Have you looked at the Profitec pro 800? I know it has steam but it has a pretty nice group head and a PID. Can be run with a reservoir or plumb in and it uses 58mm baskets to get you the ratio you want.

You could always get a dual boiler also like the La Spaziale vivaldi and just turn down the steam pressure to focus on brew temp

sosha wrote:This ECM from Clive seems awesome, even tho it has a steam wand. It looks like a lovely single boiler.
https://clivecoffee.com/products/specia ... o-machines

The ECM Classika was my first machine- has the same boiler as the Synchronika and makes great espresso. I think you can also modify it for flow control. It's a good choice if you are OK with the E61 group.

I like the kind of espresso coming out of an E61 group, but are there other options that are more thermally stable and a bit more consistent? Just asking.

The La Marzocco brewer shot looked very interesting but it is not available anymore, it's a pity.

MTN Gert wrote:Have you looked at the Profitec pro 800? I know it has steam but it has a pretty nice group head and a PID. Can be run with a reservoir or plumb in and it uses 58mm baskets to get you the ratio you want.

You could always get a dual boiler also like the La Spaziale vivaldi and just turn down the steam pressure to focus on brew temp

I also looked at the pro 800 or the Strega but got no experience with this kind of machines, I have to take a look and see how they work. What's the difference in the cup compared to an E61?

Well the 800 has the ability to do long pre infusion, pressure profiling and taper off at the end. I really wish I owned one to be a bigger help but the shot I had was a medium roast and was very milk choclate with a silky smooth soft finish but I cannot comment on the more important light roast factor.

I wanted the pro 800 but the wife said no so we ended up spending 2x as much to get the eagle one prima.

I personally love the manual lever experience. I'm not sure how easy it is to screw a shot up on a machine like this because I have yet to have a throw away.

I had an Alex duetto IV plus E61 DB machine and it was just OK. PiD temp was stable at the boiler but not stable at the group head.

I think we are splitting hairs at this point. I love the espresso i have had out of lever machines and I love the espresso I get out of my Eagle one. With an E61 I had hit an miss greatness but it was still possible.

The DE1 was to akin to pushing start on a full auto espresso machine for me. That does not mean I'm saying it makes lower quality espresso, I just don't get any Zen out of operating a light weight touch activated machine of that type

How's the eagle one prima? Never heard about this machine before

The Eagle one prima has been amazing so far. It was just released at the beginning of this year and I had pre ordered it in December. Victoria Arduino is a sister company of Simonelli and somonelli usa is who does all the support. There have been a few bugs with the APP to iron out. They have been very good at communication and they are working on making it perfect. I don't need to use the app for 99% of the time so it's not a big deal. The espresso has been just fantastic too. MSRP is $5900 so you are up in that LMLM and GS3 price range.

PID machines are awfully expensive for someone who doesn't care about steam. You might consider the following cheaper options:

The Cafelat robot may not have a PID and is limited in its ability to reach higher temperature. But it scores a lot of points in my mind for being "no fuss" when it comes to temperature management. No thermometers, no PID offsets, no warming or cooling flushes. Just use boiling water, and preheat or don't depending on the coffee. Dead simple.

Alternatively, open kettle machines like the La Peppina or Caravel can have their temperature monitored easily, making it possible for you manually control temperature pretty easily. On my La Peppina I bring the water to a boil, pull some water through it to warm it up, turn it off and stick a thermomenter in the kettle and prep my shot while I wait for the temp to drop a bit. when the temperature is about 5degrees higher than what I want for a shot temp, i go for it. I really wish someone made a modern equivalent to these. I guess the streitman is about the closest it comes but they are well outside the bounds of cheap.

Edit: having owned one for a number of years you would think I could spell La Peppina. But nope.

salvia wrote:There's a La Marzocco Shot Brewer currently in the Buy/Sell-not an option for the OP as it's NYC pickup only, but the seller has some interesting tidbits about the machine, which looks really interesting, and if anyone local to NYC sees this thread...just buy it.

[FS] La Marzocco Shot Brewer - Flow Profiler mod (Local NYC pickup)

I can only agree on that!
His Shotbrewer has the conical valve already and it is the smallest GS (grupo saturo / saturated group).
Shawndo is careful and honest.
You cannot buy the Shotbrewer anymore new, it will become a real classic and beside that, it is like made for you.

ppaolo2 wrote:Thanks for your suggestion, I knew about the QM Carola but had some doubts about the PID since I like to be able to easily raise or lower the temps when I change coffee. Price is nice though.

The Carola has been updated to have the PID w digital readout and pushbuttons on the front panel of the machine, as is now commonly done.