Dual boiler espresso machines compared – the big espresso machine test

We tested 12 dual-boiler espresso machines over the past weeks and months side by side. This test series was the most comprehensive we have ever conducted. Each machine was discussed in its href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmDOzgzRfCCC0UUz337pywcq5tmjaSy-J">own video. We covered the most important characteristics, worked out differences, strengths and weaknesses.

The text before you is a comparison of all machines. It was released in parallel with our detailed test and comparison video of all dual-boiler espresso machines.

The following machines were tested: Rocket Appartamento, Lelit Mara X, ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim, Profitec Pro 500, Bezzera BZ10, Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R, Quick Mill Rubino, ACM Homey, Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID, Elba 1 969.coffee, Bezzera Magica, Xenia Espresso

After testing the 12 dual-boilers, we tested additional dual-boilers. A complete list of all tested dual-boilers can be found at the bottom of this page.

The linked video is intended as a supplement to the article. It provides visual material for individual topics in particular. We have set chapter markers to make it easier to find specific information.

As coffee makers, we see ourselves as a coffee school that supports knowledge transfer and exchange in the coffee market. We operate a coffee farm in Nicaragua, a roastery in Basel, and two cafés, and share the knowledge we apply in our courses, articles, and videos.

13 Machines: Michel Aeschbacher with Rocket Appartamento, Lelit Mara X, ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim, Profitec Pro 500, Bezzera BZ10, Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R, Quick Mill Rubino, ACM Homey, Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID, Elba 1 969.coffee, Bezzera Magica, Xenia Espresso

What did we test in the espresso machines?

We go further with this test report. In addition to external craftsmanship and condition, we tested the milk frothing ability of each machine. The espresso machine test provides information about the power consumption of the dual-boilers and shows the temperature constancy when pulling espresso. We show the temperature for each machine from the start of espresso extraction to the end point. The temperature and constancy during brewing is crucial for coffee quality. Depending on the application, an espresso machine should be consistent over multiple shots—first, second, and third espresso. This is especially important if the machine is to be used in a larger household, shared flat, or at a party. We call this attribute "catering" or "shared flat" capability.

The heat-up time of the dual-boilers is important not just for early risers. Here we have some bad news upfront. The heat-up time of all machines does not differ so significantly that we have a clear test winner. We recommend starting all 12 espresso machines 25 minutes before the first shot. Only then are the machines really well heated through, and some machines even need a bit longer.

With this temperature sensor we measured the brewing temperature in the retention basket. Water is released through a small valve at the bottom so the resistance corresponds to pulling an espresso.

Why is there no clear dual-boiler test winner?

In testing, experimenting, and getting to know the twelve espresso machines in depth, we realized it would not be right to announce a ranking or test winner. The qualities of the machines are too different, the strengths too varied, and the possible applications differ as well. The tests were conducted mainly by Michel Aeschbacher and myself, Benjamin Hohlmann. And even we could not finally agree on which machine would be the test winner for each of us.

Michel values a lot of power when steaming milk, and the external finish of the machine and high-quality materials play a major role. For Benjamin, temperature constancy over 5 shots is central, so the espresso machine can also be used well at meetings. And so far we haven't even talked about value for money.

In short, we decided against an absolute ranking and against adding up scores or points per category. Instead, we identify which espresso machines perform best in which category. Based on your own needs, you can then decide which machine is best for you. Sorry we can't make the decision for you.

If there were an espresso machine that really rocks in all categories, we would not hesitate to announce it. Unfortunately, there isn't one. Instead, there are only partial category test winners (and losers), Michel's favorites, Benjamin's favorites, and the value-for-money winner. Enjoy reading.

