Best value for money prosumer lever espresso machine

#1: Post by **toulcaz31** » June 18th, 2018, 12:46 pm

Hi everyone

I will be pretty soon making a move to upgrade to a pro-sumer lever machine.

From what I have seen in US, at $2,595 the Quick Mill Achille seems to be among the best deals in terms of value for money.
Would you all agree this is the best deal or do you think the higher price of a Profitec 800 or Londinium LR can be justified by some features the Achille is deeply missing?

Thanks in advance for the feedback

June 19th, 2018, 8:48 pm

First, apology for not posting in the right category (buying advice) and missing an almost similar post from chriscafeine on the Strega.

In the meantime, I thought I would share the information I summarized so far. Feel free to let me know if you see anything wrong.
Looking at the warranty, PID and the accessories, the Profitec is now calling my attention vs. the Achille, among all those capable machines.

The headache continues...

#3: Post by **pizzaman383** » June 19th, 2018, 8:58 pm

The lowest cost is to buy a lever group and build your own machine but it is a fair bit of work

.

June 19th, 2018, 9:17 pm

Haha. Thanks but definitely not for me.
I am not looking for the cheapest but the best value for money. I don't mind paying a bit more if I get something out of it vs. the cheaper one.
An extra portafilter, a PID, and an extra year of warranty could justify the price of the Profitec vs. the Achille, no?

#5: Post by **Tonefish** » June 19th, 2018, 9:41 pm

What's the drawback on the Strega?

#6: Post by **Blacktip** » June 20th, 2018, 9:42 am

All of them are HX machine except Pro 800; it is a dipper machine. That is huge difference in design. Read and understand the difference between both designs, so you can narrow down your choices.

For many reasons, I went with the dipper design, and I am glad I did.

#7: Post by **sprint jinx** » June 20th, 2018, 9:57 am

My 2+ daily pulls from a Profitec 800 for a year says that this choice is certainly a good one. The robust machine throws bullseye espresso darts and is very flexible with dose and grind settings. There are 4 of us at my work who use it daily and we switch bean supply often.
Minor flaws or annoyances-
The portafilter gasket drips water if the PF is not totally jammed in super tight. We need to change to the silicone gaskets.
We had to swap out the over pressure valve fitting, as it was very slightly hissing when hot, easy and fixed since.
That's it, which is pretty remarkable.

#8: Post by **redbone** » June 20th, 2018, 10:42 am

I would also include the Izzo Alex Leva / Pompei in the mix.

June 20th, 2018, 11:39 am

Only plumbed right? My future coffee corner will be too far from water connection.
Does it also qualify as pro-sumer vs pro?

#10: Post by **Prescott CR** » June 20th, 2018, 11:47 am

A note on the Londinium- check the website as the prices vary. Right now the R is $2,777. With a 3% fee from your bank that's like $2880ish. Reiss was working on a method where you don't get charged that 3% which would be GREAT.

This kind of price fluctuation probably happens with any machine where you're buying it from the country of origin.

When buying from a re-seller you'll most likely not have to worry about all this. I do suggest CALLING the reseller and negotiating, I know it saved me a few bucks on my Vesuvius.