I'm thinking of upgrading my machine. Currently on a Bezzera BZ99S coupled with a Baratza Sette 270wi. I drink mainly espresso or long black, with the occasional milk based drink. Having to pull shots in succession is rather rare.

The features on my must have list are: great group thermal stability, volumetric dosing, preinfusion, and a tanked machine. I've spent a fair bit of time searching online and the two options I have found are Bezzera Duo/Matrix DE and the new Crem One - 2B R-LFPP Dual.

Both machines seem to have a very good and comparable build quality The pros and cons from my perspective are:

BEZZERA
PRO's:
- I really like the concept of 3 pid technology and electrically heathed group; sounds on paper an excellent solution to control one of the most influential parameter of coffee brewing.
- I have no personal experience, but the design of the Bezzera proprietary group is said to be much easier to clean having basically no moving parts and of a much simpler design compared to the E61 on the Crem One.
- quicker warm up
CON's:
- I've read contrasting opinions on the Bezzera pre-infusion method which injects a small quantity of water in the puck and then waits for a number of seconds before resuming the flow, which someone argues not to be real preinfusion.
- Susceptibility of the screen to the hot-humid environment of the machine also appears to have caused some failures but this might have been resolved in latest production.
- No profiling.

CREM ONE
PRO's:
- The shot profile can be customised to great extent based on volumetric phases, allowing to experiment with different grinds without changing the memorised profile without deleterious consequence.
- Great potential for experimentation!
- E61 group is well and truly tested.
- Machine firmware is easily upgradable.
CON's:
- E61 group is maybe less thermally stable than the Bezzera group
- E61 harder to maintain.
- slower warm up

I'd like to hear opinions on how important these characteristics are when translated into taste in the cup, and in general how they affect the whole coffee making experience. Also, if there are any other machines which would satisfy my requirements I might have missed.

I recently purchased a Bezzera Matrix DE and wrote up a review of it on reddit if you want to check it out



To respond the couple points that you mentioned:

- The Bezzera (BZ) group is super simple and I've already taken it apart to put on an IMS shower screen. It comes apart and goes back together very easily, including the gasket.
- Heat up of the BZ group and the boilers is very quick. I use the automatic on/off function so it's always warm by the time I get to the machine in the morning but when I do turn the machine on late in the evening it's ready to steam and brew in about 10 minutes or less.
- The pre-infusion is exactly what you describe; if you're looking for a more advanced pre-infusion or profiling I don't think the DE version of the Bezzera machine will give you what you want.
- Both of the places I checked with before purchasing told me they have an updated version of the machine that fixes the screen moisture issue and I haven't seen any sign of it yet.

I was unaware of the Crem One but it looks like a beautiful machine. Do you know if the Crem One does volumetric dosing? I didn't see that feature listed on their website on in the product brochure.

Happy to answer any questions about the Bezzera machine if you have any!