Also known as a "Brewtus II" in the US.
Expobar has always seemed to "try harder" and pack in more value and build quality than their Italian counterparts. Especially with their E61 "chrome boxes."
They always use heavy duty steel body and frame, commerical quality components, and tend to include most of the "extras" (like the "no burn" steam wand on this) for less than competitors like Rocket or Profitec.
The result with the "Brewtus II" was a really nice production of a double boiler E61 "chrome box," at a really good price.
This one has been obsessively cared for over the years by the original owner (really does look close to "new") and we just went through it all and rebuilt the group, cleaned, lubed, descaled, and adjusted everything. So it's really a "no issues," ready to go machine.
It's been a while since we've had an E61. Mostly because we've been concentrating on vintage levers, not becuase we stopped liking them. But you never know what can turn up with this hobby, and when the Brewtus fell into our lap, we couldn't resist.
As we've often said, there's something about that 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 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 different (lower) temperature than you would steam milk. But since virtually every espresso machine had one boiler, "separating" the temps possible.
So "strategies" were developed over the years, like the heat exchanger, thermo siphons, heat blocks separating the group from the boiler, and putting the group out into the air (for cooling) like the E61.
Of course plain old fashioned "temperture surfing" is the most obvious tactic.
Until someone actually decided to go to the trouble and expense of adding a second, dedicated steam boiler to a "home" machine, separate temps for brewing and steaming wasn't practical for anyone without something like a La Marzocco in their kitchen.
That changed in the early 2000s when manufacturers started building double boiler machines for the espresso nerds willing to "spare no expense" with their home espresso geeking! Double boilers and digital PID temperature controllers became the new standard for "high end prosumer" machines.
The Brewtus II has a digital temperature control. It does it's thing without the onboard "logic" and solid state relay of PID machines. Which means the temp "cycle" on the Brewtus II may be slightly less "flat" than the later PIDs, it's a less complicated design, with fewer components, do theoretically less to go wrong in the long term. And we can't tell the difference in the cup.
(The Expobar replacement controller that retrofits this machine is actually pretty cheap, at around 70 bucks. Hopefully you'll never need it!)
But with all things "hi tech," one needs to keep in mind that while double boiler machines may be super cool in concept, they're "double" complicated compared to a single boiler machine. They have "double" the sensors, heating elements, etc., etc. All of which mean they can be harder to diagnose and more expensive to repair, when the days comes.
A lot of espresso lovers obviously have decided the technology and extra cost is worth it.
So if you've always fantasized about a genuine E61 double boiler, (and who hasn't really?!) here's a shot at a "bargain." New European double boilers now start in the mid to high two thousand range!
Comes with with a custom 58mm tamper, our favorite Motta (made in Italy!) steam pitcher, both single and double baskets, a blank filter, and a "naked" portafilter (we can swap that with "normal" spouted portafilter if preferred.) We've even got a used (but clean!) knock box we can throw in!
This is too heavy to ship with confidence. (A 60+ pound beast!) So will probably only do local pick up, unless you've got a really good sad story, and risk tolerance!