Lelit Espresso Machine No 1 Coffee machine Guide – Singapore

Table of Contents

• Lelit Espresso Machine No 1 Coffee machine Guide – Singapore
  • Where are Lelit Espresso Machines from?
  • Why Nobody Heard Of Lelit Espresso Machines In The Past?
  • Where are Lelit espresso machines made from?
  • What’s the E61 coffee machine?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of the E-61 grouphead?
  • Why are E-61 espresso machines popular?
  • What’s the best alternative to Lelit Coffee Machines?
  • Where is Bezzera from?
  • What’s Bezzera’s answer to E-61 grouphead?
  • Why are Bezzera machines so respectable?
  • What makes Bezzera machines different?
  • What types of Coffee Machines does Bezzera produce?
  • What’s the best replacement for Lelit MaraX?
  • What’s the best replacement for Lelit Bianca?
  • What’s the best replacement for Lelit Anita, Victoria, Anna Elizabeth, Kate?
  • Conclusion

Where are Lelit Espresso Machines from?

Lelit espresso machines feature mainly consumer-grade household coffee machines. The brand originated in Italy and was one of the brands we considered to retail in Singapore in the past. The brand was established in 1986 and was known initially as Gemme Italian Producers srl – LELIT.

Lelit and Gemme were the same company, with Lelit as the trademark holder of the products and GEMME as the manufacturer. In 2022, Lelit was 100% taken over by the Australian general appliance company Breville.

Why Nobody Heard Of Lelit Espresso Machines In The Past?

Most people in the specialty coffee scene had never heard of the brand until recently.
Lelit’s core business was in producing clothes iron and ironing boards.

In the past 15 years, they strengthened their focus on espresso machines. Before that, they carried some coffee machines, with most being smaller household models. It was unsure if they produced their machines initially, but soon, they improved their range using the E61 grouphead system. The E61 Grouphead is an open patent system widely known among baristas.

Through Breville’s heavy marketing in the recent years, their reputation among households eventually rose and is now available in many electro mart alongside Delonghi and Krups.

Where are Lelit espresso machines made from?

They are supposedly still assembled in Italy.

It’s unclear if the parts and labour are still 100% made in Italy. As Breville has production in China, some users believe that it could be an internationally sourced product.
This is no surprise as popular brands like Expobar, famous for their Brewtus Double Boilers, were also taken over and later produced in China. This helps to reduce the cost of their machines significantly.

What’s the E61 coffee machine?

The E-61 refers to the grouphead, the brew chamber where the coffee ground is exposed to hot water to extract the espresso. It was developed in 1961 by a company called Faema.

You will need to grind coffee into a holder called a portafilter, press and compact the coffee, and then fit the portafilter onto the grouphead to extract.

The following video shows an E-61 Group in action using a Bezzera Espresso machine.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the E-61 grouphead?

Advantages:

• Thermal stability (If the machine had idled long enough for at least 30 minutes).
• Slightly easier extraction due to pre-infusion.
• Easy to operate.
• Components are easier to source and service.

Disadvantages:

• Longer start-up time due to the thermosyphon system, at least 30 minutes to fully stabilise.
• Significant fluctuation of temperature, especially if the boiler is too small (Below 2 litres)
• Abrasion between brass components results in wear and tear.
• More oil and remnants are trapped within the pre-infusion chamber.
• Higher chance of a dirty-tasting espresso from pollutants retained in the brew chamber.
• Leaching of toxin metal into the boiler from water circulation of exposed brass in the thermosyphon system.

Why are E-61 espresso machines popular?

The patent for E-61 has long expired.

Many producers spawned the creation of their brands by buying the grouphead from OEM manufacturers and attaching to their own heating system. Some would consider such companies to be more like designers and assemblers than inventors. The grouphead still achieved immense success and became an internationally renowned system. Most trained baristas are familiar with operating E61 machines.

When E61 was inaugurated, it was a landmark event that moved the world forward. To this present day, the E61 machines remain some of the best choices you can find. However, over the last half-century, newer inventions prepped on the market, promising features like higher dependability, ampler efficiency and serviceability.

