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ECM Barista v Bezzera Mitica Top

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  • ECM Barista v Bezzera Mitica Top

    Hi Guys,

    Yes, it's yet another 'help me choose thread'....

    coming from a silvia, i've had for last 10 yrs...(yes, i have a 'proper grinder' let's not descend into that)

    I've been to a retailer who also seels Quick Mill and Bezzera but didn't have any on display....didn't seem to rate bezzera either...

    he pointed me to the ECM Barista which looks ok... wasn't a fan of the painted frame (yes, i've had the dreaded rust in the silvia) and much thinner gauge stainless than say the expobar office leva.... which was all stainless and a deeper tray which i liked (although the reservoir has a small opening - maddening for cleaning..)

    https://cremacoffeegarage.com.au/ecm...e-machine.html

    The salesman said he had an expobar, but recommended the ecm over it.

    My issue is the ecm 'on sale' is still $2300...

    I can get the rotary pump Mitica Top for around $2600 which, yes, is a lot, but seems like better value? Also a painted frame, but i think i'll like the lever valves v rotary, and I do like the design...

    Any opinions on the Mitica v Barista?

    I'm also considering the Quick Mill Rubino at a much more palatable $1800, but not much love for those it seems? The retailer said he receives more Quick Mill for repairs than any other, (and he also sells them!)...

    https://www.coffee-a-roma.com.au/sto...e_Machine.html

    kinda put me off, although that has a stainless chassis too and reasonable features for the money.... They've been around since 1945. How bad could they be?

    So my questions are:
    1. Any suggestions on the Barista v Mitica?
    2. Any reason not to look at the cheaper Expobar/Quick Mill? Are the rumors of poorer build/parts true? I kinda assumed e61 head, 1.5l+ HX and same vibe pump would be pretty much same same? no?

    much thanks
    Last edited by Javaphile; 31 July 2019, 08:23 AM. Reason: Link removed

  • #2
    bump, anyone?

    TIA

    Comment


    • #3
      Well, I'll give you my personal views. I don't care for machines that have the silicone water lines running into the top of the water reservoir, they just get in the way, make a mess when pulling out the reservoir and are a PITA. I don't like the rotary knobs for steam and hot water either. One last "I don't like", and that is Hx boilers because I almost always forget to do the cooling flush, just too many other things going on and I forget until its too late.

      I have the ECM Synchronkia and the build quality is next to none and so will the Barista, though I am not familiar with it personally. I like machines that have PID controllers because I like to set the temps for the particular beans I'm using, I like to have control over my process and not be dictated to how I have to use a $2,500 machine. There are a ton of machines out there and they all produce a decent espresso when you are in the price range you're looking at. So it boils down to what you like, how you want your process of coffee making to be and, and this is an important one...service. You need to pay attention to the customer stories from the stores you have a choice to buy from. When the time comes, and it will, that you need service, spare parts, phone support, warranty support, you don't want to have to argue your case.

      So what sort of things are important to you? The max height of the cup you can fit under the portafiler, the overall height of the machine so you have room for cups on the cup warmer and still have it fit under your cupboards, what the boiler is made out of, how much steam pressure its capable of producing, how it handles an extraction when you are in the middle of one and you run low on water, adjustable feet, the size of the water reservoir, vibe or rotary pump? There are a number of things that you might want to consider before laying out the big $$

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      • #4
        Originally posted by wankski View Post
        bump, anyone?

        TIA
        Did you end up buying the Barista or Mitica?

        Comment


        • #5
          Of the 2, I see less repairs for the ECM barista than the bezzera’s in general. And when you need to fix a bezzera it’s more painful in my experience.
          So out of those 2 it’s a no brainer for me, the ECM everyday. The barista is also now a discontinued machine so it may get cheaper. Still very serviceable and excellent quality. You also may find some small accessories upgraded as a surprise

          A side note on the Quickmill though, make sure you get the au version not the linked Italian version. The au versions will be a bit more expensive but seem to be a better machine than the linked machine above.

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi all (first post, be gentle).

            As an owner of a ECM Barista I thought I would comment. I've had my ECM for almost 6 years now and it's been a brilliant machine. I've serviced it around 4 times with not much work done to it besides replacement of group/piston seals and internal cleaning of any scale that I may have missed. It weighs around 23kg and is pretty rock solid in my opinion. I paid $2,250 for mine in a package which wasn't a bad price at the time.

            It takes 8 minutes for my machine to get up to steam pressure (around 1.3Bar) but of course for best results you want to give it a while to warm up. As Martino says since it's a HX machine so you have to get into the habit of performing a cooling shot before each espresso shot. This doesn't take long to habitualise but it does mean the machine uses more water than it needs to. This leads into the most annoying (but not by any means deal breaking) part of the machine and that is the lack of a low water alarm or level indicator. The amount of times I've been pulling a shot to have the fateful orange light turn off and the pump stop. This leads to a frantic reaction of quickly filling the water tank before burning the coffee. I've seen people perform mods on these machines by using corks on a string to indicate level, my biggest gripe but not the end of the world. Also because it's an heat exchanger it's worth from time to time running water through the hot water tap (to cycle water through the boiler) otherwise the water starts turning blue in the boiler from Calcium deposits.

            I can't comment on the other machines but if you have any other questions about the machine, more than happy to answer them.

            PS> When I first got the machine I didn't use the silicon tube as I wasn't sure what it was for and it's never been in the machine since!

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