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Bezzera owners thread

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Discussions > Espresso > Machines > Bezzera owners...

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tedegreene
Senior Member

Joined: 4 Oct 2005
Posts: 164
Location: JACKSONVILLE

Espresso: Bezzera BZ40
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Thu Jan 28, 2010, 12:46pm Subject: Bezzera owners thread

There’s not much information on the Bezzera machines but the BZ02 and BZ07 look like good candidates to become popular if their build quality and performance are in anyway similar to the BZ40 I have. I’m starting this thread to pool the experience of any and all Bezzera owners past, present or future. I’m going to reserve this first slot for web links to parts suppliers or information that might be important to all owners. I will edit to add information as it becomes available from members or other sources. PARTS click here A Denver USA company. I've gotten a few things from them like gaskets, shower screens, a drain tub. All the parts fit and the tub was an exact OEM replacement. click here An Australian company so don't let the listed prices scare you until you convert to USA dollars. I've heard they will ship world wide. Mainly included the link because they have parts drawings for all machines and some interesting background info about Bezzera's history. click here Bezzera's home page. Same parts diagrams etc. PARTS DIAGRAMS: Galatea Domus: click here BZ07:click here BZ99:click here BZ40:click here BZ35:click here BZ02:click here TIP When it's time to replace the group gasket or clean the group head, removal of just 3 screws will allow the whole assembly to drop out for easy access (see part 36 pg 9 of BZ07 parts diagram). Other BZ models have similar arrangements, removing the group assembly beats the heck out of standing on your head trying to remove parts for replacement/cleaning while it's in place. The ease of removal is one more example of a superior design. P-stat set point/temperature chart. click here for chart To obtain absolute pressure as listed on chart add 1 bar to your gauge reading.

Nijo1973
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 44
Location: Philadelphia
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 / Mini Vivaldi...
Grinder: Le'lit PL53 / Macap M4

Posted Thu Jan 28, 2010, 2:43pm Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

GATORRPH I think this thread would become very helpful for us owners, new owners, looking to learn tricks on these not so much publicized or marketed machines, yet, IMHO, seem to be very capable as any other. I just got my BZ07 yesterday, and my first impression is wow...seems to be of a great built...very good components and certainly....the BZ07 is much MUCH better looking in person than in stock pictures...I have taken couple of pictures that I can post soon. I will also give my initial feedback as well as issues/questions as they rise.... Great idea for starting this thread...I was just thinking last night of starting a thread today....but you beat me to it.....

Nijo1973
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 44
Location: Philadelphia
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 / Mini Vivaldi...
Grinder: Le'lit PL53 / Macap M4

Posted Thu Jan 28, 2010, 2:47pm Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

BTW.... The Olympia Maximatic ($3,100 machine) grouphead, seems very similar to the new group head design on the Bezzera BZ07 which is actively heated as opposed to being an E61....anyone knows more about this design........? Click Here (www.home-barista.com)

Nijo1973
Senior Member

Joined: 30 Dec 2009
Posts: 44
Location: Philadelphia
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 / Mini Vivaldi...
Grinder: Le'lit PL53 / Macap M4

Posted Thu Jan 28, 2010, 3:18pm
Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

Ok...here are my first impressions of the new Bezzera BZ07 I just received yesterday... Since I have not had much time practicing yet, I will provide my initial feedback, which is mostly from initial impression since there has been very little written about the BZ07 (Not quality of shot...at least not yet, as i am still practicing with different grinds and somehow stale 3 wks old beans)

PROS (so far):

Machine seems to be extremely well made and built with quality components (although L-T reliability remains to be determined, given the new grouphead design, but Bezzera has been in the business for so long (circa 1901) and manufacture so many machine
BZ07 looks much more appealing in person, than in stock pictures. Stainless steel seems to be of very high quality
Size: BZ07 is a perfect size for a countertop.... looks very serious but very elegant, not very overpowering (even gets a nod from the wife, who is very protective of countertop Real estate). Under regular cabinets, it measures about 14.25 inch leaving about 4 inches to allow for water refill.
Quick Heat up: Machine seems to get up to temperature rather quickly...and when boiler pressure drops, slighly, it quickly kicks in and within seconds, it is back up to 1.2 bar.
Does not seem to require much flushing...(I will have to experiment with different flushing times) but initial impression is that the shorter the better, which is a Big plus for people like me...who do not want to go through the hassle of long flushes (which lead to more refills...which lead to more drip tray emptying)
Steam: BZ07 seems to be a steaming beast...however, the standard 4 hole steam tip does not create micro-foam with small 4oz. Skim milk
Sound: Machine seems to be very quiet when extracting....actually, sound is louder in boiler refill mode than when extracting, which is a really pleasant surprise

CONS (So far):