Lastly, stylishness is undisputedly something you can find with E-61 machines. Their exquisite exposed groups are a magnificent décor element for any kitchen countertop, and their timeless Italian design adds upper-class flair.

What’s the best alternative to Lelit Coffee Machines?

You might be delighted to know that the inventor of the modern espresso machines, Bezzera is still producing premium coffee machines. They have established themselves with more than a century of history with the same family still running the company.

When it comes to modern-day espresso machines, you need to know Luigi Bezzera , who invented the first pressurrised coffee makers, over a hundred years ago. You can still find coffee machines made by Bezzera on our website – just head to our espresso machines section.

Now, if you want to get something like the Lelit Marax, Lelit Bianc. – all of which have the E-61 type of design. You can consider the Bezzera Magica, Mitica and the new Bezzera Aria. The new Bezzera Aria features an efficient heat exchanger design and a much smaller footprint.

Bezzera generally prefers commercial designs like Heat Exchangers which produce espressos using a nice range of temperature to best extract the coffee, and they are very reliable. Bezzera being a parts factory, often uses the best food-grade material they can find, matched with professional components similarly used in their cafe machine range.

You can find out more about heat exchangers from the following article: Double Boiler Versus Heat Exchanger

Where is Bezzera from?

Bezzera is from Italy and is located in Milan. The factory still sits on Bezzera Street, named after them,
They are 20km from Milan’s city centre if you wish to visit them.

What’s Bezzera’s answer to E-61 grouphead?

Bezzera does produce E-61 espresso machines, in their original form or with flow control for pressure profiling.

Bezzera is known for making two other types of groupheads. They are the Bezzera BZ Thermal efficient group, a remastered version for the E-61 that corrects some of the significant issues like the slow start-up time. The BZ grouphead is also much cleaner and capable of making clearer-tasting espressos due to lesser areas for remnants to retain.

Bezzera BZ Thermal Efficient

They are designed specifically for a few things in addition to great-tasting espressos. They are designed to be easier to service, quicker and smaller.

The 20 small parts in the E61 group, had been replaced by an electronic solenoid, a simple switch that turns on and off via electromagnetism. Most espresso machines with boilers should have at least one solenoid.

Instead of the thermosyphon system that traps a lot of limescale in the grouphead, and has a very slow start-up time. The BZ has a small heating cartridge that constantly keeps the group warm, even if there’s a significant displacement of water in the boiler from heavy usage. Heat recovery is always faster due to the extra heating element and smaller boiler required.

The start-up time for an E61, usually needs at least 30 to 60 minutes to stabilise, depending on its boiler size and material used. As compared, the BZ thermal efficient group only needs 12 to 15 minutes to stabilize. Some users have this misconception that E61 is properly heated up in 10 minutes, that is only enough for the boiler to heat up, the grouphead needs a longer time to stabilize.

From our service records, the ratio of units that require servicing on the E61 compared to the BZ group-head is 11:1!

Bezzera Strega

If you like the best espresso machines that marrys quality of extraction and durability, you will have to consider such Spring Piston lever espresso machines. This concept was formed even earlier than the E-61, in 1942.

The beauty of this machine is the way it extracts in varying pressure; it cuts off the sourest and the bitter ends of the coffee and releases a broader spectrum of flavours. Many of the most advanced and expensive commercial machines in the market, replicate the pressure profiles of such spring pistons.

This machine requires minimal cleaning and has the longest durability among espresso machines of the same league. As the spring compression does the extraction, instead of the pump.

Why are Bezzera machines so respectable?

It is one of the only few factories in Italy with a complete production plant that can build an espresso machine from scratch! A watch company is only respectable if it can invent its watch movement. In the same way, Bezzera not only has the E61 group; they have the expertise to develop their more efficient system or espresso machines that produce better espresso and are more reliable.

They have been OEM producers, producing for other brands, including Pasquini, ECM (previously) and more. They have over a century of experience understanding what’s essential for espresso machines and can produce safer and more effective espresso machines of cafe quality. In addition, their engineers have optimised the chassis and layout of the internal components to be always accessible to service, which means improved serviceability and a much longer lifespan for your machines.

What makes Bezzera machines different?

Wise engineers will know that the more mechanical features are added to a machine, the more parts are added and the higher chance for failure. Which in turn reduces its reliability and also increases the cost of repairs.

