MediumRoastSteam I have no idea, I had no problem with the brass boiler, but if I can choose, I’d pick stainless boiler any day.
Maybe not possible to do for the reason you mentioned
Lelit Elizabeth discontinued?
delta76 . Took me long enough to fix it. Lelit almost hit a home run with Elizabeth but they also seem to have made some bad decisions and used cheap parts where it is more likely to fail, like the steam valve.
I never liked the valve that much, especially the knob (and told Lelit so), I actually thought a Toggle valve would be much easier, or if they wanted to keep the clean lines simply use a solenoid controlled valve.
There was a reason at the time they were suck using that knob and valve, but honestly…the time has come to change it.
MediumRoastSteam Don’t forget the group is brass, and that the boiler is mounted directly on top of the group. Could there be a galvanic reaction risk?
no, because the join is dry….galvanic reaction with steel and brass is only really an issue where they join in the presence of water between that join e.g. a screw thread
DavecUK Thank you for clarifying.
In wonder if these issues preventing long-standing stockers of this machine continuing to sell it are related to changes that have come into the product manufacturing process since the acquisition a year or so ago.
Seems a little coincidental timing wise
dutchy101 In wonder if these issues preventing long-standing stockers of this machine continuing to sell it are related to changes that have come into the product manufacturing process since the acquisition a year or so ago.
Seems a little coincidental timing wise
There are some new things coming from Lelit, at Host they did mention that they wanted to send me some prototype machines to look at soon.
I agree about the steam valve. But, the machine is otherwise so good. I think the build quality is just fine. I have opened the case many times for various reasons, and it really looks well done to me. And regarding the steam valve, this is really only an issue if you leave the machine on most of the day, which I do. But honestly, the machine has been such a performer.
dndrich And regarding the steam valve, this is really only an issue if you leave the machine on most of the day, which I do
You should really turn the steam /service boiler off when not using it.
- Edited
DavecUK - I wonder if
dutchy101 these issues preventing long-standing stockers of this machine continuing to sell it are related to changes that have come into the product manufacturing process since the acquisition a year or so ago.
Is a comment related to the fact stockers like Bella Barista are no longer carrying the Elizabeth or the MaraX, only the Bianca. If memory doesn’t fail me, there was a post in his forum about this being the reason they were not stocking it - that they need to buy those machines in a much bigger quantity than what they were buying. But the reason has recently has changed to the high rate of defect on those machines, which I struggle to believe if I’m honest.
MediumRoastSteam yeah, but my wife might have a hard time firing it up!
dndrich - ahhh! Understood. At least your wife uses the machine… unlike mine who’d rather drink instant! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
MediumRoastSteam ouch…
MediumRoastSteam are you me? I have the same wife. “I can just drink instant”. “i drank coffee at the office and it tasted good”
Since I obtained Zero I have made her coffee with the worse beans. (still specialty with quite high SCA cupping score, it just the roaster did not do a good job)
drdre89 How’s the Decent going for you… worth the price tag?
Its very well built. Steep learning curve but easy enough to use after that. Definitely a technical machine; you’ll either love or hate pouring espresso using a tablet interface (though you can also just use the controls on the grouphead); it’s not a touchy/feely lever machine. You can control everything and anything, so dialing in can be a challenge unless you are disciplined. Its easy to chase down rabbit holes. But if you focus on one or two variables at a time, it’s really easy to adjust the taste of your coffee. And when you hit a recipe and profile you like you can save it and use it again and again. If the recipe/profile you like is already there, just hit the pour button and go make toast or get some jam. Fortunately I bought “pre-owned” for ⅔ of retail (when you pay $4k CDN you don’t say “used” 😁 ) and bought an extended warranty (which I have yet to need). There is also a great community of Decent owners out there happy to help. And to share recipes/profiles via a 3rd party service called Visualizer. My main constraints are: a) finding decent decaf beans that have the taste profile that I like that are correctly roasted, and b) time availability to play with it and learn. So I am dipping my toe into roasting; just bought a FreshRoast 800 which I will mod; doubtless a Bullet will follow.
6 days later
Interestingly coffeeitalia have the Elizabeth back in stock now. Bella Barista have it as coming soon (which seems to be the term they now use rather than out of stock) but not sure why they are still listing it if they don’t plan to re-stock?
lnlyssg i know nothing about distribution network but I can imagine BB is negotiating, or negotiated a better deal. For example with return rate of 3% they have a 20% margin, but for Elizabeth as return rate of 5% they want a 25% margin to cover cost of support and restocking. Those numbers are made up of course but it is just business and if the balance sheet is positive then it is business as usual.
Bella Barista told me today that the last batch they had took a year to sell through and at the retail price the machine is not popular enough to restock. In comparison, the Proitec Go batch sold through in a month.
They suggested the Rancilio Silvia Pro X as an alternative. They said it was a more popular machine and also more reliable than the Elizabeth.
breeza - That’s interesting. It baffles me how they can compare the Profitec Go (Single boiler dual use machine) with the Elizabeth - A dual boiler machine.
The Rancilio Silvia X is indeed a direct contender.
I got in touch with Bella Barista and the short version is that when Breville acquired Lelit they set high minimum order quantities that would have taken two years for BB to sell through. It seems that Breville are now working on a new price for the UK and lower min. orders which is due to happen in early 2024.
But I think the look and size of a machine can be a big influence on why people buy them, way beyond what the obvious logical/rational choice is. There are arguably many better machines than a La Marzocco LM at that price(and much less) but they still sell well.