Espresso machines with stainless steel boilers?

#1: Post by **olferre** » February 7th, 2016, 2:01 pm

hello everybody!

i want to offer a coffee machine to people that use a quite bad espresso (like) machine.
i have lived in Italy for few years and we did a coffee training by visiting the country and trying very local coffees in small towns (about 4 towns per trip). + all my flatmates were Italian. the italians taught us a lot about coffee. Things i could have completely missed without them.
Great experience but on the other hand i've learned to identify unpleasant aluminum/brass/copper tastes that some boiler leave to the coffee. And i really dislike that.
Drinking a coffee from the new Marzocco and its stainless steel boiler was a blast.

I used to use a presso. Next week i'll start using a ROK presso. hope it's wonderful like a presso. So i can say that i have found the perfect solution for me since i use my own stainless boiler.

Even the espresso i make with a La Pavoni have that tastes i dislike, the great crema doesn't compensate that bad impression.
So i'm looking for tips about all the espresso machines that would have stainless steel boilers and would cost less than a Marzocco!
I want to make a gift to someone that is up for great taste but would like something less manual than on a ROK presso and i don't know what to choose!

Thank all of you for your future tips

PS: English is my third language so i apologize in advance for the weird sentences i might write every now and then.

#2: Post by **LukeFlynn** » February 7th, 2016, 2:06 pm

The breville Dual Boiler uses stainless boilers.. but I honestly don't think it's a fair assumption to say stainless steel boilers make better espresso than traditional boilers.

#3: Post by **day** » February 7th, 2016, 2:26 pm

It sounds like your friends misidentified the root cause.

February 7th, 2016, 3:25 pm

oh no i completely agree with my friends on that taste.
i'm no barista and, as i said in the topic, i only had a training with italian amateurs about tasting coffee and not about making it.not at all. Yet, the coffee i make with a Presso after boiling my water in a stainless steel kettle tastes very much like (not exactly like them though) the ones i go from pro coffee machines with a stainless boiler. And i'm pretty sure the ROK presso is giong to give that kind of results too.

Delonghi made last year (maybe a bit earlier) a machine called the scultura, with a stainless steel boiler. but the rest of it doesn't seem to be so great. So i googled more details about it, and on the reviews, they mention that the stainless steel boiler is really a plus for the taste.

i know about the Breville but it's nearly as expensive as a Marzocco!
so i'm sure there are more than 3 coffee machines on earth with that kind of boiler but i have never heard about them.

#5: Post by **malling** » February 7th, 2016, 3:37 pm

I'm pretty sure your referring to Copper rather then Brass, brass dos not result in off tastes like Copper. Besides the chances that you have been served a coffee drink from a machine with brass boiler is slim, as not many manufacturers uses brass. It is either copper or stainless steel.

Quickmill, La Spaziale and Dalla Corte are some of the very few who uses brass for brewboiler

#6: Post by **TomC** » February 7th, 2016, 3:37 pm

The very last thing I'd concern myself in regards to taste of an espresso is what the boilers are made of. There are so many things on order of magnitude more important. Flush the machine if your water tastes funny and stick to what matters.

February 7th, 2016, 3:55 pm

malling wrote:I'm pretty sure your referring to Copper rather then Brass,

Quickmill, La Spaziale and Dalla Corte are some of the very few who uses brass for brewboiler

hello, i was meant aluminium brass or copper. i changed it on the original topic.
i had another model in mind than La Spaziale and Dalla Corte when i mentioned brass but yes, it's not the ones you find the most.

#8: Post by **malling** » February 7th, 2016, 4:02 pm

Certain individuals with a limited usage, can in theory experience off tasted caused by copper if using a machine with a large brewboiler.

This is why a brewboiler should be made of brass or stainless steel,

To counter act this they'll need to flush the boiler substantially, it is usually not a problem as most brew enough for it to not have any noticeable effect or is not trained enough to detect the effect or isn't a super taster. But for those very few who are it can in fact be a a slight problem. But I do agree it is not the first thing one should look at, as metallic off tastes for the majority is caused by something else.

#9: Post by **malling** » February 7th, 2016, 4:06 pm

olferre wrote:hello, i was meant aluminium brass or copper. i changed it on the original topic.
i had another model in mind than La Spaziale and Dalla Corte when i mentioned brass but yes, it's not the ones you find the most.

Still dos not change the fact that, brass dos not results in off taste, brass is tasteless for humans, Copper however is not for certain individuals.

#10: Post by **Nick Name** » February 7th, 2016, 4:15 pm

If you're sure you can taste the material of the boiler then you should consider an HX machine. For espresso it takes the water directly from the reservoir (or if plumbed in, straight from the water line). It doesn't use the water in the boiler for espresso.

BTW, I think the new Gaggia Classic (not an HX) comes with a stainless steel boiler, if you should want to go with the cheapest possible route.