In ancient time, men had understood something about copper. When they found vessels made of the material kept better quality water, with no slime or no distortion.

Safe For Drinking?

Copper has natural Antimicrobial properties to kill or inactivate 99.9% of microbes, such as bacteria, fungi (including moulds), and viruses.
That even includes the potent and highly infectious E. coli, and the notorious Influenza virus.
As microbes can survive at high temperature and water continuously cycles within the boiler. The copper element exterminates the microbes more actively, which they can’t develop any resistance.

In some nations, there are new restrictions to minimise the amount of metal in food dispensing appliances, thus the introduction of stainless steel boilers.
However, stainless steel has no antimicrobial properties. With a huge amount of water residing in the boiler and valves at different temperatures.
Germination naturally occur; it’s necessary to drain the boiler regularly which is not an easy task to fully accomplish.
During the drainage process, if the pump has been activated for an extended period, it may exert stress leading to damages.

Copper is an essential micronutrient in the human diet, along with zinc and iron. An adult needs 1mg of copper every day.
In a health perspective, the advantage of the copper’s antimicrobial properties provides more advantage than the concern of more copper in the water.

Durability

As copper oxidises over time, it forms a greenish layer of copper oxide which protects the underlying copper from more extensive corrosion.
It’s found that the copper oxide increases its Antimicrobial properties.
Contrary to common belief, any stainless steel will eventually rust. Particularly at parts where metal contacts meet, Thus, inspection and replacement for the boiler have to be done after a length of years.

Conductivity

Copper has one of the best heat conductivity in metal. For an espresso machine, it means start up time is much shorter, with faster recovery for stability.

Summary

The benefits of its durability, its conductivity, and antimicrobial properties make copper boiler the ideal material to be used in espresso machines despite its higher cost.

For Bezzera, the boilers for most of their range are placed horizontally, just like in commercial machines. That will allow easier maintenance and servicing, as well can heat be better radiated to the cup warming plates.

For better heat retention and to quicken the heat up time, some brand insulate their boilers.
There’s no insulation done for Bezzera as it inhibits the heat radiation that cripples the cup warming feature.
Insulation will cause heat to dissipate irregularly and only escape from the top and bottom of the boiler where the key components are, leading to extra thermal stress and reducing the component’s longevity.