Lelit Bianca, Steve Shamah

Build quality, value, ergonomics, ease of use

Not really much to complain about

I am going on about 20 months now of Bianca ownership and this machine still makes me happy every morning. Prior to this machine I had an E61 HX machine for about 8 years. I enjoyed the prior machine, but the Bianca is much more refined. Build quality is very very good. It heats up quickly. The temperature control is precise, effortless and repeatable. The pump is quiet. A HUGE improvement of this machine is water reservoir – which doesn’t get a lot of attention. The ability to move the reservoir around the machine (back or sides) is very convenient. The machine barely has to be slid to the side for me to remove the reservoir to refill. Also, because the reservoir is external to the machine and does not get warm, the water and the reservoir don’t get funky. This sounds like a small thing, but it makes a real difference in daily use. The ergonomics of the portafilter are wonderful. It sits level on the countertop. It is gorgeous to watch the espresso flow around each side to the front. The cup warmer tray is spacious. The programmable pre-infusion is very useful. The shot timer is very useful. It is hard to describe but the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. A lot of small things really come together well to make for a great user experience. That goes to what is in the cup as well. Bianca makes better coffee than the HX machine did. I think a large part of that is the precise temperature management of the dual boiler/PID versus the HX flush/guess. Pressure profiling factors into that as well though. I did not buy the machine for the pressure profiling, in fact I bought it DESPITE the pressure profiling. I considered it a gimmick and one more variable I did not want to have to deal with. I was wrong! It really has proven is useful. It gives you the ability to save a shot on the fly that otherwise might have ended up in the sink. It also lets you use coffees that might otherwise be too fresh (still off-gassing). It also lets you coax that last little bit of refinement out of a given shot. Recovery time between shots is nearly non-existent. Steaming power is fantastic. I am using the small hole tip and pitchers are done quick – like 30 seconds. I tried the large hole tip and it was crazy fast. Too fast for me. The point being, there is no shortage of power to work with and tune to how you like it. There are a few small niggles I would change. Nothing is completely perfect. I would prefer the wire of the drip tray were a bit more substantial. I might prefer a redesign of the drip tray to make it a little easier to slide in. That is really about it though – which says a lot. Anyhow, if you are on the fence, jump on. You won’t regret it. If a tornado took my machine away from me tomorrow, I would buy another Bianca.

This is my second machine from 1st line. Never had any problems.