*Made some edits as I found Youtube videos addressing my questions directly after the original post - but any additional thoughts are welcome nonetheless* Hi everyone! I've sold my single-boiler Silvia and looking to upgrade to a DB. I'm almost nearly settled on the Elizabeth after tons of research - including the very helpful resources from @"DavecUK"#1 and Lance Hedrick's video reviews - but I had some final questions before pulling the trigger. 1. **Context:** I view flow control as a "nice-to-have" and don't see myself obsessing over it in the long run. Right now my budget is ideally 2k USD - but I can stretch that a bit further if I see a compelling reason. **Question:** This is probably a gross oversimplification, but.. is it fair to say the only major benefit to buying a Bianca vs. an Elizabeth is the manual flow control? Hypothetically; if I bought a Bianca and set a preinfusion "profile" without touching the paddle at all, I may as well go for the Elizabeth which allows you to do that via the LCC anyways? 2. **Context:** One of the key reasons I'm upgrading to a DB is the ability to multitask and churn out milk drinks more quickly for a group of guests. Obviously that was a pain point with the single boiler Silvia. **Question:** How does the Elizabeth generally fare with back-to-back shots & steaming? I don't have large groups of people over on a daily basis - otherwise I may as well open a cafe and get a GS3! - but I do value the ability to handle volume when needed. I'm curious for this group's thoughts if I'm better off with a bulkier machine like the Silvia Pro X, although its preinfusion is not as robust. *Edit: Found this helpful video by Seattle Coffee Gear that addressed this question. TLDR Back-to-back temp stability for steaming is not ideal on the Elizabeth because of the electric current prioritizing the brew temperature before steaming. This might be a major drawback for me and make me reconsider..* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J969PKzDoiE 3. **Question:** What's the default pump pressure set to? I'm reading online it's generally around 10-11 bars, so I might want to tweak it down to \~8-9 by loosening the OPV (after first testing the machine in default settings). *Edit: The comments in this video confirm my suspicion about the 10 bar default setting and it shows how easy it is to adjust the OPV* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Pho2rN9DI 4. **Question:** Owners of the Profitec Move, Silvia Pro X, or other similarly priced DBs. Are there any pros to your machine that give it a leg up over the Elizabeth? I'm fairly set on the Elizabeth, but it's still helpful to get more perspectives to round out my research. Thanks!

@"Dusk"#p81041 I'm in the US (120v)

@"asarhan04"#p81042 Correct. And I’m in the USA with 120 volt standard.

Elizabeth Questions

asarhan04

Made some edits as I found Youtube videos addressing my questions directly after the original post - but any additional thoughts are welcome nonetheless

Hi everyone! I’ve sold my single-boiler Silvia and looking to upgrade to a DB. I’m almost nearly settled on the Elizabeth after tons of research - including the very helpful resources from @DavecUK and Lance Hedrick’s video reviews - but I had some final questions before pulling the trigger.

Context: I view flow control as a “nice-to-have” and don’t see myself obsessing over it in the long run. Right now my budget is ideally 2k USD - but I can stretch that a bit further if I see a compelling reason.

Question: This is probably a gross oversimplification, but.. is it fair to say the only major benefit to buying a Bianca vs. an Elizabeth is the manual flow control? Hypothetically; if I bought a Bianca and set a preinfusion “profile” without touching the paddle at all, I may as well go for the Elizabeth which allows you to do that via the LCC anyways?
Context: One of the key reasons I’m upgrading to a DB is the ability to multitask and churn out milk drinks more quickly for a group of guests. Obviously that was a pain point with the single boiler Silvia.

Question: How does the Elizabeth generally fare with back-to-back shots & steaming? I don’t have large groups of people over on a daily basis - otherwise I may as well open a cafe and get a GS3! - but I do value the ability to handle volume when needed. I’m curious for this group’s thoughts if I’m better off with a bulkier machine like the Silvia Pro X, although its preinfusion is not as robust.

Edit: Found this helpful video by Seattle Coffee Gear that addressed this question. TLDR Back-to-back temp stability for steaming is not ideal on the Elizabeth because of the electric current prioritizing the brew temperature before steaming. This might be a major drawback for me and make me reconsider..

Question: What’s the default pump pressure set to? I’m reading online it’s generally around 10-11 bars, so I might want to tweak it down to ~8-9 by loosening the OPV (after first testing the machine in default settings).

Edit: The comments in this video confirm my suspicion about the 10 bar default setting and it shows how easy it is to adjust the OPV

Question: Owners of the Profitec Move, Silvia Pro X, or other similarly priced DBs. Are there any pros to your machine that give it a leg up over the Elizabeth? I’m fairly set on the Elizabeth, but it’s still helpful to get more perspectives to round out my research.

Thanks!

dndrich

I make back to back shots all the time. No problem with my Elizabeth. I typically make one for my wife, and then myself. 2 lattes. But I have had situations where I make 5 when people are over. I always steam the milk and pull the shot at the same time. That is one of the main reasons I got a dual boiler. Then, when grinding the next shot and tamping etc., the machine is ready. I certainly have not found that to be a problem.

asarhan04

dndrich nice so it sounds like recovery time in between milk based drinks should not be an issue assuming there’s ample prep time in between each drink

Dusk

Regarding question 2, I don’t know where you’re located but would this be the same situation for all areas (is Seattle running 110v?).

asarhan04

Dusk I’m in the US (120v)

dndrich

asarhan04 Correct. And I’m in the USA with 120 volt standard.

Dusk

asarhan04
I’ve heard kettles don’t work as quickly as they do across the pond so it might translate to espresso machines too!

dndrich

Dusk i’m sure that is true given your 230 V standard in Europe. We’re stuck with 120 V here. I usually fire my machine up in the morning and it is ready for the day. I’m sure it warms up the water in the tank just from passive warming, and that also helps the temperature come up very quickly. I just have had no issues with multiple drinks in a row between the prep time and making the drink.

asarhan04

Thanks all this is extremely helpful advice. I did a bit more research and learned about the Bianca’s rotary pump and larger boilers which have great benefits - more willing now to stretch my budget a bit more for it :) but still very convinced by how clever the Elizabeth is designed

dfk41

asarhan04 Hi, coffee is a great hobby. The most important part of any set up is the person making the coffee. The next most important part is the grinder. An idiot can make bad coffee on the most expensive set up in the world! A machine just makes coffee. A rotary pump compared to a vibe pump……so what? The Elizabeth (yes, I own one) has everything you could possibly need to stand the chance of making good coffee. I have had dozens of high end machines and grinders, and very few of them accomplish as much

Waitforme

Everything I read about the liz makes me think it actually is the perfect sweet spot in coffee machines.

I’ve got a Bianca but if it broke I’d probably get a liz.

memzey

It depends on what you’re after I suppose. I won’t get into looks as they are subjective but if you want to plumb-in your machine and value a quieter coffee making experience then, of the two, it would have to be the Bianca.