Anna PL41LEM

I know! lol. My wife has been super and gifted me the grinder for Christmas. I also considered the Lelit Anna but was put off by the lack of control over pre infusion etc. The Gaggia is great if it works for you. I was just put off by the need to invalidate warranty in order to get anything out of it.

OK, if I'm being fully honest, I had this exact machine and I upgraded and I have not regretted it since. If you're only using it for espresso, it's not worth the upgrade, but if you're wanting to use it for steam wand and consistency within shots, it's worth the upgrade. I had to Lelit anna 2 and then I upgraded to a Sanremo You in October 2024. if you have the extra money and you'll use it every day i say do it!!! if not, you could always upgrade to the Bianca that's a great machine but again the steam wand is gonna be the exact same as the Anna.

First you need good grinder because it is soul of making decent espresso and if you don't want to change your espresso machine in 10 yrs go for Lelit Anna or gaggia classic .... ...followed by Grinders 64 mm burr like Rift 64 or DF64 v2.... Total budget will set you off for around 90k.. Invest in quality product and brew decent espresso.. Don't waste money on cheap espresso machines and grinders...

I went from a Lelit Anna to a Lelit Bianca and, without changing a thing about my prep process or grinder, the difference was night and day. My worst shot with the Lelit was better than my best shot with the Anna. I've had it for almost 3 years now and it remains the best purchase i've ever made.

$1560 seems well above entry level when the bambino plus, Turin legato, Lelit Ana and Gaggia Classic can all be had for $600 or less. A nice entry level grinder doesn’t cost $1k. I guess it kinda depends on your definition of “entry level” but I think you should be saving money in the first 10 or so months, even adding in the cost of beans and some fun accesories.

There are better and cheaper gooseneck kettles out there. We have a Cosori that cost a third of the Fellow and is just as fast and accurate. If you’re only doing the occasional milk drink, the Mara X is crazy overkill. You’d perfectly fine with a single-boiler machine like a Lelit Anna. And the DF54 is fine for medium-dark and dark roasts but if you want lighter you should go with the DF64V or another grinder with flat burrs.

I have the same machine and never have any issues in heating delays between espresso and steam. Just let the machine itself heat the water in the boiler as you say. The Lelit Anna is brilliant.