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 they differ from the VBM Junior is more refined finish, bigger steam boilers with more power, and the ability to make more drinks at a time.
The three commonly compared small dual boilers we get are the Rancilio Silvia Pro X , Lelit Elizabeth, and the Profitec Pro 300. These all have a very similar top heavy look with one of one of the boilers sat above the group head. The VBM Junior sits out a lot in terms of appearance as it unlike the rest has a e61 group head and the two boilers sit incased in the back, making it look more like a traditional set-up.
Steam Power
Small espresso machines often have a reputation for lacking steam power, but this certainly isn’t the case with the VBM Junior. With a 0.7l steam boiler it is and average size steam boiler. We often find with smaller boilers they have a smaller steam capacity, which means you may find if you are making more than a couple of coffees at a time you may find the steam drops in pressure and you aren’t able to froth your milk as well. Although if you only plan to make 1-2 lattes in the morning, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the punchy steam power this machine produces, allowing you to steam 200ml of milk in 18 seconds.
Now, if you’re still unsure about if the machine is right for you, let’s talk through additional features. Both the brew boiler and the steam boiler in the machine have independent temperature control which you access under the cup surround. This allows you to manually adjust the temperature so you are able to adjust the brew temperature for different coffees.
