ACS Minima vs Lelit Mara X

Personally, if sound is not an issuse i would not hesitate to go buy a Vesuvius.

Pressure profile machine 100% repeatable,

I have the bianca, and while the paddle is good, you will never repeat what you did last time as you are the human variable, you can save a shot on the fly though.

Had the £2000 Vesuvius deal been around when i got the bianca, there would be one on my counter.

If you want repeatability then as good as the marax is, its still an hx, theres the Elizabeth and minima next. I too loved the liz features but not the looks,

There are the bezzers machines, which look really nice, on has the electronic group too, vut this means no flow control, which is why i didnt get one in the end, id of kicked myself, but with the led and clear sides it looks cool as.

I think you can obsess over every finite detail. I do the same, but once you get to a certain level theres not much between machine, certainly not enough that you’re going to miss out on flavour, dont forget its the grinder that effects that most, and also the coffee you drink.

Cuprajake that’s great information. It’s sad that the Vesuvius is over budget for me, it ticks lots of boxes. I may ask ACS about it though. I did not consider it before. That’s exactly what I was looking for: to hear about machines that may not be on my radar yet.

So far I’m leaning towards the ACS Minima for the price, the fact that it could be similar to the Bianca if a flow control were to be added and there is also the prototype they are working on to control the Minima that could be a an awesome addition. So if I ever want to upgrade later on, I could. There are some cons to the Minima that makes the Bianca a contender but the cost is the main show stopper. And the fact that the Minima is not far behind I think.

You raise a good point about the grinder. Going with the Minima will likely allow me to improve the grinder. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it and for what (Change my Silenzio for a Niche Zero for example!).

When you factor in a flow control then theres not that much in the price minima vs bianca

I would double check where your placing theachine to, as if the minima is tight in a right hand corner working on the steam arm could be a tad awkward, like wise if the bianc was stuffed in a ledt corner youd have the same.

If you had space you could pick up one of the many used majors that are for sale for less than 300 you would see a marked improvement in the coffee.

What type of coffee do you tend to drink, sorry of i missed that..

Minima is the best bang for buck id say. Dont dorget you will get some money back on your eureka grinder as there a fan favourite too

I can’t be of much help beyond the excellent advice you received already, but I bought my machine towards the end of last year and went through a very similar thought process to you - importantly, along with the budget creep.

I initially thought I wanted the Mara X but was also considering the Bianca, it’s a superior machine and I knew if I bought that any thoughts of upgrading in a year or two wouldn’t arise.

But there was a Vesuvius offer direct from ACS at the time which meant that I could order one of those for a very similar price to the Bianca. I chose the Vesuvius and unsurprisingly have no regrets. I’ve had it 4 months and have already forgotten about the cost. Sometimes budget creep is no bad thing if it avoids future regrets. I took the view that buying once was better than buying twice.

Cuprajake well here in Canada it’s a difference the equivalent of 1100£. If I were able to get the deal I almost had then the gap would have been smaller (still working on that deal though so the Bianca is not ruled out yet).

I’ll have to do more research on the grinders since that is really unknown to me.

Cuprajake forgot to respond to your question about the type of coffee I drink. I’m really into trying everything lately and this is where my setup showed some of its limitation. These days I’m into light-med roasted coffee and I really enjoy it except my setup always a bit more acidic taste that I would be able to reduce with a finer grind (if I think I had more preinfusion, slow ramp up pressure). That seems to be the most logical reason why I preferred the result with the MaraX when I did a side by side comparison (played with grind setting, ratio, time, same basket, etc.) and the MaraX was almost always sweeter. It really made a more balanced coffee.

Gagaryn it really look like a nice machine. It really seem to be an end game machine. Although with the prototype I saw from Dave’s video with the Minima, it is very promising and may make the Minima a smaller version of the Vesuvius.

@DavecUK, do you know if the “original” Minimas (or I should say the one they seek right now) will be able to be relatively easily retrofitted for this product if it becomes available (if the current one is not the V2 as you mentioned in your video)?

Ah canada. That will open up different machines again womt it like quickmill.

Who do you have supply wise over there is it 1stchoice?

Snooze I don’t know if the prototype with pressure and flow control will ever become reality. It would require some internal rewiring.

LMSC and I’m glad I’m still debating since it made me realize that I should maybe consider the Vesuvius.
Thanks for your response.

Cuprajake there is a bunch in fact. But yes the choice is a bit overwhelming.

In the interest of avoiding annoying anyone more than it already did with my back and forth dilemma, I’ll stop.

I appreciate the time you guys took to respond.

Snooze Please contact ACS on the Vesuvius, see the net cost to you inc taxes, customs, … and go from there. Let’s know how you got on. Best wishes!

LMSC thanks, will do.

Snooze Please give Paolo a call and discuss in details. He will give you the breakdown on the phone. You can then work out just the taxes and import duties on top.

@“Snooze”

https://idrinkcoffee.com/collections/consumer/products/lelit-bianca-dual-boiler-espresso-machine-w-pid-and-pressure-profiling

https://www.wholelattelove.com/collections/dual-boiler-espresso-machine/products/profitec-pro-600-dual-boiler-espresso-machine-with-flow-control-wenge-quarter-cut

id say the profitec is a good shout when you look at the pricing difference

if wll ship to can

Snooze Probably worth checking if this deal includes shipping to Canada - https://coffeetime.freeflarum.com/d/526-vesuvius-v2-deal

Gagaryn thanks a lot for the heads up. I just wrote to Paolo about it.