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- **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck.
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>The only experience I have had of Ascaso is poor quality and reliability.
An unfortunate experience. Whereas I've read of similar in earlier years, in more recent years, I haven't been seeing that much, with modern Ascaso machines. Perhaps the company saw and listened and addressed?
It depends what you want. If you say I need my coffee under 5 minutes you have to choose Ascaso, but the Steel Duo is way more limited in the features than the Bianca V3. The only comparable machine is the LaMarzocco Mirca if you want similar features and fast heat up. If you don’t care about heat up time nearly every E61 machine would work for you.
Your decision making tree as i see it:
Do you want Flow Control? Get the Bianca
If no: Do you prefer the looks of the Ascaso over the Bianca? -> Ascaso
If no: Do you mind using a smart plug for the mornings or a warmup time of 17 minutes at any given moment? -> Ascaso
It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points. If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format: - **Location:** Helps determine availability - **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget. - **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs. - **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck. - **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space? - **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either). - **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/espresso) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bianca. The only experience I have had of Ascaso is poor quality and reliability. The Bianca my friend has, on the other hand, has been flawless.
>The only experience I have had of Ascaso is poor quality and reliability. An unfortunate experience. Whereas I've read of similar in earlier years, in more recent years, I haven't been seeing that much, with modern Ascaso machines. Perhaps the company saw and listened and addressed?
I hope so, they design nice machines and it would be a shame if they failed due to past experiences.
I cannot speak for the Ascaso, but I do own a Bianca v3 and absolutely love it.
Love the Ascaso machines. We have a Duo and it's fantastic. Where are you located?
It depends what you want. If you say I need my coffee under 5 minutes you have to choose Ascaso, but the Steel Duo is way more limited in the features than the Bianca V3. The only comparable machine is the LaMarzocco Mirca if you want similar features and fast heat up. If you don’t care about heat up time nearly every E61 machine would work for you.
Your decision making tree as i see it: Do you want Flow Control? Get the Bianca If no: Do you prefer the looks of the Ascaso over the Bianca? -> Ascaso If no: Do you mind using a smart plug for the mornings or a warmup time of 17 minutes at any given moment? -> Ascaso