Quickmill Andreja/Anita vs. Izzo Alex

#1: Post by **NewRomancer** » June 2nd, 2007, 12:01 pm

First hello to all because I am new to this forum,

can anybody explain me the difference between Andreja and Anita. In Europe Anita is relative expensive and the price difference between both is smaller than in the US (only about 200 $). So I am not sure if Anita is worth the relative high price compared to Andreja.

My second question addresses all the Andreja/Anita users. I am looking for steam power because I am going for milk drinks a lot. Can Andreja/Anita deal with 25-30 oz milk in more or less one flow?

Or should I go with Izzo Alex to be sure?

Thanks in advance

#2: Post by **kinkbmxco** » June 2nd, 2007, 3:44 pm

As far as I know the Andreja and the Anita are identical except for a few bonuses like no burn steam wand, nicer knobs, and a nicer curvy look to it. There are probably a couple other things that I am overlooking but the performance should be pretty similar. I just purchased a Alex MK1 from Chris' not too long ago and I am very pleased with it. I suggest going for the Alex if it is in your price range. It has a rotary pump and has the option of being plumed in or used as a pourover. These are great advantages. You will love the quiet purr of your rotary

. Also after using your machine as a pourover for a while you will realize the convineince of plumbing it in and you will be happy you did! My vote goes for the Alex. If that is too much for you I suggest going with an Anita as I dont see the money spent for the extras on the andreja worth it. And if your spending that much on the Andreja why not just get the alex

. Hope this helps

#3: Post by HB » June 2nd, 2007, 5:17 pm

NewRomancer wrote:Can Andreja/Anita deal with 25-30 oz milk in more or less one flow?

Nearly a quart of milk for how many drinks? No, you'd need full commercial machine to steam that much.

#4: Post by **Niko** » June 2nd, 2007, 11:08 pm

Andreja has better steaming performance than Anita due to the non compression type used on Andreja. If it's steam power you need, don't even look at Anita (it literally has NONE).

June 3rd, 2007, 3:18 am

Compression type what? Steam valve? Why would that make squat difference in actually steam production? Both have same 1.6L boiler and 1400w element...

#6: Post by **lilotaku** » June 3rd, 2007, 4:45 am

Niko wrote:Andreja has better steaming performance than Anita due to the non compression type used on Andreja. If it's steam power you need, don't even look at Anita (it literally has NONE).

I don't get what your saying. As far as i know, they both steam equally as well. Its just that the valve construction is different on the Andreja which uses higher quality valve for longevity and durability. I've recently had a chance to steam on both machines and they both worked very very well.

June 3rd, 2007, 5:35 am

Thanks for all comments.

HB wrote:Nearly a quart of milk for how many drinks? No, you'd need full commercial machine to steam that much.

I am not very familiar with US measuring units and maybe 25-30 oz is wrong. I want to make 3 or 4 latte in a row and I thought I would need about 8 oz for one latte.

#8: Post by HB » June 3rd, 2007, 8:27 am

NewRomancer wrote:I want to make 3 or 4 latte in a row and I thought I would need about 8 oz for one latte.

This class of espresso machine is well suited for single drinks in succession (brew, steam, brew, steam, ...) or doubles (brew, brew, steam). The steam boiler does not have the capacity to steam the milk for four lattes (brew split double, brew split double, steam). If I am serving a crowd, I split the doubles and serve in pairs using small "tulip" cappuccino cups (around 5 ounces); for the latte lovers, I use 8 ounce cups for singles, 12 ounce cups for doubles.

#9: Post by **Niko** » June 3rd, 2007, 1:15 pm

It doesn't matter about the boiler size!
I have an ANITA and had an ANDREJA side by side and.....
ANDREJA blew ANITA out of the house, pitcher included.
All I know is that Anita uses compression type of steaming and Andreja is "non", that's what was explained to me so if someone can chime in and explain it better, I'm all ears. All I know is that one machine has a lot more steam power than the other due to this.

#10: Post by HB » June 3rd, 2007, 1:35 pm

The two machines have the same internals, but Anita comes stock with a "low volume" steam tip similar to the Gold Pro II et al. Vetrano and Andreja Premium come stock with tips having greater diameter holes and subsequently steam more quickly, but new owners occasionally have difficulty adjusting to the faster pace (e.g., Having trouble getting silky microfoam with my Vetrano).

There's other discussions of this difference in the forum and it was also noted in the Buyer's Guide:

The Vetrano has the same "no burn" steam arm and water tap as the Andreja Premium. In addition to the comfort consideration (and not worrying about grab tabs), the rounded two-hole tip cleans easily because the milk doesn't bake on. I also like the direction, velocity, and volume of this arrangement; it's become a popular choice for top-end semi-commercial units. However, some upgraders ... may initially prefer a "cheater tip" that reduces the volume and increases the velocity. Practically every vendor offers an exclusive low-volume tip that slows heating and increases velocity, which makes it much easier to stretch and texture milk at a modest pace, especially for single servings. Unfortunately the no burn steam arm uses a relatively unusual 8mm female thread instead of the more common 10mm male thread. After hearing from enough customers wanting to experiment with alternative tips, Chris' Coffee sourced an adapter...