Lelit Bianca Review - Is This Espresso Machine Worth It?

The PL162T Bianca from Lelit is their newest luxury dual boiler espresso machine. After over two years of studying with a well-known espresso academy in Italy, many baristas and professionals, the Lelit Bianca espresso machine was built from the ground up and designed for flow control through the brew pressure paddle. There are many secrets learned from the two years. In fact, one of those secrets from the espresso academy was the precise range of flow to create the best espresso.
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FEATURES
With the Bianca, Lelit continues to outdo themselves and now leads the industry with the widest range of prosumer espresso machines. Although the Lelit Bianca can be a beginner dual boiler espresso machine, it packs some of the best technology that will make any barista jump for joy. In other words, the Bianca has really disrupted the worldwide prosumer espresso machine market. This is all thanks to its manual brew pressure via flow control as well as its external reservoir! In fact, the needle for the flow control is made of stainless steel and the gicleur is made of brass. This prevents galling between same metals under intense heat.
Not only does the machine include a PID controlled dual boiler, for those who are looking to experiment with pressure profiling/flow control seeking the Holy Grail; but, sitting on top of the legendary E61 group head is a wooden paddle that allows the user to manually adjust the brew pressure (control the flow of water) as the espresso shot is extracting! All under 16″ height! No need to pre-program it with fingers-crossed that your flavor profile will be to your liking. You have the control, right at your fingertips with a brew pressure readout at the group! And, the wooden paddle diffuses the high intense heat emanating from a super hot E61 group head. Thoughtful design by Lelit!
Clean design inside and out. Nice curves make Bianca look super edgy. Unlike other machines with multiple body panels, the Bianca affords one easy wraparound body panel to gain inside access. Inside, all wiring and layout are superbly placed for performance and easy repair. Even 2 bottom port holes for access to both heating elements in the powerful boilers.
The Lelit Bianca Dual Boiler Espresso Machine is beautiful in design and proves to be awesome in what she produces in the cup!
Light roast, no problem!
City roast, no problem!
Dark roast, definitely not a problem!
The paddle on top of the group head allows on the fly brew pressure profiling while you are watching the extraction and brew pressure gauge.
With dark roasts, you can smooth out the flavor of a spring piston lever machine that starts off with high brew pressure, then diminishes throughout the shot. With city and full city roasts, use a low-pressure profile to extract pure sweetness. Moreover, on light roasts, experiment with any of your imaginary brew pressure profiles to find the best flavor in the cup! On June 4th, 2019, a customer said the “Bianca makes stupid good coffee!” It is so true, with a good grinder, the espresso that comes out is amazing!
Another innovative design component is the external AND movable reservoir, that does not heat when the machine operates for hours like other machines do. Furthermore, the Bianca has a water reservoir that can re-position on either side of the machine to suit your needs and your counter-top. Don’t want a tank? No worries! The Bianca is directly plumb-able too, (even the drip tray is drainable!) All of these features are in a stainless steel body, with accents by wooden handles, feet, and lever.
THE LELIT BIANCA WAS SELECTED AS ONE OF THE TOP 12 MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AT THE 2019 FLORIDA RESTAURANT & LODGING SHOW
Furthermore, this was against not only espresso machines, but also various food and drink recipes and equipment as well! Thanks to the Bianca’s game-changing manual brew pressure profiling, the espresso came out as perfect as it can get!
TECHNICAL NOTES
Manufactured in Italy
Flow control paddle
Group head pressure gauge
PID temperature control
Built-in shot timer ( The shot timer continues during the programmable pre-infusion and programmable soak time)
'No-burn', stainless steel steam and hot water arms
Pump pressure gauge
Steam pressure gauge
Walnut steam and hot water knobs
Brew boiler: Stainless steel, .8L
Steam boiler: Stainless steel, 1.5L
Reservoir: 2.5L with low water sensor, BPA Free
INCLUDED WITH THE LELIT BIANCA
Bottomless walnut portafilter
Double spouted walnut portafilter
Lelit stainless steel and aluminum tamper
Lelit in-tank water softener
Single basket
Double basket
Triple basket
2-hole and 4-hole steam tip
Microfiber towel
Braided plumb-in line
Drip tray drain attachment
Group head brush
Back flush blank

[@deonprins]

Nice combo of machine and grinder! Thanks!

[@baalouachamine5364]

HI, which screw are you talking about to adjest the pressure : "do a quarter turn on the screw"? thank you

[@KRISTIANFIGUEROA123]

I’m in NJ where’s a good place to find refurb espresso machines?

[@raventalla6926]

Is this good for small coffee shop? 50 to 70cups per day?

[@u_51m56]

I would like a Bianca V3 and what is the difference between V2 and V3, can we find out?

[@el_dani]

V3: digitally controlled pre-infusion and low-infusion, quicker heat up-time

[@user-xy7mb5oi5m]

Thank you for the video! Please tell me which is better Victoria Arduino or Lelit Bianca coffee machine?

[@loganmaltese]

Bianca for more control, VA Prima for more automation

[@jeholloway2]

What is the total heat up time before you can make your 1st cup of espresso?

[@KMSKHALEDKMS]

bianca V3 is about 12.5 mins without steam, or 14~ with steam

[@jeholloway2]

@@KMSKHALEDKMS is that 120 volt or 220 volt?

[@azminursyal2136]

Hi. Do you think this machine can manage 100 cups a day for a small cafe?

[@ssejati]

Looking for this answer too…

[@nakulgandhi95]

It’s not meant for commercial use. That’s quite a bit for this machine.

[@flitcroftLA]

You should look at ETL commercial certified machines. La Spaziale Vivaldi II is a similar price point and would work. That one is direct-plumb-only but that's what you'd want in a cafe anyway.

[@user-zu9uh9xc1i]

Where are you located

[@majestycoffee]

NJ

[@luckylarrikin1439]

This is the older model isn't it.

[@ferris571]

Edit between the steaming and final result takes away significantly from the review

[@MrJusmobile]

Doubled walled may mean less pressure for the rate of steam! It's smaller on the inside!

[@el_dani]

You‘ve got no idea about physics

[@MrJusmobile]

@@el_dani mr. Physics, I got that from the manufacturer while in Italy!!!

[@el_dani]

@@MrJusmobile much more important is the size (or energy reservoir) of the boiler and the design of the injection holes..

[@koxx_hun]

The Bianca is a very good machine.
But if you don't use a scale when making it, it's not worth much. :)

[@dr.angerous]

What you mean

[@AdastraRecordings]

Thank christ I managed to remove myself from the great dual boiler diaspora, they're absolute overkill unless you're machine gunning lattes.

[@el_dani]

Because of the big boilers / energy loss? This is one of the main reasons I‘m peering on the Profitec Pro 300 because of the small coffee water boiler..