COFFEE
The Pro 600 is the first Profitec machine that we have sold, which we started offering in summer 2022.
We added it to our range, as we had lots of requests for a dual boiler that was cheaper than the Rocket R58 (aka Cinquantotto). It was becoming a common request for people wanting a dual boiler, but were not actually needing it to be plumbed into mains water, plus they felt that the cost of a rotary pump was maybe a stretch too far for them.
The Pro 600 is just that, a dual boiler without mains water connection and rotary pump, which drops the price from an R58 of £2490, to the Pro 600, which is £1695, so a pretty big difference.
What we were keen to know was, is it as good as the R58 in terms of build quality, aesthetics, ease of use, features and ultimately as good at making great coffee?
Here’s what we found:
Out of the Box
The Pro 600 is neatly packaged and laid out in a clever format, leaving little scope for movement in transit, keeping the machine safe and secure. There is an accessories box on top holding single & double portafilters, cleaning bush, backflush disc, manual and cleaning cloth.
Under this sits the machine housed in a branded Profitec bag and sat in molded soft polystyrene to safeguard the unit. The machine is best taken out by holding the back of the machine and the front of the E61 grouped evenly. It weighs around 28KG, so make sure you are careful when getting it out of a surface.
Drip Tray
The drip tray is very slick and well produced and fits neatly into position without any gaps, scrapes etc supported by a magnetic connection. It has a neatly cut Profitec ‘R’ on the right hand side, which is a nice touch.
Power
The Pro 600 comes with a standard UK 3-pin plug, so no need for any mains wiring.
Water Reservoir
The reservoir container is easily removed from just under the machine lid / cover. It holds 2.8 L of water. You can either remove it each time and fill it, or pour water directly into it, whichever works best for you.
Machine Height
Height wise, it sat just under my kitchen cupboards at 39.5cm, which have a max height underneath of 39.8cm, so they do fit under a standard height of a home kitchen cupboard. I did have to move the machine out to refill it with water. If this is a problem for you, then you need to make sure that you have a space with around 60cm clear to be able to achieve this without any moving.
Build Quality
The machine is exceptionally well built and laid out, very similar to the Rocket. Everywhere you look on the machine it’s all very neat, clean, refined and well considered. There’s no rough edges or corner cutting being done, with the overall build quality being very high.
Aesthetically, it’s very slick in a minimalistic refined way. It’s not over-styled and gives off an air of quality. To sum it up, it’s more timeless and elegant.
The Finish
The finishes on the body, cup warming area and drip tray are all very neat and clean. Around the PID the fitting is perfect with no margins of error, which is reassuring.
For comparison, we have had numerous premium brands that when taken out the box, they have
Customisable Parts
Whilst the portafilter handle, steam / water knobs and lever handle are all plastic, they are well produced and don’t feel cheap. You can now upgrade these to either wood or concrete finishes soon.
The Classic E61 Grouphead
The E61 group is the exact same as a Rocket and commands the centre of the machine, again perfectly fitted with everything looking flush and clean. This is the core of the machine, driving excellent temperature stability, which when joined by a PID, provides precision control over your coffee making.
Cover and Reservoir
The metal machine cover, which includes the metal cup surround, lifts off in a single section, revealing the 2.8 L water reservoir, which is easy to lift out for refilling. Similar to the Rocket’s, it has a connection on the bottom with a mini vacuum, which connects to the pipe leading to the boilers.
Side Panels
The side panels are black as standard, but you can soon modify these to be either green or wood, as you prefer.
Controls
The main control is the front facing PID unit that provides five main functions:
- The pressure of the brew boiler (which you can change).
- The pressure of the steam boiler (which you can change).
- The shot counter, which begins when you lift the leva to start a shot.
- You can access the controls for cleaning reminders and set the number of shots before you are reminded.
- You can turn ECO mode on/off, which when activated, powers the machine down after 90 mins of no use.
It’s simple to use and the manual is easy to navigate to make adjustments if you wish to do so.
The Pro 600 comes with two separate gauges, one for the brew (group) pressure and the other for the boiler pressure. Again, well fitted, clean and flush.
Activation & Pre-Infusion
The machine is manual and is activated by lifting the lever handle upwards to begin your shot. If you lift it up to around 25%, you activate pre-infusion, which saturates your coffee puck for improved extraction. Then after 5 seconds (if you choose to carry out pre-infusion), you lift it all the way up to move the pressure from around 3 bar to 9 bar to complete your process.
Turning on / Heating Up:
The machine powers on via the single switch on the front of the machine, and immediately draws water from the reservoir to fill both boilers. Once done (in around 45 seconds), it begins to heat up.
Heating Up Time
The brew and steam boilers heat up respectively and show the rising temperatures via the PID. I found the brew boiler was at 96c in around 10 mins and the steam boiler was at 17 bar by 16 mins.
Tip: You can (If you wish) accelerate the process by drawing some water through the group which helps dissipate the heat around the group faster which lends to getting a more prepared grouped for pulling shots.
Pulling a Shot
I was using a Eureka Mignon Specialita, dialled in for a 17g shot of our Clockwork Blend, aiming for a shot of about 35g in around 32 seconds.
Upon lifting the lever arm to begin the shot, the shot timer kicked in straight away, and I found a nice steady flow of espresso after around 5 seconds (which is fairly standard for an E61 grouped shot).
A Quiet Vibration Pump
During the shot being pulled I could hear the vibration pump kicking in to push water through the system. It was fairly quiet all in all, and arguably less noisy than a Rocket.
Once I hit my desired volume / time, I lowered the leva handle and the shot timer stopped immediately. All in all a very easy and controlled process.
Steaming Milk
With the Pro 600 being a dual boiler (DB), it is capable of steaming milk at the exact same time as brewing espresso, so no lag or wait time involved.
Powerful Steam Pressure
Activating the steam knob was a standard single turn, resulting in a powerful kick of steam (I have the steam boiler set to 12 bar, which is slightly above the norm), not that dissimilar to commercial machines we offer.
Steaming milk was fast and easy for both dairy and oat options, with good power through the 3-tip steam head. Steaming milk for a flat white took around 12 seconds max.
Conclusion
We are pretty impressed by what Profitec has done with the Pro 600. It’s a very pretty but super functional machine that is not overly styled or fancy. Instead it is elegant and classy (Think Audi).
Despite not having a rotary pump, which the majority of dual boilers have, it was not a noisy machine and dare we say it, actually very quiet.
The PID was very easy to use and make changes on and would not be tricky for even the novice coffee maker, making it accessible and low stress.
At £1695 we think this machine may be the best unit we offer considering build quality & features Vs price.
We hold stock of this machine at all times and are about to stock the Flow Controller to modify how the E61 crop delivers water to the group. This modification is priced at £175, and we can fit them for you free of charge.
If you want to know any further information about the pro 600 or any other Profitec model, please get in touch on info@machina-coffee.co.uk or call us on 0131 656 9565.
