Lelit Bianca v2 for $2200 or Breville Dual Boiler for $1700. Please help me choose

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Denisse1617
Posts: 10
Joined: 1 year ago

#1: Post by Denisse1617 »

Found a Lelit bianca V2 with a dent on the side of drip tray (still 3 years guarantee) for $2200 taxes included for the older v2 version. Had already ordered the Breville dual boiler but can still cancel this. I have used a Breville dual boiler before from a friend and love the quick heat time and it's easy to use. Feels plasticky and worry about durability though.
Given these two choices and $500 price difference... which one would you choose?
P.s: I do have a free/ ready to use water line in my kitchen so the plumbing option of bianca is appealing.
The only deal breaker for the bianca v2 would be the longer heat up time. Would the newer v3 with faster heat up time would be worth an extra $1000.
Thanks

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skansen
Posts: 160
Joined: 5 years ago

#2: Post by skansen »

Heat up time of Bianca v2 and v3 is the same. If you have option to plumb in machine, Bianca will be good choice.

Denisse1617 (original poster)
Posts: 10
Joined: 1 year ago

#3: Post by Denisse1617 (original poster) »

I do have this water line in my kitchen. Just wondering if it's worth the $500 more from Breville. How about Bianca's build quality vs BDB? Thanks


HH
Posts: 478
Joined: 7 years ago

#4: Post by HH »

The BDB is the superior machine in terms of temperature stability. It has adjustable pre-infusion as well as manual pressure profiling out of the box just like the Bianca. Neither allow you to flow profile but realistically you probably don't want to try to do flow profiling manually unless you have very good feedback to monitor and set this accurately.

I feel most purchasers considering these two machines will fall into either the 'the Breville is more accurate and I like it despite having more plastic used in its construction' camp or the 'I like the aesthetics of the Bianca more than the Breville, value this more than the temperature stability, and am happy to pay a premium to have the Bianca on my counter'.

Both are great machines and have good reviews. Whilst the Breville is a fantastic machine and the one I would go for (as I prefer the group head design and value the temperature stability) I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Denisse1617 (original poster)
Posts: 10
Joined: 1 year ago

#5: Post by Denisse1617 (original poster) »

Thanks for your feedback. I wasn't aware of the temp stability component. I have used the dual boiler before and it's very user friendly. I was curious about the flow control paddle on the bianca and the possibility of plumbing it.

HH
Posts: 478
Joined: 7 years ago

#6: Post by HH replying to Denisse1617 »

Hey no worries! The flow control paddle on the Bianca is interesting, as it allows you to regulate flow (and therefore pressure). The reason I mention in my previous reply that neither machine will allow you to flow profile is that flow profiling is a very specific ability whereby you are measuring and setting flow rate. The Bianca only measures pressure, and only shows you the pressure generated by the variance in flow, therefore there is no way to set a 'flow profile' - for example, preinfuse at 1.7ml/s then increase flow to 2ml/s. You can manually pressure profile quite happily however with either set up.

I have used a BDB for several years and was pretty blown away by its capabilities. I have not used a Bianca but have heard good things about it. Some users report the build quality is slightly sub-par, however this is just from feedback I have read, and not from using it myself. What I would say is that despite the plastic, the BDB has been extremely well designed. I love the fact you can fill the machine from the front or the back, and also really liked the way you could move a lever to pop a caster wheel up from the base of the machine to allow you to move it round your counter without lifting it.

In terms of temperature stability, the BDB has been shown to be as temperature stable as a GS3 on SCACE testing, whereas the Bianca uses the E61 group, which is less stable than a saturated or independently heated group as utilised by the BDB.

Denisse1617 (original poster)
Posts: 10
Joined: 1 year ago

#7: Post by Denisse1617 (original poster) »

After your feedback and reading that breville issues are mostly easy fixable things like the o rings I am leaning toward keeping the dual boiler. Also read about Brevilles great customer service and as long as it last 5+ years I'll be happy with this choice.

HH
Posts: 478
Joined: 7 years ago

#8: Post by HH »

I'd buy the BDB again in a heartbeat if I was in the market for a machine at that price point. I have switched up to a Decent, but can honestly say I have made equally good espresso on both machines, it's just slightly harder work and a bit less repeatable on the BDB.

As an aside, I love the look of the BDB in black if you can find one, they're gorgeous!

Denisse1617 (original poster)
Posts: 10
Joined: 1 year ago

#9: Post by Denisse1617 (original poster) »

My husband wants the decent but I'm more frugal than him and I keep telling him so so much more $$ than the Breville. Do you feel that the value is there?
It's over twice the price if we add shipping. My husband likes all the tech stuff but I don't care as much lol

Amberale
Posts: 340
Joined: 3 years ago

#10: Post by Amberale »

I disagree with Henry totally, but I have used and own a Bianca.
They are both dual boilers.
The Bianca is a much better build quality than the Breville to the extent that Breville have just bought out Lelit to try and improve their reputation.
Don't take my word for it do a bit more digging around.
The Breville is a very capable consumer machine, the Bianca is a very capable prosumer machine.
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