G’day fellow coffee snobs,
A few months ago I asked here for advice about a possible upgrade. Thanks to everyone who responded.
Since then I have decided - or almost decided - that a dual boiler is the type of machine for me.
This is because I intend to change the brew temperature. At one point I thought that a HX with PID would be adequate for this. However a number of people here and elsewhere have stated that a PID on a HX is not adequate for working with brew temperature.
When considering how a HX works this does make sense. The PID on a HX changes the steam temperature. The brew temperature will also change as the brew water is flash heated by passing through the steam boiler, however the resulting brew temperature is more variable and harder to predict than it would be on a dual boiler.
Some people with PID HX machines seem quite happy with their machine’s capability to change brew temperature, while others are frustrated. Which category would I fall into? That is my question.
Possibly the question is impossible to answer in a forum like this one. But to try and answer it anyway I thought I’d break down just how I intend to use brew temperature and what I hope to gain from having the ability to change it.
The first thing I hope to gain is the ability to know what my machine’s brew temperature is. On my current machine - a Breville Barista Express - I don’t know. This annoys me.
Secondly I want to change brew temperature based on what beans I am using. My workflow would look something like this:
- Upon buying a new bag of beans, set the machine based on what I think the best temperature for those beans would be
- Dial in using grind and yield
- Leave the temperature unchanged unless I’m not getting a good flavour and think changing the brew temperature would fix things
- When necessary, change the brew temperature at the start of the day when turning my machine on, rather than changing it between one shot and the next
Is a dual boiler machine necessary to meet these requirements?
A few months ago I asked here for advice about a possible upgrade. Thanks to everyone who responded.
Since then I have decided - or almost decided - that a dual boiler is the type of machine for me.
This is because I intend to change the brew temperature. At one point I thought that a HX with PID would be adequate for this. However a number of people here and elsewhere have stated that a PID on a HX is not adequate for working with brew temperature.
When considering how a HX works this does make sense. The PID on a HX changes the steam temperature. The brew temperature will also change as the brew water is flash heated by passing through the steam boiler, however the resulting brew temperature is more variable and harder to predict than it would be on a dual boiler.
Some people with PID HX machines seem quite happy with their machine’s capability to change brew temperature, while others are frustrated. Which category would I fall into? That is my question.
Possibly the question is impossible to answer in a forum like this one. But to try and answer it anyway I thought I’d break down just how I intend to use brew temperature and what I hope to gain from having the ability to change it.
The first thing I hope to gain is the ability to know what my machine’s brew temperature is. On my current machine - a Breville Barista Express - I don’t know. This annoys me.
Secondly I want to change brew temperature based on what beans I am using. My workflow would look something like this:
- Upon buying a new bag of beans, set the machine based on what I think the best temperature for those beans would be
- Dial in using grind and yield
- Leave the temperature unchanged unless I’m not getting a good flavour and think changing the brew temperature would fix things
- When necessary, change the brew temperature at the start of the day when turning my machine on, rather than changing it between one shot and the next
Is a dual boiler machine necessary to meet these requirements?

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