Bezzera is one of the few companies that has a specialised R&D department in making machines. Rather than focusing on including more unnecessary features to capture novice customers who only read from the feature list. Bezzera would only consider adding a feature if it has done enough stress tests and the feature gives enough benefit to the customer to reward the risk of adding more parts to fail.

Bezzera pays much attention to the simplest things that even discerning consumers are often unaware of. For example, they make full use of their understanding of hydrodynamics and the science of coffee to get better coffee with good engineering designs instead of adding more spares.

They also pay a lot of attention to the safety and strength of the material used. For example, avoid regular brass but use food-grade brass or brass that has been plated. All machines are also individually tested before sending them out of their factory.

The side panels, drip tray and chassis are always thick stainless steel, and the boiler is always made of pure copper. Brass fittings, sealants, and gaskets are certified food-grade quality that surpasses the industry’s standard. They produce both commercial espresso machines, as well as compact home espresso machines. Though the domestic espresso machine range is smaller, they still use professional internal components without compromising quality.

What types of Coffee Machines does Bezzera produce?

Bezzera has a line-up of heat exchangers and dual boiler, but most are heat exchangers due to being more reliable. The heat exchanger boiler extracts espresso with a declining temperature profile. This is perfect as a declining temperature profile produces a better result with darker roast coffee, which more casual drinkers prefer.

The machines allow the barista to extract expresso and froth milk simultaneously. The amount of steam for frothing is always great for lattes or cappuccinos. For demanding usage, they have machines with rotary pump and PID controller, one can connect to the tap. The PID controls and allows the temp to be adjustable.

They also have a line-up of machines with an internal reservoir and use an inexpensive vibration pump. As a result, they are affordable without compromising the quality and features you expect from a cafe environment machine. For example, rather than using a timer which can be inaccurate, they usually use volumetric control to measure. Machines also have an automatic refill to ensure that the boiler stays dry.

They also have the famous Bezzera Strega, which gives a vast amount of pre-infusion when the group saturate with water and can do pressure profiling just like commercial machines in Italy. They are known to be incredibly tough and built like a tank.

What’s the best replacement for Lelit MaraX?

If you like Lelit MaraX mainly due to its tiny footprint, then the Bezzera BZ thermal efficient range should be something to look at. This includes popular models like the BZ10 and BZ Crema. The Bezzera grouphead can start up twice as fast and recover lost heat more quickly. The Bezzera machines are also much more affordable and easier to service in the long run.

Suppose you like the Lelit MaraX due to E-61. Then, you can go for the Bezzera Magica or Aria range. The Bezzera Magica has a 2 litres boiler to stabilise the temperature better and the Aria has a much smaller foot print.

What’s the best replacement for Lelit Bianca?

Suppose you like Lelit Bianca mainly due to the flow control. Then wait till you see the new Bezzera Aria TOP PID.

It has a faster start-up time, always uses fresh water, and is much more reliable. It, too has flow control.

What’s the best replacement for Lelit Anita, Victoria, Anna Elizabeth, Kate?

If you need something fast, small and efficient, we suggest going for the Bezzera BZ10 or the BZ Crema. It is professional class quality in a small footprint with ample steam power for your latte or cappuccino.

In these days, most people go for heat exchanger boilers, which can heat and froth at the same time. Single boilers were the machines people sought after 20 years ago; that’s still alright if you mainly drink espresso as it has a very cumbersome process for frothing milk, and it usually has overheating issues known as temperature surfing. Till this date, it remains a problem as the problem comes from the small boiler it has.

Conclusion

E61 are great machines, even better if they are using the authentic series that pays homage to the original design with the same reliability and functionality. A strong candidate offering them comes from the Bezzera range, which are excellently built in Italy. It’s not uncommon to see customers that have used for over a decade and the machine remains going strong. And it’s coming from a brand that has been around for almost a century and has a solid reputation. From the original inventor of the modern espresso machine. You not only pay a better price, but you are also paying for a known, reliable brand, safety and a piece of history.

If you need to know more about machines other than a specific Lelit espresso machine, check out our website www.finecoffeecompany.com for our extensive collection of machines.