I didn’t think I’d become the kind of person who weighs coffee beans to the tenth of a gram. Or someone who sets an alarm 20 minutes early just to let an espresso machine reach its thermal peak. Yet here I am, a few weeks into life with the Lelit Bianca V3 – dialling in grind size like a lab tech and explaining to friends why water mineral content just might be the unsung hero of great espresso.
The shift into extreme coffee nerdery was subtle, then sudden. One day, I was pulling decent shots on a Breville Express setup. The next, I was pacing around my kitchen at 7 AM, walking my partner through the concept of “flow profiling.” She’s still confused. I don’t blame her.
With that in mind, if some overly technical terms crop up throughout this review, blame the countless Reddit rabbit holes I’ve been falling into lately.
That’s the spell the Lelit Bianca casts. It doesn’t necessarily make better espresso, but it makes you obsessed with making better espresso. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s personal evolution or espresso-induced insanity.
Here’s what you need to know.
The Machine
Spending $4,800 on an espresso machine might sound excessive – and it is. But in the world of high-end home coffee setups, the Lelit Bianca hits a compelling sweet spot.
Compared to entry-level options like the Breville Express or even mid-range machines from Rocket or Profitec, the Bianca offers real-time control, dual boilers, and premium Italian-made components for thousands less than you’d pay for the same features on a La Marzocco.
Weighing in at 26 kilograms, this isn’t an appliance that you’ll easily relocate to better your kitchen’s feng shui. It’s sturdy. Which, I must admit, makes cleaning underneath it a bit of a chore. The heavy-duty stainless steel construction and commercial-grade solenoid valves suggest a machine designed for decades of daily use. A tactile reassurance for this level of investment.
The walnut accents add a nice sense of warmth to the machine and the mirror-polished surfaces are indeed stunning, though they show absolutely every single fingerprint. I suppose that’s what the included microfibre cloth is for.
The core innovation here, however, is control. The Bianca’s manual flow control paddle lets you adjust water pressure in real time during the brew. While most home espresso machines deliver a fixed nine bars of pressure from start to finish, the Bianca lets you orchestrate pressure throughout the shot. Start gently at 2-3 bars for pre-infusion, ramp up to full pressure mid-shot, then ease off to avoid over-extraction. It’s flavour profiling without automation – just your hand, your judgment, and practice. Lots of practice. More on that momentarily.
Under the hood, you get dual stainless steel boilers: a 0.8-litre brew boiler and a 1.5-litre steam boiler – meaning you can brew and steam at the same time without worry. It’s a game-changer if you’re in a rush or slinging back-to-back espressos for the family.
The steam wand is more of a steam rocket-launcher. Sure, it articulates smoothly with cool-touch protection so you don’t have to worry about searing off your fingerprints – which is great, sure – but boy, is this thing powerful. Perfectly silky micro-foam within seconds of turning it on. Seriously impressive strength and consistency here.
The rotary pump operates at whisper-quiet levels while maintaining consistent pressure, unlike the vibratory pumps that you’ll find in most entry-level machines, which do a great job of waking up your neighbours the moment you fire them up.
In addition to the machine, the box also comes with the following:
- LELIT58 bottomless filterholder (the only one that I’m using)
- LELIT58 two-ways filterholder
- Blind, 9-11g, 14-18g and 18-21g dose filters
- Stainless steel tamper with aluminium handle
- Spoon for coffee powder
- Water softener filter
- Small brush
- LELIT microfiber cloth
- Four-holes steam wand nozzle (Install this immediately for faster foam)
- Cleaning kit
The Learning Curve
Let’s be clear: this isn’t a starter machine. If you’re still using pods or wondering what “yield ratio” means, the Bianca will humble you in record time.
I blew through nearly a half a kilo of beans in the first week, pulling subpar shots while learning how each step of the process interacted with one another. There were mornings I nailed it, and others when I considered putting the Bianca back in the box purely out of spite. Tiny adjustments can have big impacts.
Once you understand it, the Bianca truly is a joy to use. Made a bad grind? Was your tamp slightly off? A little finesse on the paddle is a quick and easy solution to save that shot. You’re not locked into the usual binary of “good” or “down the drain.” There’s nuance here. Wiggle room. Redemption!
The Tech Reality Check
I suspect the Bianca’s UI was designed by someone who assumes you’ve already had a strong coffee. Navigation is handled by clunky plus/minus buttons that feel more like an outdated microwave than a modern espresso machine. Surprising, given the considered detail throughout every other design component.
The Buyer
If you’re already dosing your grinds, obsessing over grind particle uniformity and weighing extractions, the Bianca is a natural next step. Pair it with a solid grinder like the Lelit William PL72, a reliable set of scales, plus a few barista tools (like a WDT), and you’ll settle in quickly.
Coming from the Breville Express, it felt like a leap. Though after some research and more Hoffmann videos than I care to admit, it all clicked. What the Bianca demands in effort, it returns tenfold in delicious reward.
The Verdict
After several weeks of daily use, the Bianca has proven to be exceptionally capable.
The coffee quality is demonstrably better than my previous setup. I’m consistently getting richer cremas and cleaner finishes. But as alluded to earlier, this improvement requires genuine time investment and necessitates a bit of research.
This isn’t about convenience or speed – it’s about control and the methodical process to attain said control. For those who find satisfaction in technical precision and enjoy the ceremony of making their morning cup, the Bianca delivers on its promises. For everyone else, there are far simpler ways to make good coffee (though few quite as rewarding).
Lelit Bianca V3
Excellent
85/100
SCOREPROS
- Most suitable for experienced home baristas who want professional-level control.
- For the right user, it’s damn near close to perfect.
CONS
- Avoid if you prioritise convenience and speed.
- For the wrong user, it can be perfectly overwhelming.
The author was provided a coffee machine for the purposes of this review.
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