There seems to be a plethora of heat exchanger (HX), E61 equipped shiny metal boxes on the market these days. It’s often hard to distinguish between them: there are no real design or functionality components unique between machines in this class to differentiate them much, at least to the casual observer.
But one thing that is a bit rarer in this category of machines is the HX, E61 equipped “automatic” machine. The kind you can program shot buttons for.
A long time player in the Italian coffee scene, especially on the commercial side, is Vibiemme. Their machines are found in many a fine Italian coffee bar. On the consumer / prosumer side, we don’t see these machines much in North America. But Vibiemme wants to change that, and has come to market with a new machine that combines a decent price (comparatively) with some neat features.
We received the machine through Vibiemme, and they are still finalizing their US Distributorship. In the meantime, Stefano Cremonesi, of Stefano’s Espresso Care in Elmira, Oregon has been a huge help to the CoffeeGeek site with this review, and further inquiries about this machine may be directed through him. Once a new distributor / vendor is finalized, I will update this information.
The premier machine in Vibiemme’s domestic lineup is the Domobar Super, a machine that has seen an extensive makeover (searches online for the Domobar and Domobar Super may turn up an older design). Vibiemme sent us in the latest model for testing and review on the CoffeeGeek site.
The Vibiemme Domobar Super comes in a wide variety of choices, from a Manual (lever E61 operated) unit in black for a MAP of $1,379, right on up to the high end automatic stainless steel model (tested) for an MAP of $1,699. In between there’s a manual stainless steel model, black and stainless steel semi auto models, and the automatic also in black. Please note these are MAP pricing as of May 15, 2007. Dealers may sell for less, or more, depending on the Euro’s fluctuation against the US dollar..
We are testing the stainless steel, automatic model and this is our first look.
We are currently transferring over all our previously published First Looks from the previous design and database of the CoffeeGeek website. This process started on February 25, and will be completed by March 30, 2024.
If you enjoy and learn from this resource, please consider making a one time or recurring donation to help support our work and fund purchases for future reviews.
CoffeeGeek’s long overdue First Look at one of the best selling espresso machines in North America: the espresso machine and grinder combo Breville Barista Express.
The Smart Grinder Pro from Breville has been on the market for nearly 10 years; is the grinder still a top choice today as an entry point, multipurpose grinder? Let’s find out in CoffeeGeek’s full review.