Craftsmanship and external finish

You can argue about aesthetics and external finish. However, four machines stand out in our test. A bright spot—also because of the beautiful design with wooden handles and in black—is the Xenia. The Xenia espresso machine can be assembled modularly and thus not only takes on the desired look but also the expansion configuration. At your choice, the Xenia comes with one or two retention baskets, in wood or classic, or even bottomless. Each modularity costs separately—but at the same time, you're not overwhelmed with unnecessary tools and gadgets. If you're looking for sharp edges on the Xenia, you're looking in vain.

Xenia Espresso side view

The Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R breaks through in terms of cost structure at +2000 euros/2400 CHF, going beyond our ranking. Accordingly, it boasts materials. The side panels of solid aluminum are 8 mm thick and contribute to the valuable appearance of the Mozzafiato. The craftsmanship is overall good and there are only few sharp edges. The stable feet provide support and the cold touch milk wand rounds off the machine. A built-in clock is a nice additional touch. The Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID is also among the machines that are better crafted. You can tell with it, as with the previously mentioned, that part of the higher purchase price goes into clean edges and thoughtful finishing.

The Lelit Mara X is among the most affordable machines in the entire test. All the more pleasing that it doesn't skimp on external finish. The machine is just 22 cm wide with a depth of 41 cm. Those looking for a powerful-looking espresso machine will favor the Bezzera Magica or Rocket Mozzafiato. The Lelit Mara X is different. It has rounded corners where other machines are angular. It is as quiet as a purring kitten, while the Rocket Appartamento next to it sounds like a tractor starting up. But in terms of external craftsmanship, the Mara plays right at the top. The side walls of the Mara are noticeably thinner than, for example, the walls of a Quick Mill Rubino—they feel a bit tinny when tapped. But this doesn't detract from its positive external appearance.

Recommended dealers for the Lelit Mara X*.

The Lelit Mara X side view.

Solid external design comes from the Profitec Pro 500, the Quick Mill Rubino, Bezzera Magica, Rocket Appartamento (embarrassing plastic railing—that's ridiculous!), Elba, and ECM Mechanika Slim.

The two more affordable machines, the ACM Homey and BZ10, show and feel their price point. Many corners were simply economized on here and not all metal was cleanly finished. You can get annoyed about it or let it go. Because what remains to be noted: while there are sharp spots, both machines are suitable for brewing good espresso. We think: better this way than the other way around.

Water tank – solitary leader

We probably would have skipped this chapter if there weren't such a clear leader. The Xenia espresso machine leaves all other dual-boilers far behind when it comes to water tank flexibility. One could also say that here the machine's developers, Holger Dreißig, is the only one who took the water tank seriously and sought smart solutions.

Freestanding espresso machines have no problem with water filling. But there are settings where a water tank cannot be removed from the top and can only be filled with difficulty with a pitcher. And pitcher filling is problematic anyway because it always carries the risk of putting the espresso machine underwater.

The water tank can be removed laterally on the Xenia. Very practical.

The Xenia offers—as an optional configuration—a lateral insertion. The water tank can be removed from the machine to the left or right and filled that way. This is very practical in a narrow kitchen or a tight usage situation like a camper van.

By the way, the insertion option is also practical because cups sitting on the machine are not obstructed. Good solutions for filling or removing from the top are provided by the Bezzera Magica, Profitec Pro 500, and the ECM Mechanika Slim. The lid can be removed with cups via the railing. Many other machines have reduced cup space and have a lid attached.

The most unpleasant water tank removal is offered by the ACM Homey (Video 11:25). Since there is no handle attached and the slot next to the water tank is too small to grip, removing the tank is a hassle. The water tank removal of the Elba 969 is also among the poorly thought-out options. First all cups must be uncovered, then a plastic grid and finally a lid must be removed. The handles of the water tank are flimsy and so the finger-water canister struggle follows here too.