Drip Tray: I felt that the drip tray was somehow small....and could have easily been twice the size....that is a design aspect, as the drip tray, "looks" big and deep, but in fact, it is shallow and small....it seems a lot of wasted and unused space...but that wold force me to clean it more often than I do with my Isomac Brio which has a huge tray relative to its size.
Steam: See steam above.....the 4 hole steam tip seems (at least initially) an overkill for small amounts of milk. Luckily, there is a 2 hole upgrade, and I read on a german coffee enthusiasts site (where the Bezzera BZ07 is very popular) that several people upgraded to the 4 hole 0.9mm tip (same used on the Vetrano, Giotto, Giotto premium etc....vs. the standard 1.3mm 4 hole that comes standard.....I will measure tonight but I believe the BZ07 steam tip is a 8mm male thread)
Feet: although this is one the most compact heat exchange machine in terms of overall size (WxH) and even though it looks pretty nice and proportional as is, it seems that from a design aspect, the feet could have easily been designed to provide the flexibility of lowering the maching to allow more clearance (above for water refill under the cabinet) where it is most needed. Again, I really Like the size as is and machine is very proportional, but it would have been nice to have the flexibility of gaining another inch on top (since feet are approx. 1.75 in high
gauge: Again, from a design, it would have been nice to have the gauge pressure on top of panel vs. bottom

tedegreene
Senior Member

Joined: 4 Oct 2005
Posts: 164
Location: JACKSONVILLE

Espresso: Bezzera BZ40
Grinder: Baratza Preciso

Posted Thu Jan 28, 2010, 6:15pm
Subject: Short flushing BZ40

Nijo1973 Said:

Does not seem to require much flushing...(I will have to experiment with different flushing times) but initial impression is that the shorter the better, which is a Big plus for people like me...who do not want to go through the hassle of long flushes (which lead to more refills...which lead to more drip tray emptying)

Posted January 28, 2010 link

My BZ40 needs a very short flush only, more to heat up the water path than to cool down the pull. Bezzera machines use a HX chamber rather than a simple tube running through the boiler like some other makers. Instead of replacing super heated water in the tube with cold water and waiting for it to heat during a "rebound period" they MIX the incoming cold with the already heated water to produce water at the correct temp immediately. No need to throw away the preheated water and start over while guessing how long to wait for rebound. If the BZ02 and 07 designs work as well as the BZ40 you almost can't go wrong except by over flushing. Try this, grind tamp etc. then flush only until the water coming from the group head quits flashing to steam and sizzling. 3 to 4 seconds (or less) should do. At 22ml per second, my machine flows enough cold water to displace 3 0z of hot water during this time. You may need to adjust the time based on your water debit but stop when the “water dance” does. As a rebound period, wait another sec or two for the water to quit dripping from the group head and to allow the cold and hot water to mix in the HX chamber, then lock the filter and go. If the coffee tastes bitter flush a little longer, if sour a little shorter. The speed, simplicity and goof-proof flush is probably what I like best about my machine from a functional standpoint. I followed the procedure recommended for other HX's for a while and was going nuts trying to temp surf with poor results then in my frustration omitted the flush all together by accident and got much better results. The cup was richer, bolder without bitterness, hotter and way easier. If your machine works the way mine does even forgetting to flush at all will still work very well. Omitting the flush was the best mistake I ever made. I hope to do some temp measurements for various flush times soon and will post the results.

retfeg
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Jan 2008
Posts: 36
Location: Toronto
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010, 5:35am Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

Gentleman, Welcome back. Thanks very much for starting this thread. I am enjoying my new BZ07 very much so far. Trying to perfect my technique. I got a bottomless portafilter from Jim and it is, indeed, a great learning tool. At this point, I am getting a lot of blonding, and trying to figure out what it is ythat I can adjust to get more of a perfect shot. I use a fresh coffee and put about 14-15 grams of it. Any ideas? The machine is great so far, huge improvement over the Gaggia Classic I had before.

jammin
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Nov 2009
Posts: 658
Location: Boise
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Speedster, Cremina
Grinder: K10, Vario-W with Ditting...
Vac Pot: Hario
Drip: manual
Roaster: quest m3, hottop b

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010, 5:42am Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

retfeg Said: Gentleman, Welcome back. Thanks very much for starting this thread. I am enjoying my new BZ07 very much so far. Trying to perfect my technique. I got a bottomless portafilter from Jim and it is, indeed, a great learning tool. At this point, I am getting a lot of blonding, and trying to figure out what it is ythat I can adjust to get more of a perfect shot. I use a fresh coffee and put about 14-15 grams of it. Any ideas? The machine is great so far, huge improvement over the Gaggia Classic I had before. Posted January 29, 2010 link Are your pours goingfor 25-30 seconds? What is your volume after said time? What grinder are you using? Have you tried WDT yet? Cheers, Jackson

roast your own

retfeg
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Jan 2008
Posts: 36
Location: Toronto
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010, 6:12am Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

My pours are 25 seconds and I am getting 2-2.5 oz of coffe. I am using Rocky set to 5-6. My true zero is at 2. I tried coarser, but don't like the results. I have tried WDT and it is a little better, but not by much.

jammin
Senior Member

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010, 6:15am Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

s retfeg Said: My pours are 25 seconds and I am getting 2-2.5 oz of coffe. I am using Rocky set to 5-6. My true zero is at 2. I tried coarser, but don't like the results. I have tried WDT and it is a little better, but not by much. Posted January 29, 2010 link hmm. last question- how is your tamp? is at 30#'s? You may want to try lightening it up a bit(if your tamp > 30#) and grinder a shade finer. 2.5oz is a lot of volume FOR ME on a double so if you're blonding there it sounds like you could easily make a great ristretto. Cheers, Jackson

roast your own

retfeg
Senior Member

Joined: 1 Jan 2008
Posts: 36
Location: Toronto
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Fri Jan 29, 2010, 6:43am Subject: Re: Bezzera owners thread..Why do you hate/like/love your machine? Tips and Tric

Jackson, I am probably overtamping. I will try a lighter touch. What does blonding really mean?

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