Advantages of an external water tank: 1. No harmful microfauna will breed in the water. We read in the Home Barista forum: "Many home espresso machines locate the water reservoir inside the casing; that's practical, but leads to the water being heated enough that a bacteria film will eventually form (of course, everyone empties and cleans the inboard reservoir regularly, right?)". 2. The tank is pretty airtight and ants won't get into it. People in FB groups noted that they found ants in the water because it is "ant heaven" - warm and humid! But to detect these ants, you had to open the lid and look inside. Every day! If ants are found, you have to take the tank out of the machine to pour out the water, and in many expensive prosumer machines, this is a below average pleasure. That's the main reason I wanted an external tank - ants loved to use the built-in tank of my previous machine as a swimming pool. :-( We invited an ant exterminator several times, but he couldn't do it. The ants only completely disappeared when I sold the espresso machine (this happened in October 2020, when I got rid of my caffeine addiction; now I'm back to my favorite hobby, using only decaf). 3. You can clearly see when the water runs out and it's time to refill. This can also be seen on some machines with an internal reservoir, but not all. For example, my previous machine (Bezzera Duo DE, also bought in IDrinkCoffe) just stopped working when I forgot to refill the water. I was making a shot, and all of a sudden - boom! - there's a ristretto in the cup! :-) 4. Flexibility in terms of location. If the surface is deep, and it is necessary to arrange a lot of devices along the length, then hide the tank behind the machine. If, on the contrary, there is enough space on the length, but the depth is limited, then put the tank on the left or right of the machine. And if there is not enough space in all directions, then put the tank behind the grinder, which, anyway, already takes up space wide (but not deep). Also, there is a disadvantage with the external tank - after all, it is a glass vessel, you need to be careful and cautious. Don't buy it if you have a cat! :-)
Beautiful machine and an excellent video. Have you tested this machine yet with flow control, and have you had fun results with light to medium roasts? Also, have you noticed differences at the group head with a pressure gauge mounted at the group? For the espresso-only enthusiast, would you buy this machine all over again after working with it all this time? Cheers!
The Puristika is designed for espresso only and to be as compact as possible. If you would like to get hot water ECM also makes the Classika which is a single boiler machine controlled by a PID.
Advantages of an external water tank:
1. No harmful microfauna will breed in the water. We read in the Home Barista forum: "Many home espresso machines locate the water reservoir inside the casing; that's practical, but leads to the water being heated enough that a bacteria film will eventually form (of course, everyone empties and cleans the inboard reservoir regularly, right?)".
2. The tank is pretty airtight and ants won't get into it. People in FB groups noted that they found ants in the water because it is "ant heaven" - warm and humid! But to detect these ants, you had to open the lid and look inside. Every day! If ants are found, you have to take the tank out of the machine to pour out the water, and in many expensive prosumer machines, this is a below average pleasure. That's the main reason I wanted an external tank - ants loved to use the built-in tank of my previous machine as a swimming pool. :-( We invited an ant exterminator several times, but he couldn't do it. The ants only completely disappeared when I sold the espresso machine (this happened in October 2020, when I got rid of my caffeine addiction; now I'm back to my favorite hobby, using only decaf).
3. You can clearly see when the water runs out and it's time to refill. This can also be seen on some machines with an internal reservoir, but not all. For example, my previous machine (Bezzera Duo DE, also bought in IDrinkCoffe) just stopped working when I forgot to refill the water. I was making a shot, and all of a sudden - boom! - there's a ristretto in the cup! :-)
4. Flexibility in terms of location. If the surface is deep, and it is necessary to arrange a lot of devices along the length, then hide the tank behind the machine. If, on the contrary, there is enough space on the length, but the depth is limited, then put the tank on the left or right of the machine. And if there is not enough space in all directions, then put the tank behind the grinder, which, anyway, already takes up space wide (but not deep).
Also, there is a disadvantage with the external tank - after all, it is a glass vessel, you need to be careful and cautious. Don't buy it if you have a cat! :-)
Thanks for this insight. I am a fan of the external glass tank as well for the same reasons.
Why are cats so rude 😂😂
Thank you. How long does this machine needs to heat up? :)
40-50 minutes
Beautiful machine and an excellent video. Have you tested this machine yet with flow control, and have you had fun results with light to medium roasts? Also, have you noticed differences at the group head with a pressure gauge mounted at the group? For the espresso-only enthusiast, would you buy this machine all over again after working with it all this time? Cheers!
Beautiful machine. It's a shame it doesn't have a naked portafilter as standard.
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Greetings from Poland - Sławek
Nice review! The Anthracite color looks matte/textured. Does the cream color have a glossy finish? Thanks.
That's very perceptive! The Anthracite does have a textured finish. The Cream is a smooth glossy finish.
What's your suggestion for a meaningful step up from the Manuale grinder?
The Manuale has 50mm burrs, so if you want a meaningful upgrade I would suggest something with 64/65mm like the Eureka Oro Stark or XL.
Just got it yesterday but currently having issues of pressure not ramping up fast enough. Any ideas why?
This could be related to the grind, can you please test with a blind basket and see if there is a difference?
They really should have included a hot water outlet, big omission that.
The Puristika is designed for espresso only and to be as compact as possible. If you would like to get hot water ECM also makes the Classika which is a single boiler machine controlled by a PID.
Nice machine!
I agree, it's a very handsome design.