Profitec Pro T64 review (2016)

[Plane24]

As I understand it (and this info is available online) ECM and Profitec are two brands of the same company. Both are based in Germany where the design team work. Some manufacturing is outsourced to a well respected Italian espresso company but they are increasingly bringing manufacturing back to Germany. In terms if quality ECM and Profitec are virtually identical. ECM is arguably more experimental and Profitec more tried and true e.g. levers on an ECM versus rotary knobs on Profitec. Inside the machines design and quality are virtually identical.

That is my understanding but am happy to be corrected.

[Coldstone]

Thank you both for the comparison!
I guess when it comes to the ECM vs Profitec they are very similar and comes down to mostly aesthetics and the way they operate. The Fausto is more of a different machine, I'm not very impressed with its operation.

How would you say they all compare in noise? I thought the Fausto was quite noisy but maybe they are all around the same level?

If i'm not mistake ECM and Profitec are sister companies, ECM in Germany Profitec in Italy

[338]

i have also recently bought the T64 but couldn't afford the 700 so i've paired it with the Quick Mill Alexia Evo expecting it to arrive Wednesday August 24th, how you getting on with yours? namely calibration, cleaning and general use , any regrets?
Do you have any helpful tips in using it?
Thanks in advance

Welcome to the forums Coldstone. When you click on someones name you can see when they were last online, BSChucha was Feb 2016, so you may not get a quick reply as you question was addressed to him

[Coldstone]

I recently bought the T64 (along with the Profitec Pro 700) and share many of your sentiments on the grinder so far. I also had only the Mazzer Mini for comparison and like the T64 better too!

I'm still very new to this and working at dialing in the grinder...it seems that the range of grind adjustment that is practically usable for espresso has to be a relatively small range on the adjustment collar. With that in mind, I'm curious what setting you started at? I think there are 10 "notches" between each number on the collar...

Thanks for any info you might have, and great review btw!

Ben

i have also recently bought the T64 but couldn't afford the 700 so i've paired it with the Quick Mill Alexia Evo expecting it to arrive Wednesday August 24th, how you getting on with yours? namely calibration, cleaning and general use , any regrets?
Do you have any helpful tips in using it?
Thanks in advance

[ShaunQ]

Thanks for confirming Kafine, will have another go in the morning but pretty sure it doesn't work on my machine. Can you confirm what firmware you're T64 is on? Mine is 3.01 which shows for a few seconds when you first power on the T64. Have sent Profitec a message, hopefully hear back from them oneday soon.

[Kafine]

Yes if I push the + key the display is blank except for a single dot. My portafiller is a convertible stainless that can be either normal or naked. The adjustment is not enough to fit as it’s too thick from top to bottom. Not a real problem as I have my VBM one or I can use a doser stainless container.

[ShaunQ]

Anyone know if there is a secret hack/key combo you can press to remove the blinking screen display? All the time the grinder is powered on the screen cycles through the two different timed settings for the two buttons, damned annoying! I did see on an online video a tip that said you just have to press the + button once to disable the screen display, but doesn't seem to work for me.

Trying to keep my coffee station as analogue looking as possible

[herzog]

When you say the portafilter doesn’t fit, do you mean it won’t clip in under the hook that holds it on the rest?

The position of the hook is adjustable, have you tried this?

[Kafine]

Now that it’s dialled in I am experiencing a different coffee experience. I wouldn’t have believed the difference in taste i now get. I get consistent shots with very little adjustments needed and it’s a much faster,quieter and cleaner experience. Only problem I have is the portafilter doesn’t fit and I needed to go back to the stock version VBM one. Well worth the upgrade.

[Plane24]

I have owned a T64 for around 18 months. Could not be happier. Perfect, fast, repeatable results. The taste of the coffee is so much better than my previous (quite well regarded but simple) grinder. It has had a much bigger impact on flavour than my purchase of a more expensive (Profitec 700) espresso machine. I adore my 700 but ... when all is said and done an espresso machine just pumps water through ground coffee at a particular temperature and pressure. A grinder has a much more complex job to do and its impact is, in my opinion, more noticeable.

[degaulle]

I know it’s an old thread but I just had my coffee machine serviced and while at Jetblack Espresso I decided an upgrade for the Compak K3 I’ve owned for 7 years was overdue. I purchased a Profitec T64 and couldn’t be happier. Not dialled in properly yet but it’s fast,clean, quiet and the coffee tasted very good despite a fast pour. I was frustrated with the old setup not getting repeatable results which I believe the T64 will deliver.

How has your T64 done now that you must have it dialed in and probably broken in? Just curious, because I was seriously looking at the ECM S64 (very similar I believe) while still owning a K3 Touch.

BTW since my use has become really low volume I have settled on a Kinu M47 hand grinder which I have been very happy with so far. Due to the lack of purging I pull more shots out of each bag and compared to the K3 Touch it seems to have more latitude in controlling the grind size accurately, although dialing back in after cleaning is a bit of a PITA. Meanwhile the K3 is still there in case I have visitors, but who knows...

[Kafine]

Profitec Pro T64 review (2016)

I know it’s an old thread but I just had my coffee machine serviced and while at Jetblack Espresso I decided an upgrade for the Compak K3 I’ve owned for 7 years was overdue. I purchased a Profitec T64 and couldn’t be happier. Not dialled in properly yet but it’s fast,clean, quiet and the coffee tasted very good despite a fast pour. I was frustrated with the old setup not getting repeatable results which I believe the T64 will deliver.

[Magic_Matt]

Ah that's a great idea to re-use the funnel for further distribution after weighing. Nice.

It works really well - took a bit of trial and error to perfect the technique but now provides reliable and replicable distribution with zero clumping. A dosing funnel would probably work just as well, but it's another thing to find a place for. The only trap for young players is to avoid bumping the grinder's dose button with the portafilter and delivering a second dose!

[Arcade]

Ah that's a great idea to re-use the funnel for further distribution after weighing. Nice.

[Magic_Matt]

Does the ECM S-Auto have any clogging issues in the chute? I'm wondering if that's the answer, or if you're better off persevering with the funnel for better grind quality. The ECM V-Titan appears to be the top of the pick of these (love the form factor).

I opted to upgrade from the ECM S-64 to the V-Titan without trying the former... That said I've never had clogging issues with the anti-static grid on the Titan (which I'd say is near identical). The S-64 chute is very steep so I very much doubt you'd get any clogging; I just like to have access for cleaning and thought I might try running it without the grid (which I did for a while but like others found it generated a lot of fines and had a negative impact on flavour).

I also use the funnel as a dosing and distribution tool, so for me it was worthwhile upgrade. I grind into a metal cup, weigh and adjust dose if necessary, then place portafilter in the grinder's holder and pour the dose into the top of the funnel.

Personally I'd still go for either the Profitec T-64 or V-Titan, basically deciding based on whether funds allow for the better looks of the titan.