I've gotten in contact with ACS about the Minima cost since I can't find a UK retailer and Maria got back to me with a standard stainless steel Minima for €1200,00 (approx. £1050) including shipping to UK with 24 months of warranty where they will support for any issue/s or replacements (free of charge for the warranty period) by emails, pictures and video calls. Am I right in thinking this is a fantastic price right?

@"Verion"#p28064 It used to retail £1179 to £1379. Please note, unless they have advised you otherwise, you will be charged VAT and import duties by DHL for customs clearance in the UK.

@"LMSC"#p28065 Good point about the VAT and import duties by DHL for customs clearance in the UK. I'll ask Maria about that.

Still a good price though. Is there another dual boiler in or around that price available from a UK retailer?

id buy now before it goes 2 euro to a pound haha there a good machine tbf

@"Verion"#p28066 One point to note - there should be no duties, only VAT, as the machine is made in the EU. I was charged (incorrectly) a fairly minimal amount of duty on my ACS machine, and I didn't challenge it. I was charged a much higher % amount on a recent import of a sweater (from Italy, as it happens)… and DHL backpedalled very quickly when I challenged them. Just make sure that ACS adds a declaration of origin to the paperwork if you go the 'direct from manufacturer' route.

@"dfk41"#p28067 The only dual boiler that comes close is the Lelit Elizabeth v3 at Bella Barista for £1,149 in price. But I'm not into the design. Maybe it looks too much like my current Sage DTP which I'm ready to move on from after a number of years. If Black Cat Coffee had the stainless steel Minima in stock it would have been £1,279, so the prices direct assuming I am liable for VAT and Import duties makes it around £1,260(ish). If not, then it makes it better value at £1,050 with everything included than the Lelit Elizabeth v3 or if I wanted an HX machine, then the Lelit Mara X v2. The next jump is closer to £1,800 with the Lelit Bianca v3 or something from Profitec or ECM. It's a lot of money when a Minima is a lot, lot less.

@"CoyoteOldMan"#p28071 Can I assume you bought your Minima direct?

@"Verion"#p28073 It was a Vesuvius Evo Leva, but yes - direct from ACS, so dealing with exactly the same people and carrier that you'd be!

@"Cuprajake"#p28070 Would be good if it did go 2 euro to the pound - Minima would only cost £600! Sadly parity is more likely.

haha you know what i mean lol the bianca is a different kettle of fish, alot more for your money than the minima - but its £600 more

ACS Minima

Doram

PortafilterProcrastinator Doram Thanks for sharing your experience.

Which screen do you use?

It looks very similar to this (mine is the 58.5mm/150 micron/2mm thick version; the actual one that I bought is no longer available, but this looks identical).

Abcan

My new black Minima will be dispatched Monday. Really looking forward to getting it! For anyone unsure about buying direct I can say that so far it’s been very straight forward. I paid by credit card as I got a better exchange rate and also wanted the extra security credit offers. ACS just sent me a link to do this. It’s nice dealing with a company that knows what it’s doing.

DavecUK

Abcan My new black Minima will be dispatched Monday.

The black Minimas look really nice and I believe both boilers have drain valves under the access hatch on the bottom of the machine. Worth you looking and letting us know.

Verion

Abcan Amazing news! I wonder if you got the updated PID. Definitely want to see pics once you’ve set it up.

Abcan

DavecUK Worth you looking and letting us know.

Will do. 👍🏻

ams

I’ve been considering the ACS Minima, I’m looking for a machine where I can make milk based drinks in the morning and leave on for 8+ hours so that I can make an espresso when I fancy (the ability to switch off the steam boiler is attractive), I don’t really want to be factoring 30min warm up times prior. I wondered if anyone has any thoughts on the daily cost of this and what the rate of component wear may be.

PortafilterProcrastinator

ams Why can’t you use an app connected plug like a Tapo?

Abcan

Hi @ams Ive not got mine yet to work how much it uses. Looking at the specs the brew boiler is 1000w and the service boiler is 1200w. I’m sure someone will be along to give you more of an idea of power usage.

ams

PortafilterProcrastinator I was hoping to reduce the machine warm up frequency to once per day as it’s my understanding that it takes ~30 mins for the machine to warm up, however, I wondered what the warm up time would be if the machine was switched off (after a 30 min warm up) and switched on 1 hour later.

DavecUK

ams The warm up time will be a little shorter as the group will still be warm, perhaps 5 minutes or so. Leaving the machine on for around 10 hours per day, without the steam boiler on uses about 1.2kW per day for around 7 coffees. So a daily cost of around 40p.

I think it’s not worth worrying about the electricity cost, most machines use a similar amount.

PortafilterProcrastinator

ams Fair enough. I leave a tea towel over my group for various reasons and that helps in these situations too.

ams

DavecUK that’s good to know, now I just need to confirm with ACS the distance between the middle of the back and front feet to ensure my coffee trolley is deep enough!

MediumRoastSteam

ams that’s good to know, now I just need to confirm with ACS the distance between the middle of the back and front feet

I remembering asking this question before when I was considering a Minima - If memory doesn’t fail me, it’s 41cm.

Abcan

Verion thanks. Hopefully it will. It’s scheduled for delivery on the 24th of Aug. I’ll get some photos on and check if it’s got the boiler drains too.

ams

MediumRoastSteam if that’s the case then seems like it’d fit as the depth of the table is 43 cm.

ams

Abcan I queried ACS a few weeks regarding drainage of the Minima boilers and I was informed both boilers have taps underneath.

ams

Abcan did you receive the Minima yet and if so what are your initial impressions?

DavecUK

ams I queried ACS a few weeks regarding drainage of the Minima boilers and I was informed both boilers have taps underneath.

This is correct and they are accessible via an access hatch under the machine, so the case doesn’t have to be removed.

Abcan

ams

Not yet! It was stuck in Milan due to some paperwork problem. It’s due to arrive late this week.

Abcan

For those interested: the machine has landed in the UK and I’ve paid the VAT/Cahrges. The total was £242. Made up of £231 VAT and £11 DHL admin charge.

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