Bezzera BZ10

Bezzera had identified a few flaws from the traditional systems, particularly from the common E61 grouphead. The most glaring problem? Waiting a long time for your first cup.

Review from Whole Latte Love

Bezzera User Guide

Speed.

Compare to an E61 heat exchanger system. The required heat up time is drastically reduced to around 12 to 15 minutes instead of 20 to 30.

 

Dual Pressure Gauge.

Features an important brew gauge and a steam boiler gauge, useful for identifying any anomalies during brewing and readiness of the machine.

 

Temperature.

It’s a heat exchanger heating system and it’s designed to run at a slightly higher temperature at the initiation.
Followed by a steady reduction of temperature to strike an equilibrium in a standard 25-30 seconds extraction.
This expands and fully blossom all the characters in the coffee. At the same time, release aromatic notes only found in lower temperature and reduce the bitterness in coffee.

 

Copper boiler.

A safe material with natural anti-microbial properties to continuously kill 99.9% of bacteria that cause hospital-acquired infections, keeping water in the boiler always potable. One of the most conductive metal on earth, making the machine very efficient in starting up and recovering from lost heat. Will never rust like stainless steel, or release lead from brass, will only oxidise and increase its antimicrobial properties as its age.

 

High-quality Bezzera boiler.

Many manufacturers purchase their components from 3rd party vendors around the world, of unmeasured quality and reliability. Bezzera welds and makes all their boilers from their factory in Milan. Boilers are tested at high pressure to ensure that they are safe for usage.

 

Food Grade material

A few years ago, users from Europe had found out that many espresso machines, including cafe machines, are leaching huge amount of toxic metal. That includes aluminium, lead and other metal that can cause bio-accumulation and intoxication. Potentially causing organ damages, cell mutations and other complications.

Bezzera’s machines were found to be among the safest, topping the result in lab tests as compared to its peers. It’s interesting to know that some machines with stainless boilers, which were claimed to be safer, actually fared much worse with high level of lead detected in the water.

That’s possible because Bezzera is a real factory that produces most of its main parts in-house, with full control over its production and parts. With ample experience of over 100 years and huge amount of R&D done to understand what’s best for the machine, and also the user. The machines are safe enough for us to feel assured that they can be used by our own family

Bezzera scrutinize all their suppliers with the most stringent requirement, in both performance and material integrity.  All parts are produced in Italy and most parts by Bezzera themselves. This is a stark difference compared to many companies who outsource or purchase components wholesale and only does assembling in their factory without much tests or evaluations done.

Not only that, we are pleased to inform you that all newer machines are now equipped with a new generation of fittings and parts that make the safe material they use, significantly safer. This is the type of quality that you can’t see in the specifications.

 

Taste.

The Bezzera BZ line is known to express brighter notes with greater clarity as compared to standard E61 machines.

 

Fresher water.

Being a heat exchanger means that only fresh water from the tank will be used for brewing.

 

Power Saving.

With its fast start up time, it means that coffee can be brewed sooner using less power.

 

Thermal stability.

Multiple industrial grade heating elements are directly placed within the grouphead to ensure that the temperature is maintained within the optimal range.

 

Faster thermal recovery.

As this is not a thermosyphon system, the drop of temperature in the boiler after extensive use will not drop the temperature at the grouphead. The grouphead’s temperature is maintained by individual heating elements. This allows users to repeat shots back to back more rapidly.

 

Consistency.

Due to the design of the heat exchanger, minimal cool flushing is required.
The design does not hinder the steam power.

 

Size.

The Bezzera BZ10 had been redesigned to be almost 20% smaller and lighter compare to an E61 system.

The smaller size makes them easier to transport and has a much smaller footprint.

 

Easy Portafilter Fastening.

All BZ machines are now provided with a new special gasket for the grouphead, which makes it very comfortable and easy to lock the portafilter.
End users will appreciate this new upgrade on the “BZ” range, you feel the machine more professional when you fit the filter holder compare to any other machines.

Users may feel it’s not tightly locked at 7 O’clock, but they are sealed.

 

Improved Grouphead Cleaning

Some users may find it difficult to remove the shower screen from common groupheads like E61 or levers by prying. Damaging the rims of the screen in the process.

The BZ has an improved design and resolved the problem.

BZ Shower screen can remain in pristine condition after removal, saving cost.

The gasket remains in the grouphead after the shower screen is out. The exposed gasket can be cleaned directly without risk of damaging from removal. Saving time and cost.

 

Less Cleaning & Maintenance Required.

The BZ grouphead has a design to minimize the amount of space in the grouphead which reduces the chance of coffee remnants getting trapped and pollute the next cup. It is always more capable of producing a cleaner tasting espresso. It doesn’t use a thermosyphon system to stabilise the grouphead’s temperature, which greatly increases the chance of limescale forming. The grouphead is overall much cleaner than an E61 system or most machines, and requires less frequency of deep cleaning with grouphead detergent.

 

Durability.

As there is more than one heating element to share the duty of heating. The main heating element at the boiler, which is a major component is less strained.

