A small space shouldn’t be the reason to skip out on the cafe experience at home. When looking at compact espresso machines for the home, we often talk about heat exchangers, but we have recently added a curve ball to the mix. Introducing The VBM Junior 2 Boilers. Dual boiler espresso machines are some of our favourite machines, simply because the experience feels easy and seamless between pulling a shot and steaming milk. Previously, moving into a dual boiler with Italian build quality meant a nearly £2000 investment. The machines at that price point are great, and the way ..read more

In the heat exchanger espresso machine market, there has been a new team player added to the mix by the well know Profitec brand. As such, we felt it was only right to compare it to our best-selling heat exchanger, the Lelit Mara X. Both are compact E61 espresso machines with very similar specifications, and both are manufactured by companies with plenty of credit to their name. There’s a lot of similarities with these two machines, and we have already had a few questions by our customers on what the differences between them are, we’ll be comparing them so you can see the what differentia ..read more

German engineering at it’s finest! When describing ECM and Profitec machines we often compare them to owning a german car because of their precision engineering and quality. So when we went to visit them in Heidelberg it came to no surprise to us to see the perfectly laid out factory, with pristine work benches and exacting layouts of tools and machine parts. We at Bella Barista pride ourselves on being a family run business at the heart of it all. So when our founders, Marcel Binley and Claudette Porter (brother and sister) went to visit ECM/Profitec they were humbled to see the same. Mar ..read more

Bella Barista are delighted to announce the introduction of the Swiss Made Olympia Coffee Machines, Espresso Grinders and accessories to the range. We have long admired the build and craft of the Olympia Cremina, a small footprint manual lever coffee machine. It’s very well known in Europe and often passed down the family from generation to generation. We knew there wasn’t the representation in the UK this coffee machine deserved, to showcase these beautiful refined coffee machines. Overview The company itself was founded in Switzerland in 1928 and for the first few decades, buil ..read more

is the smallest of the 1Zpresso hand grinders I was sent for testing by Bella Barista. In my opinion this is purely a brewed coffee grinder and not suitable for pumped espresso machines. There is not too much to say about it as it has the same excellent build quality of it’s larger and more expensive siblings. As usual the caveat that people with joint problems, the elderly, hand and wrist problems may not enjoy using this grinder. It is significantly easier to turn than the larger 1Zpresso hand grinders but if unsure try one first. The key points are: Very compact and lightweight Great Qual ..read more

It’s quite a mouthful. Bella Barista sent me one of these to have a play with. I don’t mind getting grinders (as long as they are good ones) because they are not as heavy as machines and not such a hassle to unbox and re-box for shipping back. It’s a Mini review in as much as I thought it would be useful to use 2 different grinder types whilst reviewing another machine. I had heard a lot about the Atom and my interest was piqued. I wasn’t actually asked to produce a review for this grinder, just to use it for a bit and let them know what I thought. I thought it was quite good….so went to the ..read more

Bella Barista are delighted to announce the introduction of the Swiss Made Olympia Coffee Machines, Espresso Grinders and accessories to the range. We have long admired the build and craft of the Olympia Cremina, a small footprint manual lever coffee machine. It’s very well known in Europe and often passed down the family from generation to generation. We knew there wasn’t the representation in the UK this coffee machine deserved, to showcase these beautiful refined coffee machines. Overview The company itself was founded in Switzerland in 1928 and for the first few decades, buil ..read more

Wow, I can’t believe it’s that time of year again. Yet how different does it feel from this time last year? Hopefully, Christmas 2021 will be one we can enjoy with much more hope and joy. One where we can spend more time with all our family and friends. Yes, with all this optimism of a better festive season this year, also comes dread. The dread of finding the perfect gift for the person who already has everything. This year will be a chance for us all to show how much we really care about our loved ones. What better way to show this than finding the perfect gift? Well, we are here to help ..read more

NEW – From the Eureka Oro Range, the Mignon is now available as a single dose grinder with 65 mm Diamond Inside Burrs ELR System (Extremely Low Retention): the perfect inclination of the grinding chamber (15°), combined with dedicated technical solutions, ensures retention close to zero. Overview ELR System (Extremely Low Retention): the perfect inclination of the grinding chamber (15°), combined with dedicated technical solutions, ensures retention close to zero.New Single Dose hopper with branded wooden lid and revolving metal tab (45 g), designed to best satisfy your unique co ..read more

Bella Barista is the authorised UK retailer for this grinder, it comes under a few different names in Europe. It is a single dosing extra low retention (ELR) grinder that uses flat 64mm Italmill burrs. The mounting points on the burr carriers are fully compatible with those for a Mazzer Mini E, or Super Jolly, should you wish to source alternate burrs. A full metal bodied construction in aluminium alloy with 2 contrasting colours and finishes. Wrapped to give different colours and finishes. The grinder I have is a very early production version in “Aluminium finish”, but it’s still a wrap ..read more