I am looking for a new machine and as originally thinking the profitec 700 was the best engineered ( after watching a review from USA.) After watching another review I now think the Lelit is far superior. I am really confused.

I was initially put off by the lelit as the mushroom was not stainless steel but the engineering and design seem amazing and good value as well. The flow paddle gives an interesting novel feature which in a way mimics a lever machine. I can see very little against it . My priorities are:

  1. a good extraction
  2. well designed
  3. easy to service
  4. quality components
  5. spares easy to obtain
  6. reliable

Which one should i go for to fit those criteria please?

  • LMSC replied to this.

    If I had to choose between bianca and pro-700, I’d go Bianca. Better value for money, more features.

    If I had to choose between Bianca and Pro-700 with flow control, and money was no objection… I think I’d still go with the Bianca for some of the features and a flow control valve which is easier to maintain.

    I owned a Pro-700 in the past. It was a good machine. But it’s been essentially the same machine for ages now. Apart from the upgrade in steam boiler pressure to 2 bar, I don’t think there was much else.

    Saying all of the above, Lelit has been taken over by the Breville group. That may sway in your decision.

      MediumRoastSteam Saying all of the above, Lelit has been taken over by the Breville group. That may sway in your decision.

      Thanks for that. Lelit was the one i was going for. The Breville bit does make me pause but then I am thinking that the current model has been designed by Lelit with input from some very clever people and so essentially is Lelit more than Breville

        Very very happy Bianca owner here.

        However! I almost never really use the flow control.

        It can be fun to play around with profiling and see how it affects different beans but I get such incredible shots without touching the flow control I don’t bother 99% of the time.

        I’m not sure if Lelit do a dual boiler without flow control but if they did and I was buying again I’d go for that.

        No complaints about the machine though, a joy to use and own and not a single issue with it in coming up to a year of owning it.

          Ernie1 THank you> I think i probably would not use the flow control often . Did think it might come in useful if I wanted a weaker shot or just to experiment with it. Encouraging to hear you are pleased with it and with no issues.

            Bianca is a very clever machine, I loved mine

            Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

            I think I know the 2 videos you are referring to, no love lost between those two!

            I’ve had the Bianca for about a month now and I’m all in on flow control. The Slayer style shots have been working great! The v3 Bianca does a few things the Pro700 doesn’t thanks to the electronics/LCC and I love the way it looks, as does my wife (most importantly). I’ve yet to try the half pressure pump start/preinfusion on the LCC, been doing it all manually so far.

            I’ve had my Bianca for a couple of years now and still love it. I use the flow control with every shot. I had to replace the T-shaped hose fittings as the originals disintegrated. Also I needed a new safety valve but it was pretty easy to replace. Lots of help and advice here on the forum.

            The biggest thing for me was the flow control valve needed replacing. It wasn’t cheap but it was my fault. I failed to do the routine maintenance so an expensive lesson learned.

              thusband I failed to do the routine maintenance so an expensive lesson learned.

              Just out of curiosity what routine maintenance did you fail to do that you think would have avoided the problem in your case

                  coffeealex Just out of curiosity what routine maintenance did you fail to do that you think would have avoided the problem in your case

                  I failed to simply remove the flow control and grease the needle valve and nut threads with a little Molykote. I should have been doing it every three months or so. I was feeling some stiffness when turning the paddle and then nothing. The threads were completely stripped and I had to buy a replacement kit (not cheap).

                    Well Now after my phone call to Bella Barista I am totally confused. i phoned the technical department re some parts I needed and told them I was looking to potentially buy a Lelit and i was asked politely why was I so eager to buy one. He acknowledged the lelit was a good machine but in his opinion and vast experience the profitec was a much higher quality machine. Such things as surgical steel been used on that and not the other, reliability, etc. In fact apparently that’s what they use there for demonstrations etc. It was also his machine of choice and he owned one. He was an extremely experienced guy, polite and was very candid. I value any opinion from anyone and have seen conflicting videos from a profitec and lelit end saying they are superior to each other. Has anyone owned both on this forum? I am sure both are good but not sure what to go for now.

                      coffeealex If you can, I would suggest you pay them a visit in person and see the machines in the flesh before making a decision.

                      They sell both machines… The Profitec costs £200 more and has less features. You got to ask yourself why the suggestion of one over the other, realistically.

                      Ultimately, it’s you who will use the machine, not them, so you need to be happy with the machine you buy, as they are not cheap.

                          coffeealex One thing to bear in mind is that there are also commercial interests… which are probably changing/recently changed considering the acquisition of Lelit by Breville/Sage.

                          I haven’t owned either, but I considered both (and the ECM Synchronika) a few months ago when deciding what machine to get, and ultimately I reached the following conclusion/summary:

                          + for ECM/Profitech: construction/assembly, reliability (minor +)
                          + for Lelit: innovation/features, upgradeability, footprint and cost (particularly assuming flow profiling is required/desirable)

                          Looks are subjective - of the 3, I would prefer the Synchronika because I prefer levers to knobs for steam/water (and a few months ago the levers weren’t even an option on the Profitec).

                          In the end, had I gone for an E61 machine, I would have picked the Bianca because of its innovation, footprint and cost. What did I buy? A lever machine that is innovative, very well built, but has a large footprint and costs even more than the ECM. Go figure…

                            It’s only £10 more expensive than a Nespresso!!!! 🤣

                            I’m so tempted to hit “Buy” and see what happens….

                              If BB was referring to the stainless of the boilers, I know the Lelit use AISI 316L (commonly known as surgical steel) in the Bianca. I would think Profitec use the same.

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