle, trying to strike the proper balance between technical detail and practical buying advice. Two criteria that have weighed heavily in my evaluations are the "morning after" score (how easy is it to get the hang of?) and the "exceptional espresso" score (what can a moderately skilled home barista expect every day?). You may notice that these scores are slanted towards the non-professional, and being Home-Barista.com, that makes perfect sense to me.

An unstated assumption of these scores is that you can expect to reproduce them yourself. In other words, if you are not a "ninja barista" or "milk whisperer" of the latte arts, don't worry. Fortunately, Team HB's job is made easier by one fact: Only top-end equipment is reviewed here. Sorry super-automatic lovers, life is too short to drink mediocre espresso, or to force oneself to write enthusiastically about uninspiring topics. The only downside of the very intentional decision to only review the best of the best is the difficulty of teasing out the noteworthy distinctions, enough distinctions for someone to make an informed decision.

In the case of the Elektra A3, my job looked easy from day one. If you flip back to the first week of this very long review process (what, it's August already?!?), this extraction was among the first:


Day 1, shot #4, approximately 20 seconds into the pour

I apologize for the poor lighting and bad focus, but I think you'll agree -- that's a pretty darn nice looking pour. Even, centered, nice striping, and the taste, crema, and body were solid.

Weeks rolled by with the A3 in my kitchen. For me the most noteworthy observation was the fact that the thermocouple, shotglasses, timers -- all my "helper" tools of the review trade -- remained in the drawer. Two possible explanations came to mind for my disinterest in these toys of technology:

1. My skills had advanced to the point that they were unnecessary hindrances (nahhh-h)
2. The A3 was a genuine step-up in "forgiveness" compared to past test candidates.

While it was tempting to flatter myself with causal factor #1, factor #2 was more likely. To wit, I decided to introduce other players into the game. About six weeks into the evaluation, Steve welcomed the Elektra A3 into his kitchen and you can read about it in this thread. The reason I asked Steve to step in for this test was specifically because he's a hardcore lever guy who's never touched an espresso machine with a motorized pump. I figured that if he noted the same forgiveness factor, then my conclusions would be validated.

And indeed that's exactly what happened. What we didn't publicize on the Bench was the second phase of our study. Steve's also had a tour with the Cimbali Junior and the Expobar Brewtus, both times providing me behind the scenes feedback. His comments are especially valuable because he's a seasoned veteran of espresso, but a newbie to high-end and commercial equipment (his travel and harried schedule are his excuses for not posting his comments, despite my not-so-subtle reminders). The long and short of his observations are supportive of the scoring in Junior's and Brewtus' Buyer's Guides. That's good news. Still, something was missing from the closure of the Elektra A3 review, something that I hinted about early on. How would Elektra stack up against one of the best La Marzoccos available today? Fortunately Geoff Corey, owner of Pheasant Creek Coffee, offered to host a mano-a-mano shootout this morning:


Geoff, we'll forgive you for serving that whipped cream laden stuff.
A guy's gotta pay the bills, right?

If you're in the area and want a great shot, this is thee place. He tells me about commuters that drive five miles in the opposite direction of their office to pick up their morning coffee; I don't doubt it.

This morning Elektra was on the road again for the short jaunt to Geoff's place. I allowed her to heat up for several hours on his setup table a few feet from his PID'd FB-70. As a quick double-check of Steve's and my "morning after" assessment, I prepared a few test shots for Geoff then turned the portafilter over to him. In about two or three shots the extractions were on target, so I asked him to serve as test barista for both machines. He would prepare the basket on the Elektra, then while I handled the cooling flush, he banged out an espresso on his own La Marzocco. The taster would then be handed two espressos.

Keep in mind that this shootout was an informal let's have fun sort of event. Richard Bone joined us and we got heavily caffeinated, which for Geoff is not an easy feat. The results were somewhat surprising to me, not for the outcome, but for the lack of problems associated with temperature. Maybe because I've been copyediting Abe's Brewtus review for weeks now, my brain is racked with discussions of the hyper-importance of temperature control. Geoff heartily agrees that his house blend suffers if the temperature is off by even a degree. So how did the Elektra A3 with its HX system fair against the FB-70's electronically controlled brew temperature?