BZ groupheads are designed in a way to be easier and a lot cheaper to service. Compare to E61 or machines of a similar genre, the BZ cost of servicing the grouphead is almost 50% less. Not only that, servicing for the BZ grouphead is required less frequent as there is not much space for coffee remnants to get trapped. In the event when maintenance is required, the grouphead can be easily removed and cleaned more thoroughly, restored to a better condition.

Unlike the E61, which has a lot of brass cams, valves and rubber gaskets in the grouphead that are subjected to wear and tear. There are no moving parts inside the BZ grouphead for mechanical failure.

Usability.

In this version, the Bezzera BZ10 has a switch for activation.
Bezzera BZ10 is suitable for any small environment.
It is a heat exchanger system, users can brew and froth milk at the same time.

 

FAQ.

The difference between the Bezzera BZ09, BZ10, BZ16 and Crema?

 

BZ09 is a single boiler, mainly for users who drink plain espressos or long blacks.
They are very basic, the user has to refill the boiler with water manually, there’s no automation.
They require more steps and more time to make a cup of latte.
Consider that heat exchangers are getting more competitive in price, have more functions and fare better in taste tests, they are almost obsolete.

BZ10 is the baseline model with a heat exchanger boiler and are very affordable.
They are simple without the extra functions. They don’t have much as electronics to fail and can be cheaper to service in the long run.
They are good for making espressos, as well as lattes or cappuccinos.
Despite the size, they have no problem achieving cafe-quality coffee.

Crema is the latest addition and is an enhanced version of the BZ10.
Aesthetically, the main body is in painted white which reduces the appearance of water marks or fingerprints. They are only available with the wooden knobs.
The grouphead is covered with an additional chassis to provide more space for keeping your cups and the sheltered grouphead helps maintain better thermal stability.

All versions of Crema heat up and recover heat faster than the BZ10.
PM version has no additional function and is very similar to the BZ10. It just heats up a little faster
PM PID version includes a digital temperature controller which you can use to slightly influence the extraction.
In term of longevity, it has a more durable power traffic controller which allows it to be switched on for a longer time.
DE PID version is the same as the PM PID version except it has an additional dosage control panel with three buttons. Two of the buttons are programmable for automatic control.

BZ16 are for heavy traffic environment.
It has a bigger boiler for heavier usage. All versions come with a dosage control panel with five buttons. Four of the buttons are programmable for automatic control.
They are armed with a durable power traffic controller which allows it to be switched on for a longer time.

There are two versions.
BZ16 with vibration pump can draw water from an internal water tank. Vibration pumps are generally “weaker”, and can’t be overworked, they will burn out if you don’t allow sufficient rest time. The typical work cycle limit for vibration pump is 2 minutes of work, it has to rest for 1 minute. Normal usage should not breach the limit. Normally they are damaged by users who abuse the pump with extraordinary long extraction or users cleaning too excessively with the pump. However, vibration pumps are a lot cheaper to replace, so they cost a lot lesser during overhaul.

BZ16 with rotary pump is built like a tank. Matter of fact, they are more tanky than many modern commercial machines in the market. It does not have an internal water tank and can only draw water from a connected tap from an external water container. The bad news is, this machine can’t use those cheap disposable water softener cartridges.

 

Reviews: Rating: 9.4 / 10 Rating: 9.2 / 10 Rating: 9.4 / 10 Rating: 9.2 / 10 Rating: 9.8 / 10 Rating: 9.6 / 10 Rating: 10 / 10 Rating: 9.6 / 10 Rating: 9.8 / 10

Warning: Be careful of hot surfaces, water and steam at all time.
Do not allow vibration pumps to activate for more than 2 minutes, allow half amount of rest time for any long duration of activation.

Specifications.

Grouphead..	Bezzera’s Thermal Efficient 58mm Grouphead.
Boiler Type..	Bezzera’s Improved Heat Exchange System.
Pump type..	Commercial Grade Vibration Pump.
Quick Start Up..	Yes.
Quick Steam..	Yes.
Operation..	Manual push button
Indicator Lights..	On. Off. Heating.
Boiler Capacity..	1.5 Litres
Water Tank Capacity..	3.0 Litres
Water Tank Access..	Via separate flap
Plumb in connection..	No.
Pressure Gauge..	Steam and Brew
Internal Control..	Internal Pressurestat
Boiler Construction..	Copper.
Chassis Construction..	Stainless steel AISI 304 body
Steam/Water Valve Type..	Joy stick with stay open control
Low Water Cut Off..	Yes.
Low Water Indication..	Light.
Heat Resistant Wands..	Heat Proof Grips
Cup Warmer..	Yes.
Number of Portafilter Holders..	1 Double Filter Holder, with both Single and Double Baskets)
Free Accessories..	Metal Blind Filter, Coffee Powder Scoop and Plastic Tamper.
Place of Production..	100% Italy, Milan by Bezzera
Place of Assembly..	100% Italy, Milan by Bezzera (By Hand)
Dimension (W x D x H)..	250 x 425 x 375 MM
Net Weight..	19 KG
Gross Weight..	22 KG
Power Supply..	220-230V 50-60 Hz
Nominal Power..	1200-1400 W
Warranty..	6 Months

Link to official website: BZ10