Supplied tamper

A retention basket is good when it finishes flush with the edge of the sieve and the metal base sinks so deep that you can feel the edge of the sieve with the flush base with your fingers. The tamper of the Lelit Mara X performs this best. The tamper resembles some professional tampers and is in the ideal size with a diameter of 58.5 mm. Cleverly, only the bottom ring has exactly this diameter. This means the tamper closes cleanly with the wall of the sieve at the pressure surface. At the same time, the tamper doesn't sit so tight that a vacuum forms when pulling it out. Many flush tampers suck the perfectly tamped grounds back up and thus create potential channeling spots.

Both Quick Mill models also come with a wooden tamper. However, the standard size of 58 mm leaves too much space at the edge. A shame—the base itself has a good thickness and helps with even tamping.

The tamper of the ECM Mechanika Slim and Profitec Pro 500 is pleasing from the craftsmanship and sits almost perfectly in the retention basket. It fits more flush than the Rocket and Quick Mill tampers. However, the thickness of the base of the tamper is somewhat less, which means the tamper sinks into the retention basket during tamping. This makes it harder to keep the tamper straight.

The two Rocket models each come with an aluminum tamper in the package. The distance to the sieve edge is too large. Handling and aesthetics are certainly a matter of taste. For larger hands, the tamper is too small. The upper pressure point has a straight edge in contrast to the other tampers. Less pleasant—but certainly not a deal-breaker. The tamper seems to fit next to the Rocket Appartamento. For the Rocket Mozzafiato in the upper price segment, a higher-quality tamper would have looked good.

The other espresso machines are supplied without a tamper or without anything that deserves that name. Many machines have a plastic alibi tamper in the package. However, next to a high-quality dual-boiler machine, that's a bad joke. With the Xenia, purchasing a tamper is an optional possibility. In our view, it makes sense.

A retention basket manufacturer doesn't have to be a tamper manufacturer. But if they supply a tamper, please make it a decent one. Tampers are often collector's pieces and are purchased separately anyway. There are many great tampers from small manufacturers, e.g., from Tidaka, Hauck, Prorista.

Retention baskets of the espresso machines

Retention baskets and sieves are important tools for the brewing process. They differ in handling, tampability, and the quality of the sieves. In many videos we've discussed that a good retention basket positions the outlets away from the espresso machine. The main reason is that you can only tamp at the edge of the table this way, which is the best option in everyday use. It's quick, clean, and the retention basket doesn't need to be awkwardly threaded into a tamper station and potentially loosen the grounds in the process.

With the option on the left, you quickly slip when tamping and destroy the puck.

Our perspective is "gastronomic". We've already built tamper stations in coffee bars, but ultimately the barista always tamped at the edge of the bar on a tamping mat. This is always possible with gastronomic machines because the outlets are positioned accordingly.

The outlets of the retention baskets of the following machines make tamping easier.

• ECM Mechanika Slim. However, what looks ugly is that the outlet is very wide, which causes the espresso to flicker when flowing and flows from left to right. This has no effect on taste, but sometimes looks like channeling and doesn't provide such nice photos. 😊
• The Xenia Espresso tamper is chic—we caught a great wooden design. You pay extra for this, but it does make an impression. The outlets are positioned in our desired direction, but unfortunately just as wide as the ECM Mechanika Slim, which can lead to the described flickering effect.
• One of the most beautiful tampers in the field comes with the Profitec Pro 500. "Assembled correctly," pointed outlets, and it fits well in the hand.
• Similarly pleasing is the retention basket of the Elba 969 and the ACM Homey. Both have matte retention baskets that feel good in the hand.

"Too futuristic," says Michel. "Clever," says Benjamin. The retention basket of the Lelit Mara X

The retention basket of the Lelit Mara X breaks from the mold of classic retention baskets. The espresso is dispensed to the back and then flows forward and is visible. Michel's and my opinions diverge on this. Michel finds the retention basket "too futuristic." I like that Lelit was once more creative and offers new solutions. It looks great the way the espresso flows forward and becomes visible. While you also can't tamp the Lelit retention basket at the table edge. Since the outlets don't rest on the ground, they don't get dirty and carry coffee particles that would later end up in the espresso. That's one of our main arguments against tamping with a standing tamper. Additionally, classic retention baskets stand at an angle, making it difficult to tamp straight. However, the Lelit retention basket stands straight—this problem doesn't exist.

