Also known as a "Brewtus" by the people in the US who sold these Spanish machines.
Expobar has always seemed to want to "try harder" and pack in more value and build quality than their Italian counterparts who make E61 "chrome boxes." They use heavy duty materials, generally first rate components, and try to include all the deluxe "features" (like the "no burn" steam wand on this) at lower price points than competitors like Rocket or Profitec.
The bottom line is that this is a really nice example of a double boiler E61 "chrome box."
Well cared for over the years (really does look close to "new") and we just rebuilt the group, cleaned, descaled, and adjusted everything. So this is a genuine "no issues" ready to go machine.
It's been a while since we've had an E61 because we've been concentrating on levers, but you never know what will turn up with this hobby, and when this one fell into our world, we couldn't resist.
As we've often noted, there's just something about the big chrome thing sticking out on E61 machines. They "look" like they should make awesome espresso!
This double boiler model was the top of the line for Expobar when it arrived in the mid 2000s. The concept behind the double boiler is that in an ideal world you would brew espresso at a lower temperature than you would steam milk. But since we traditionally had a single boiler, "separating" the temps for each wasn't really possible. There were "strategies," like the heat exchanger, and even putting the group out into the air (for cooling) like the E61.
But until someone actually decided to go to the trouble and expense of adding a dedicated steam boiler, it was just a theory.
That changed in the early 2000s when makers started selling double boiler machines to the few people who were willing to "spare no expense" satisfying their espresso geeking! Double boilers and digital PID controllers became the standard for "high end" home machines.
Although this Expobar has a digital temperature control, it's not a normal "PID," which is a digital temp control that employs an algorithm and solid state relay switch, to bring the brew boiler up to the set temp and hold it there. This controller does it's thing without the onboard "logic" and digital relay (as it turns the heating element on and off.) It may be slightly less "flat" than a PID, but we can't tell the difference!
PIDs can be proprietary to the machine, and the price each manufacturer charges for replacements is all over the map.
The Expobar replacement controller that fits this machine is actually pretty cheap (around 70 bucks) but hopefully you'll never need one!
Because one of the things to keep in mind about double boiler machines is that while they're super cool in concept, they're also much more complicated than a single boiler machine. Double the sensors, etc., etc. So they're a bit like owning a purebred dog instead of a mutt. If you "need" an animal to be really good at a specific task (making espresso and steaming milk at optimal temperatures, in this case) the extra cost may be worth it to you. The flip side is it may also need more expensive vet bills some day!
Which is one of the things we like about this "mid" iteration of the double boiler technology from Expobar. It's a bit simpler than the most modern versions, but tried and true. Perhaps even a bit more robust than the newest PID machines with even more sensors and electronic stuff to potentially go wrong.
At any rate, it's a genuine E61 double boiler with digital temp control. And as you can see in the pics, in beautiful shape.
So if you're one of those who've been jonesing for a double boiler "some day," but haven't wanted to pony up the three grand, here's a chance to get one for less than half that.
Comes with a custom 58mm tamper, our favorite Italian steam pitcher, single and double baskets, a "naked" portafilter (although we can swap that with "normal" if preferred) and even a knock box if you want!
Too heavy to ship with much confidence. (Like 60+ pound beast!) So prefer local pick up with this one!