The answer is the good news of the shootout: In terms of crema quality, crema volume, and taste balance, it was a dead heat. Some of the Elektra shots were "different" than the La Marzocco's, but not in a way that would detract from their scores. I've noted this before and it really comes down to personal preference and the particular blend which may favor one temperature profile over another (i.e., the slant-L versus humped temperature profile debate).

With the question of temperature consistency and stability to the side, the criteria that stood out was the difference in body. There the La Marzocco won. Although the A3 earned laudatory comments like "nice, buttery espresso", I was frankly surprised by this outcome because from the very first week, the body and texture of the Elektra shots stood out far superior to my own home equipment. As part of our post-mortem of the shootout, we tossed out ideas of possible causes. Geoff noted that I had the pressure slightly lower than his machine (8.0 versus 9.0 bar), something that escaped my attention. It was getting late and our palates were toast, but as a quick test I increased the Elektra's brew pressure to match the La Marzocco's and pulled the last few. If there was an improvement in body, we were too fried to tell.

Before shutting down for the afternoon, I asked Geoff to prepare a cappuccino on the Elektra. He steamed and textured a nicely chrome-finished cap with deliciously sweet flavor. However, as a gesture of kindness towards our host, I won't comment on his latte art skills (hint: lower the pitcher closer to the surface of the milk ).

Of the four M's of espresso, I've long listed the machine dead last. Not because it's unimportant, but rather because other factors like the barista's contribution count so much more. As I trundled back home with the steaming-hot Elektra in the back of the car, I concluded once again that while the espresso machine isn't #1, it certainly makes the job of #1 (the barista) a lot easier.

Hmm-m, I've not aware of a strong correlation between pre-infusion and body.

A little more detail: We used Geoff's house blend, Counter Culture's Toscano, which I consider a medium-body espresso. My comment to that effect sparked a discussion of contributing factors to body. Geoff says he uses manipulations of grind and extraction times to push up the body. On a related note, he prefers tight ristrettos, and not for the usual reason. His preference is more than just the shot quality and improved body, but also to reduce the caffeine kick. His customers complained about the jitters when he pulled true doubles; apparently the latter part of long extractions pack the biggest caffeine punch.

It's true his particular machine doesn't have pre-infusion a la Synesso or the GB-5, but if I remember correctly, he did fit it with a very small gicleur (I believe it is 0.6mm instead of the original 0.8mm), which slows the pressure ramp up. Counter Culture made a similar swap in their espresso lab's machine and the enhanced ease of producing a superior extraction was unmistakable.

And I would agree with Andy's comments prior to this modification. I used the Counter Culture's espresso lab machine pre-modification every Friday for months. There was no mistaking the week they changed it. My point is there is more than one way to accomplish preinfusion, not just the E61 way.

Today I started organizing my notes and commentary from the Bench into a final writeup. If all goes well, the article will be published next weekend. If readers of this thread have any other comments or questions to pose, now is a good time because I'm preparing for...

The Elektra A3 Bench Wrapup

As you've probably surmised from the tone of this thread, especially towards the end, I'm very impressed with the Elektra A3. So much so that it really had me questioning my own observations. Specifically I'm referring to the early days of the review, which weigh heavily into the "morning after" score. Plainly stated, dialing in the temperature and extraction was too darn easy. In retrospect, I realize that I carried an unstated assumption into the evaluation: Fast pressurization means poor preinfusion (wrong). This bias originates in my experience with vibration pump E61-type machines, which pressurize much slower than a rotary pump's blink-of-an-eye 2-3 seconds.

With over four months clocked in with the A3, Steve's corroboration of my results, and positive experiences like our informal shootout at Pheasant Creek Coffee, the conclusion is essentially written. There may be some quibbling about a quarter-point here and a half-point there to make the scores across Buyer's Guides consistent, but the essential conclusions are:

• Consistently obtaining the desired temperature is the easiest of any heat exchanger machine I've tried or reviewed. Elektra trumpets the transition from "overheated water is exhausted" to the beginning of the "temperature surf countdown" so clearly (and loudly), recognizing it is trivial. I posted a picture of one of the first extractions and it was even, striped, and persistent. With the exception a slight tendency to underextract directly beneath the dispersion screw, the quality of the extractions have been dreamy. Among heat exchanger machines, Elektra rules the morning after score.
  