The retention basket outlets of the other machines are twisted, making tamping more difficult. They are otherwise "classic," though the retention basket of the Bezzera Magica deviates in form.

The twisted retention baskets are directly related to the size of the drip trays. The further a drip tray extends from the espresso machine, or the closer the brew group sits to the body of the machine, the less danger there is that water will drip in front of the machine during rinsing and extraction. In addition to the BZ10, the Rocket Appartamento and the Bezzera Magica drip water on the table surface during rinsing.

Noise level of the espresso machines

Does the noise level of an espresso machine play a major role? Not for espresso quality. But whoever has already skipped espresso in the morning because the rest of the house was still sleeping knows how interesting a quiet espresso machine can be. However, it should be noted that almost every espresso grinder is louder. Therefore, the noise level of the espresso machine may be less relevant. For some, the Rocket Appartamento, which leads the noise field at 83 decibels, might even sound good. Free to the motto: even if I roar off on my motorcycle, I want the rest of the village to know about it.

The other values:

• Quick Mill Andreja: 75 – 78
• Quick Mill Rubino: 79 – 80
• ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim: 79 – 81
• Rocket Mozzafiatto Cronometro R: 68 – 70
• Profitec Pro 500: 78 – 80
• Xenia Espresso: 75 – 77
• Bezzera Magica: 78 – 80
• Elba 1, 969.coffee: 78
• Bezzera BZ 10: 75 – 77
• ACM Homey: 79 – 80
• Lelit Mara X: 71

For the record: we measured the noise level quite amateurishly with a cell phone, maintaining the same distance. Don't pin us down on the decibel values. However, the values still give you an orientation. For all sound-sensitive folks: here's the audio file to listen for yourself.

Power consumption and energy efficiency

As with all electrical appliances, the actual power consumption of espresso machines is hardly readable from the power specifications. For the Lelit Mara X, for example, it is 1400 W and for the Rocket Appartamento 1200 W. However, these values indicate consumption at full load. We were interested in how this looks over several operating hours and what fluctuations occur with which machine.

For the measurement, we used power meters from mystrom. With the appropriate app, we arrived at the following values.

How should the power consumption table of espresso machines be read? The machine is heated for 25 minutes. Subsequently, according to the temperature measurement test instructions (see below), 5 double espressos are pulled at approximately 1-minute intervals. After completing this simulation, the power consumption is recorded. Subsequently, 2 hours later, a double espresso is simulated (5 s rinse / 30 seconds water draw) and the power consumption is recorded. After another 2 hours, a double espresso is similarly simulated and the machine is cleaned. For this, a backflush is performed 5 times for 4 seconds each. Then the machine is turned off and the power consumption is recorded.

The Lelit Mara X is the only machine in the test with an eco mode. More and more machines are being built with eco mode. The eco mode of the Lelit Mara X kicks in after 30 minutes and stops active boiler heating. By the way, this is somewhat annoying in everyday use if you just miss the 30-minute window. One reason why we can't imagine the Lelit Mara X as a training machine in our home barista courses.

Interestingly, the machine does not consume more power despite multiple heat-ups than other machines. The insulated boiler greatly contributes to preventing a large temperature drop, so there is still plenty of heat in the boiler after two hours. In fact, the machine was also already usable after 5 minutes (it normally heats up for 25 minutes). Over the course of testing, the power efficiency of the Lelit Mara X keeps improving.

In addition, the Xenia Espresso and the BZ10 perform well—both machines that do NOT have a classic Faema E61 brew group with a circulating thermosiphon principle. In both machines, the brew head is electrically heated. From an energy perspective, this shows the potential of this principle. The Xenia Espresso also demonstrates that such a brew head certainly doesn't harm temperature constancy. Machines with large boilers and those without insulation perform particularly poorly.

