iseebirdsfly wrote:My point is that espresso machines are expensive compared to other appliances and reality is that at this price point you only get very basic accessories. I think La Marzocco includes VST baskets out of the box?

There are much cheaper espresso machines out there. High end refrigerators (equivalent level as Lelit Bianca) are very expensive as well.

Just a quick update, luckily my local reseller has agreed to replace the portafilter. And the new one is better matched. The baskets have also been replaced but it is what is. They not very much better. Would most likely get new ones.

The machine itself functions as expected and seems very well built, (I've not looked at the inside). If you're operating small cafe or looking for something that performs well and not too fussy about aesthetics and details then I'd recommend this. Otherwise, set aside some extra budget for "upgrades", because the next jump for a pressure profiling machine is almost 1k more (from where I stay at least).

Nusstu wrote:I guess you're lucky to have the wood matched. It seems that the newer models have poorer finishings. Just noticed the wood accents look worse under daylight.

image

That sucks.

Nusstu wrote:Just a quick update, luckily my local reseller has agreed to replace the portafilter. And the new one is better matched. The baskets have also been replaced but it is what is. They not very much better. Would most likely get new ones.

The machine itself functions as expected and seems very well built, (I've not looked at the inside). If you're operating small cafe or looking for something that performs well and not too fussy about aesthetics and details then I'd recommend this. Otherwise, set aside some extra budget for "upgrades", because the next jump for a pressure profiling machine is almost 1k more (from where I stay at least).

I don't think a little consumer espressomachine would be suited for a small cafe.
But look at the positive .You have a pressure profiling machine that performs really good from what I 've read.And you pay a little more than an E61 HX machine.

Nusstu wrote:Just a quick update, luckily my local reseller has agreed to replace the portafilter. And the new one is better matched. The baskets have also been replaced but it is what is. They not very much better. Would most likely get new ones.

The machine itself functions as expected and seems very well built, (I've not looked at the inside). If you're operating small cafe or looking for something that performs well and not too fussy about aesthetics and details then I'd recommend this. Otherwise, set aside some extra budget for "upgrades", because the next jump for a pressure profiling machine is almost 1k more (from where I stay at least).

In the USA the price of the Bianca is the same as the Profitec 700 plus with the flow control, so there are alternatives. I considered it recently because it was much cheaper to buy in Europe then in the US and though i live in the US i wanted the European model, but with the current USA price for it, there are several alternative in the same price range.

iseebirdsfly wrote:My point is that espresso machines are expensive compared to other appliances and reality is that at this price point you only get very basic accessories. I think La Marzocco includes VST baskets out of the box?

I think based on price this could be considered an entry level machine in its category (e61 Hx), innovations aside

This thread is somewhat disheartening to read. The Bianca has been at the top of my list of high end flow-profiling E61 machines, especially with my recent discovery of Its unpublished super-fast warm-up times. Yes, I wrote "high end"; it is most certainly not priced as an entry-level or even midrange E61 DB. At its price point I would expect better QC, period. Even the oft-maligned, "disposable" BDB (at half the price) comes with top-quality baskets, not to mention a solid stainless steel portafilter and stainless steel boilers.

I hope Lelit sorts these QC issues out, as it's otherwise a rather lovely machine.

Well, for me it is normal, that the quality isn't very high on products that are made in Italy.
They even have different manufacturers for the woodparts of the portafilters and the knobs and even the paddles.
If one of them is produced in China and one in Brazil and/or Australia (nobody knows) this is the result.
Machines from Italy too mostly have razorknife sharp edges on nearly all steel housing parts, no matter which machine manufacturer you try.
For me this is one of the biggest deficits of italian manufacturers.
And where the baskets are produced nobody knows, probably in China...

I think, that everybody who receives a rather well produced product always can be happy.

I have a lelit pre-ordered for mid July. Though I will be satisfied if the machine is defect free as i plan to upgrade the basket. I respectfully disagree with your reasoning.
Not everybody plans to toss the stock baskets and go vst or other 3rd party once they get the machine . One would expect top quality even for the accessories. Poorly welded baskets is not acceptable for a high end product

I disagree that Italian made products have inferior quality. Just take a look at IMS for example which are Italian made and very nicely finished. The Italians are capable of some very nicely made equipment that is also very durable. Cars, hifi, kitchen appliances etc comes to my mind.

But in this case I suspect due to cost cutting, the parts and accessories in particular were likely outsourced from somewhere else.