Best dual boiler espresso machine under $2000 budget

Recommendations for buyers and upgraders from the site's members.
Sirjoel98
Posts: 3
Joined: 9 years ago

#1: Post by Sirjoel98 »

So about 6 years ago my Breville dual boiler went to espresso machine heaven. Now I am looking to replace it about 20 years ago I was the night manager of a really good coffee shop so I have some experience but that was a long time ago and to be fair there is a lot I don't know what I need advice on is what is the best dual boiler for under $2000. My house hold has 5 espresso drinkers all who like milk drinks cappuccino and milk steamers are especially popular. It will be used 7 days a week about 6-8 shots a day so I need something sturdy and preferably easily maintained.

gobucks
Posts: 239
Joined: 2 years ago

#2: Post by gobucks »

The usual suspects would be:
  • Another Breville Double Boiler (obv) - you know the drill
  • Lelit Elizabeth (1700) - extremely full featured for the price, programmable pressurized preinfusion, decent but not amazing build
  • Rancilio Silvia Pro X (1950) - similar to Elizabeth but only has passive unpressurized preinfusion, built like a tank
  • Profitec Pro 300 (1800) - good brand, great build quality, feature set a bit lacking (no support for flow control or any preinfusion)
  • Lelit MaraX (1550) - technically a heat exchanger, but workflow is similar to a double boiler, as it has a PID controlled 3 way switch that lets you keep a stable temp setting without cooling flushes, but at the expense of steam pressure
  • La Spaziale Vivaldi Mini II (2100, but at least one seller has for $1900 and could likely be price matched from here https://www.baristalab.com/products/la- ... vivaldi-ii) - Pretty good feature set, I believe it can be modded like the BDB, 53mm portafilter is odd and the styling is not for everyone
  • Quick Mill Silvano (1200) - 2nd "boiler" is a thermoblock for steam. This makes it extremely cheap for a machine that supports simultaneous brewing and steaming; however, the steam is apparently pretty weak, and I'm guessing it wouldn't really cut it with so many milk drinkers in your household.
  • ACS Minima (1600) - really big boilers in a small, cheap package. Build quality seems a bit cheap, and it seems to be sold out everywhere at the moment.