Milk foam and steaming capability and cappuccino power

Dual-boiler espresso machines are distinguished from single-boilers in that espresso can be pulled and milk can be steamed in parallel. How quickly the milk heats up, how much power each machine delivers to the 0.6L pitcher when steaming, and how the overall steaming experience feels—we compared all of this.

Michel Aeschbacher locked in the espresso and started the extraction. After 10 seconds of runtime, he briefly released the condensation water from the milk wand. After about 17 seconds, we started steaming.

In the direct comparison of the machines, we also gathered new insights for ourselves. The displayed boiler pressure is not a 1:1 translation of power to the milk wand. Some machines seemed rather powerless at steaming despite a display of +1 bar, while other espresso machines still delivered decent pressure at 0.8 bar.

Regardless of pressure, some machines heated the milk faster than others. Generally, this allows for longer steaming before the milk gets too hot. This means the stretching and rolling phase can be extended, and this tends to—especially for latte art beginners—provide an advantage: more time. The ideal performance is: powerful pressure with simultaneous slow heating.

Steaming capability in direct comparison

The Rocket Appartamento steams with lots of power. It's a joy to steam with, easily gets the whole pitcher spinning, and yet the milk doesn't heat too quickly. Good for beginners and pros.

The Lelit Mara X has less power than the Appartamento. The built-up pressure is absolutely suitable for steaming though. At the same time, the milk heats relatively slowly. Pretty good for beginners.

The ACM Homey delivers real power from the milk wand. It steams fast and hot. Requires some practice.

The Bezzera BZ10 also has plenty of power and easily gets the milk spinning without finding the perfect point in the pitcher. Very good for steaming for ambitious beginners and pros.

The Elba 1 from 969.coffee also delivers solid performance. Michel's statement: "It perhaps gets a bit hotter faster and at the same time has less pressure. But that's more of a perceived statement." Overall good and we have nothing to complain about.

The Bezzera Magica also delivers good performance. Lots of power and a nice rolling phase are guaranteed. Does warm up quite quickly.

Simultaneous milk steaming while pulling espresso is not easy with the Xenia.

We studied the Xenia Espresso the most regarding milk foam. It already had difficulties with our first test allowing simultaneous brewing and steaming. The Xenia has two modes: once the classic espresso mode, which delivers very consistent temperature and correspondingly good espressos, and a heating mode. If you press the start button to the right while pulling, the espresso mode runs. With a button press to the left, the Xenia heats while pulling espresso and stabilizes the boiler pressure this way.

In espresso mode, the boiler pressure dropped below 0.5 bar. Difficult to nearly impossible to steam milk this way. The milk can't be properly moved and so many large bubbles remain on the milk.

In heating mode, the pressure is more stable and doesn't drop below 0.5 bar anymore. It's then easier to steam. Compared to the other tested machines, steaming performance is still at the lower end of the table. However, the manufacturer is constantly working on workarounds and is very close to the user community. For those who value milk steaming more than espresso performance, a firmware switch can improve the settings. However, it seems more sensible to us to wait longer after espresso extraction so the boiler pressure stabilizes. Milk foam performance improves significantly this way, though not to the point of being good.

The Profitec Pro 500 has markedly less power than the other Faema E61 brew groups. Michel compares the steaming behavior to the Xenia button combination to the left (heating mode). Interesting for us: the displayed boiler pressure stays high. However, we feel little of that in the pitcher.

Michel had steaming fun with the Quick Mill Rubino. Nice rolling phase, lots of circulation. You can make good milk foam this way.

At the top of the line, the Rocket Mozzafiato Cronometro R kicks it up. Steaming is powerful, though also gets hot quickly. Definitely interesting for ambitious users.

The ECM Manufacture Mechaninka V Slim delivers solid steaming performance. "Not much and not little," Michel sums up the steaming.