• While the scores aren't meant to be applied with scientific precision, I believe they aren't linear, especially as the scores approach the elusive "10." Nowhere is this more evident than the exceptional espresso score. Subjectivity comes into play, as does the barista's skills (or lack thereof). The ease of producing an even, consistent extraction earns big points for Elektra. I still have a few final avenues and cross-comparisons to complete, but she's already earned an excellent score. I need to check if she merits what I jokingly call an "asterisk" score. That's when a machine rates one score for the mythical "moderate experience" barista and a potentially higher one for nutty home baristas like myself who'll go to the extreme to squeak out an improvement (the Cimbali Junior earned such a score too).
  
• It's official, I'm a big boiler lover. The A3's steaming power is off the charts compared to typical prosumer equipment. And once again that ease of use bonus comes up. Like her little sister the Elektra Microcasa a Leva, big sister knows just how to balance volume, velocity, and dispersion pattern. Milk frothing newbies nailed great microfoam with a short five minute lesson. Love it, love it, love it. Elektra bags a perfect 10 for the cappuccino lover's score.
  
• Speaking of 10's, the only other machine to earn this unattainable is the Cimbali Junior for its materials & workmanship score. Elektra won't knock Junior off that perch, but this machine is built for the long haul. Lots of room, good arrangement, smart protections in place. While the A3 didn't shake Junior's boots for the internal build construction, when it came to the fit and finish of the showpiece exterior, Elektra was looking at Junior through her rear-view mirror. In terms of style and exterior finish, Elektra makes excuses to nobody.

OK, I confess that I'm an Elektra fan. It began long ago when the Microcasa caught my eye as an espresso objet d'art, quelling my interest in a La Pavoni (sorry LMWDP members). While the size and boxy shape don't evoke the same sense of delicate elegance of the Microcasa, many visitors commented on the A3's attractive styling (the polished sides and woodgrain handles earn lots of compliments, of course in addition to the espresso itself). I've had a long list of heat exchanger machines spend some time in the family kitchen, some of which you can read about here, some of which I borrowed from friends purely for the fun of it. However none has really tempted me to replace my own machine, La Valentina. Some were stronger in one way or another, but each time I concluded another heat exchanger was a small lateral move that couldn't justify the cost or inconvenience.

Well, that was until the Elektra A3 showed up. Combining the ease of use, great espresso, impressive steaming capacity, quiet operation, and styling to name a few, and she's easily beaten Valentina. This ain't no lateral move. Sadly my lobbying for Elektra to stay post-review hasn't convinced the master of the kitchen, in which I am a frequent and well-tolerated interloper. Despite my wife's agreement that the Elektra A3 is the most attractive machine to pass through her kitchen doors, she feels its size is out of proportion with the rest of the room (please don't suggest buying a bigger house; I thought of that too). The sound bite for the Elektra A3 buyer's guide will be "an unadulterated commercial experience in your kitchen." It's simply the best heat exchanger machine I've had the pleasure to evaluate. Now if I only had an espresso bar...

My list of excuses to defer Elektra's departure is dwindling. Someday a guy with a hand truck will show up at my doorstep with a clipboard and say "Please sign here." Crueler words will have never been spoken.

Sorry, I'm a little late on the announcement...

The Buyer's Guide to the Elektra A3 is online. Comments, corrections and follow-up questions to the article are all welcome in Article Feedback.

I would like to thank Steve Robinson for his valuable contributions to the evalution and Geoff Corey for hosting our informal shootout. As always, the peer review comments from Chris Tacy and Jim Schulman were insightful and succinct. Thanks again gentlemen!

puffinjk wrote:This insulation is some gritty stuff so clean out good after your finished, I finished off with heavy alum foil (sorry I don't have any photos).

Bob posted great step-by-step instructions, see Insulating the Elektra A3's boiler.