What could be more charming than a domestic espresso machine, whose 150 components are predominantly produced and assembled "locally"!? We're talking about Olympia Express – a company that has been a pioneer in espresso machine production in Switzerland for over 80 years.
The company and brand are cult. The durability is legendary. In fact, machines are still available that have dispensed espresso for 30 years. The espresso machine manufacturer, taken over by Schätti Metallwarenfabrik AG in Schwanden in 2011, communicates strongly through tradition, materiality, coffee quality and experience.
We want to focus particularly on these factors in this test. Price classification is difficult because all other tested dual boiler espresso machines are produced "differently" and operate in a different price range (CHF 1200 – 2500). The Olympia Express Maximatic is available for around CHF 4000 and is listed in the euro area at EUR 3690 for example at Manufactum. This makes the machine the most expensive dual boiler espresso machine we know of.
Aside from cult status, durability and coffee quality, we have some expectations.
Materiality par excellence
How we've cursed over the last weeks and months during our dual boiler tests about undeburred metal edges and thin "semi-metal". Not so with the Olympia Express Maximatic! The small dual boiler is also one of the heaviest, most robust and above all best-built espresso machines. The approximately 18 kilogram weight is quite a statement. Nothing wobbles when you lock in the portafilter.
The polished stainless steel of the front and upper part feels twice as thick as the outer skin of the BZ10 from Bezzera. The Lelit Mara X, by contrast, feels as soft as a pillow. And the edges are butter-soft, even on the drip tray, whose punched holes on almost all machines we know would work as a grater for potatoes. The powder-coated side panels also make a good impression. It's a joy!
The stainless steel water tank with a capacity of 1.5 liters is also a joy. This is usually plastic, and of the cheap kind. With the Olympia water tank, you could probably drive carpenter's nails into it.
The Olympia Express Maximatic
The machine is very compact and at 19.5 cm wide is narrower than a DIN A4 sheet. A depth of 34 cm and a height of 37 cm ensure that the machine fits well in any niche, but also looks impressive standing alone.
What we really like: the brew boiler can also be opened from above. This theoretically allows direct access and easier descaling. With classic dual boilers, we advise against doing this yourself because residue can remain in the boiler and clog the valves. With the Olympia Express Maximatic, this is less of a problem (but be warned, never open while hot).
Function of the Olympia Express Maximatic – reduced to the essentials
In terms of function, the Olympia Express Maximatic is completely reduced to essentials. Make espresso and steam milk.
The machine heats up to operating temperature in around 20 minutes. The machine's own brew group heats up well through a heat bridge to the boiler. This is important so that the brew temperature in the portafilter doesn't drop due to a cool ambient temperature. The brew temperature of the machine is constant for individual shots. We measured an average brew temperature of 93 degrees, with only fluctuations of half a degree up and down. That's exemplary!
The drip tray of the Olympia Express Maximatic is very small.
However, the small boiler of the machine (0.75 l) is not designed for continuous use. By the fifth shot in a row at the latest, the machine's temperature drops. Since the Olympia Express Maximatic cannot be connected to mains water, it is not designed for continuous use anyway.
Steaming milk with the Maximatic also works well. Initially, the small boiler even built up quite powerful pressure, but this declined noticeably during the rolling phase. We therefore recommend steaming only pitchers of 0.35l size.
Water dispensing is triggered and stopped with a button. Steaming is started via a plastic dial. Unlike most other espresso machines, tea water cannot be dispensed with the Maximatic. We didn't really miss this since we wouldn't recommend the water from the boilers sensorily anyway. For quickly preparing an Americano (long espresso) a dispensing option would of course be convenient.
Missed opportunities and what we don't like
Unfortunately, the precision in terms of material choice and workmanship doesn't carry through all aspects of the machine. The small size of the drip tray is less of an issue. But it is impractical that it feels like the tray needs to be emptied after every 5 espressos or so. This is because when the extraction ends, the excess water from the lines drains into the tray.
Too small included tamper of the Olympia Express Maximatic
Olympia itself describes the milk wand as "extra long". We find it "quite short" and especially fixed in the angle of inclination. This makes steaming and proper positioning difficult. The plastic dial to start the steaming process also falls short compared to the rest of the material.
What really surprised us is that Olympia Express doesn't put a rubber coating over the milk wand. While this isn't pretty, it does allow you to grasp the wand. All other machines on the market have either a rubber coating, a plastic handle, or a "Cold Touch" tube, which doesn't get hot on the outside.
An absolute no-go is the size of the tamper in relation to the diameter of the basket. A good tamper closes at the edge of the basket and "tamps" the entire coffee puck accordingly. The included tamper leaves a gap of a good 2 mm. This provokes channeling and indeed we struggled with channeling in the extractions.
Conclusion and thoughts on the Olympia Express Maximatic
First: we've made very good espresso and decent cappuccino with the Olympia Express Maximatic. The material language and choice are really excellent. The fact that the machine is built in Switzerland, the components aren't randomly sourced and the machine aims to be built for eternity – this puts the price of CHF 4000 in reasonable perspective.
In other words: if an espresso machine for CHF 500 lasts 3 years and the Olympia Express lasts 30 years, then the Olympia is cheaper and easily pays for itself. And especially in a throwaway production society, we find this long-term perspective very, very valuable and "local" production anyway. And we also find tradition invaluably precious, but also binding.
Experience and tradition can be used to further develop an already high-quality machine and respond to market impulses. A good example is steam wands. Cold touch wands are now standard across all price categories in espresso machines. You save yourself the ugly rubber coating and can still grasp the wand. Olympia Express needs to get on board with this!
That a machine that emphasizes precision includes a tamper that doesn't even fit the portafilter is incomprehensible. Tamper development has evolved further in recent years and for a 58mm basket, tampers of 58.4 or 58.5 are now used that close perfectly at the edge. This especially helps inexperienced users prepare a good espresso.
The Olympia Express Maximatic has seen no further development in a long time, yet the product could simply be improved and upgraded. Since the machine is button-controlled, programmable water dispensing for all inexperienced home baristas would be a great help to safely achieve a good brew ratio.
We think it's right that the machine forgoes digital bells and whistles. But a shot timer would be an enormous benefit for the machine. This could also have a pointer – how brilliant would that be!
The portafilter itself also doesn't feel as high-quality in terms of material as the rest of the machine. Another easy upgrade would be replacing the plastic dial of the milk wand.
Difficult, this test. Difficult for us to make a statement about who the right person for this machine is. In a pure price-performance test, we have to say: you can get more for less. In terms of durability, the Olympia Express Maximatic sets standards, but also leaves some potential on the table.
The machine is a collector's piece. And learning to love the rough edges is part of any love affair.
Update: We received a tip from a user of the machine that the durability of the machine may not be so good after all. We have repair invoices totaling over EUR 1400 resulting from three repairs in less than four years.
Have any of you had similar experiences? Please write to us in the comments.