The Quick Mill Andreja Premium PID ranks at the bottom of the table along with Xenia and Profitec Pro. The pressure is too low to get the milk fully rotating. Since we're already at the upper limit with brewing temperature, we can't increase boiler pressure further.

How is milk steamed?

In the first phase of steaming, we bring temperature and volume to the milk. Air is incorporated and bubbles form. This part of steaming is called the stretching phase.

In the second and subsequent rolling phase, the bubbles that have formed are broken down and the milk foam becomes creamy-silky and shiny. This consistency is very well suited for pouring latte art on a cappuccino.

Temperature constancy during extraction and from shot to shot

To brew very good espresso, temperature constancy during the brewing phase is essential. In an article and video, Phillipp Schallberger and Michel Aeschbacher worked this out. In their comparison test, they recommend an average brewing temperature of 93 degrees. At temperatures of 88 degrees, the tasted coffees were unpleasantly sour, harsh, and had an astringent aftertaste. Channeling also occurred more frequently. At temperatures of 96 degrees, bitterness was overwhelming and acidity was no longer balanced. Texture decreased even though the concentration of dissolved coffee solids (TDS, strength) increased.

In our test series, we investigated two things.

1. Constancy during extraction. We noted how much the temperature deviates from the 1st to the last second during an extraction. As our sample extraction, we examined the second extraction of five extractions.
2. Family, shared flat, and catering suitability. Those who only want to drink one espresso are less dependent on the third and fourth espresso still being at the target temperature. However, when several espressos are pulled in a row through a larger household in the morning, temperature constancy over multiple shots matters. It's also important to give users confidence. If temperature constantly fluctuates, it creates uncertainty when brewing.

How constant does temperature remain over 25 seconds?

To measure constancy along the brewing time, we compared the temperature at three temperature points and looked at the difference after 5 seconds, after 13 seconds, and after 22 seconds.

In the first few seconds, the coffee grounds are being saturated and the actual brewing temperature at the sensor must first be reached.

Overall, it can be said that almost all machines deliver surprisingly good temperature constancy during the brewing time. Particularly noteworthy are the Rocket Appartamento with a variance of only 0.17 degrees between second 5 and 22. The Bezzera Magica ranks in with a difference of -0.18 degrees. Additionally, the Xenia (switch right), the Rocket Mozzafiato, the Elba 1, the Quick Mill Rubino, and the ACM Homey deliver good results with less than 0.5 degree fluctuations during extraction. That's sensational and much better than we expected just months ago.

The Quick Mill Andreja (0.53), the ECM Manufacture Mechanika V Slim (0.87), and the Lelit Mara X (0.89) also deliver good results. The Bezzera BZ10 comes in at 1.02 and the Profitec Pro 500 at -1.44—that's all perfectly fine. With the Profitec Pro 500, it should be added that this drop happens quite at the end of extraction, where little significant is being extracted from the coffee grounds anyway. It's possible that for some coffees, this temperature drop toward the end might even have positive effects.

Important notes: for the measurement, we based each on the second espresso. We recommend using the first shot for heating the retention basket and rinsing the shower to remove any residue from cleaning powder.

Measurements were taken after the temperature adjustment of the machines. A real criticism point is that some espresso machines were not supplied with sufficient brewing temperature. While a PID controller can be adjusted relatively easily by yourself, and you also don't know exactly what temperature you'll end up with at home, we had to adjust the pressure and thus temperature on the Bezzera BZ 10, Bezzera Magica, and ACM Homey via the pressostat. We would recommend buying these machines exclusively from a local dealer and getting them to guarantee that the temperature has been checked on-site!

Constancy over 5 shots

"Who needs 5 shots anyway," you might rightfully say. That's 10 espressos after all. Yes, indeed, but…

Do you know what temperature you're at if it keeps rising and falling?! The Rocket Appartamento is a good example. The second shot was nearly perfect in terms of constancy and temperature. While the first shot had an average temperature of 93.98 degrees, shot 5 was only at an average of 90.32 degrees. Thus the Rocket performed in the middle tier of dual-boilers. More of a machine for two to three shots and one that needs to be known and understood.

In comparison, the Xenia when the extraction button is pressed to the right resembles a straight line, increasing just 0.88 degrees over 5 shots.

Even more consistent, the Rocket Mozzafiato delivers with a temperature loss of 0.47 degrees. However, we have another clear criticism point with the Rocket Mozzafiato. At maximum boiler temperature, namely 124 degrees on the PID control, the machine delivered only 90.48 degrees in the 1st shot. That's definitely too cold. Since no thermostat—but a PID controller with sensor—is installed, we couldn't raise the temperature ourselves either, which harmed espresso quality. Lots of sourness—not tasty!

In terms of constancy over multiple shots, these three machines are alone at the top. With just over two degrees variance, the BZ10 follows, then the Bezzera Magica at -2.12, and the ECM Mechanika V Slim with -2.21 degrees.

The ACM Homey (3.28), the Andreja (-2.33), the Appartamento (-3.65) perform in the mid-tier. The worst performance at both switch positions (steam and brew mode) is the Lelit Mara X.

Similarly, the Profitec Pro 500, the Quick Mill Rubino, and the Elba 1 don't perform well.

Particularly the performance of the Lelit Mara X is of course problematic, especially since it shows such good performance in so many other categories. It's worth getting to know this machine really well, and the other machines that lose temperature, to get everything out of them.

Those who buy one of the consistent machines like the Xenia, the Mozzafiato, or even Bezzera Magica, know what they have and can find the right temperature with less effort.

Heat-up time of the espresso machine

The heat-up time of the espresso machine sometimes determines whether you're awake or still asleep in the morning. So it matters! Bad news: if you're waiting next to the espresso machine for the first shot, you shouldn't buy a dual-boiler. Unfortunately, we have no good news for you. No machine is significantly faster to reach the magic 25-minute threshold. Sorry!

The Xenia Espresso reaches acceptable brewing temperature fastest after 18 minutes. However, we also measure only 88 degrees at that point, and that's not really tasty. If you're serious about that first espresso, then wait your 25 minutes. Our Xenia model has a heating element built into the brew group. There's also the option to install a second element, and then everything should go faster.

When we can test this at some point, we'll add it here.

Otherwise, our conclusion on heat-up time is: wait 25 minutes, use a timer, or buy a thermoblock. With dual-boilers, it takes time for the boiler and brew group to really reach temperature. If that stresses you, then this isn't the right machine for you to enjoy.

All dual-boilers tested over the years

Meaning of symbols:
⏱ tested, will be published soon
✓ tested and published
📦 ordered, not yet tested

We will cover various dual-boiler machines from entry-level to high-end models. At the end of this article, we collect suggestions for tests of dual-boiler espresso machines.

Here you can read what else we've tested.

Manufacturer	Machine	Technology	Status	Video
969.coffee	Elba 1	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
ACM	Homey	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Bezzera	BZ10	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Bezzera	Magica	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
ECM	Mechanika V Slim	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Kaffeemaschinen AG	La Basilea Pro	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Lelit	Mara X V2	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Profitec	Jump	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Profitec	Pro 400	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Profitec	Pro 500	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Quick Mill	Andreja Premium PID	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Quick Mill	Rubino	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Rocket	Appartamento	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Rocket	Appartamento TCA	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Rocket	Giotto Cronometro	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Rocket	Mozzafiato R Fast	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Rocket	Mozzafiato Cronometro R PID	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Sanremo	Cube	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Stone	Stone	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video
Xenia	Xenia	Dual-boiler	✓	Go to video

*We search for specialist partners for you that we know do good work and good service. We are in close contact with the dealers. These are commission links. If you order through this link, it doesn't cost you more, but we get a small commission that we invest in new testing equipment.