DE1XL

If you want to get the most out of your light to medium-light beans, the Fellow ES1 and Decent are the two clear winners. If anyone tells you that pre-infusion and flow control don't make a difference for light roasts, they don't know what they're talking about. I owned a Decent before buying a Mini, so I have experience with both machines. My preference is for medium-dark to dark roast, so the Mini works better for me -- but side-by-side, pulling lighter roasts on the Decent vs the Mini, the Decent by far produces the more superior shot. Edit: I'll add that I wasn't a fan of the steaming on the Decent. On the other hand, I hear the Fellow ES1 steams extremely well.

I moved from a Dual Boiler E61 to a DE1XL. There is no way I am going back to a boiler based machine after using the thermoblock. Having water constantly being heated and reheated in a boiler seems very outdated when we have better technology now. The fast heatup time (4 mins from cold) is a total game changer. The DE1 is the most versatile machine in the market. I even use the filter 3.0 attachment to make filter coffee when I can't be bothered to do measured pours manually. It makes a very good cup. I have done so much more with the profiles on the decent than I have ever done with the E61 machine (flow control included). If you are into light roast coffees the DE1 is certainly one of the best in the market to get the best out of them. The tablet makes for some nice quality of life improvements. Brew by weight with a paired bluetooth scale is something I will not live without. Using the Describe Your Espresso plug in and visualizer uploads makes for a very compelling learning tool. I was using a BT group pressure gauge and my scales flow rate and Bean Conqueror to do similar things on my E61. With the Decent this whole thing is more integrated with the machine itself. There are many skins that make the UI as easy as you want or as detailed as you want. For example, the DSx2 skins have a feature where you can setup the weights of your milk pitcher. You set how long it takes to steam a quantity of milk to the temperature you like. For me 200g takes about 38 seconds to steam to 65 Celsius. Once you have all this setup, you place your pitcher in the scale and pour the milk. Press the steam adjust button and it will automatically set the time based on the weight of milk you put in. So if say I am using 160gm of milk, it will reduce the steam time to 30 ish or so seconds so you will hit your temperature and the steam will stop. It will then auto purge once you are done. This way you can focus on texturing the milk and not worry about when you need to stop steaming. Once you are done wipe and hit the stop button and it will purge (it can be set to purge without hitting stop too).

I paid 0 tariffs on it. It shipped and was in my hands in 2 days.

Just get a Decent DE1. I got one after faffing about using an E61 with flow control, there is no substitute if you want to control every aspect of the shot.

I got mine as a cosmetic defect unit in the end of Sept this year (barely noticeable nick at the back of the machine) otherwise perfect.

Decent DE1

Ill informed. EDIT: What I paid doesn't change the fact that you are clueless. Clueless people are easily triggered when their ignorance is pointed out!

I just got mine a month ago my only regret is I didn’t get it sooner. The 20% off the cosmetic defect models was more lucrative for me than the v1.46 group head change. The new group head will be available to install on the older machines so it’s not something that held me back. After using a E61 dual boiler machine, I have no interest in any boiler based machine now that I have used the Decent. The Meticulous is interesting but it is too new. Also it will take up more space on the counter, at 17 inches tall it will barely fit under most counters, as wide as decent but will need a separate milk steaming device. For me it’s a no go. The Decent is so much more versatile than any other machine on the market. I have been using it regularly to brew filter coffee using the Filter 3.0 basket. With all the profiles I can usually get amazing extractions from any beans. All the data it provides teaches a lot more about espresso and your technique. I used a Bluetooth pressure gauge and flow control on the E61 but the decent is in a different league.

There can be extra costs though. My Decent broke 2 weeks after the warranty lapsed. Zero grace period from Decent. They didn't want me to fix it at home at first, but tried to make me pay 750 usd for a flat fee repair including shipping. I could have had the extended warranty, but this also costs and does add up over the course of years. So there is more than only the initial selling price. Also, the extended warrenty does not transfer to a new owner in a new country. The new owner cannot get any warranty on the machine if not in the country where the original sale was made to. This matter to people in the EU, since buying and selling of coffeegear is often between countrys.

I had the DE1XL and sold it for a lot of these reasons. I’m on the list for two meticulous machines for multiple bases. Let’s see how that works out, but even in the meantime, my portable type machines aren’t bad. Point being as you can get really interest in copying espresso without having this big machine and I do think it’s clunky in ways. The bengal looks cool but then you get to a price point or something like the meticulous will probably be great to replicate what you need. I’m definitely enjoying buying better coffees and making them in many different ways. Soup etc. With that being said, if you have the space and you just want it, you can do a lot of cool stuff with it. I didn’t regret having it at all, but I kind of agree that I don’t like the build or the design. The tablet is goofy and a lot of aspects. I’d rather wait a generation or two or get the bengal if the money or counter space really doesn’t matter. Or like I say, I think the meticulous looks more clean and simple not having a water reservoir

Since you are focusing on light roasts, the DE1XL is the objective winner for shot profiling; its ability to manipulate flow and If you're focusing on light roasts, the decent DE1XL is the winner for shot profiling. It's ability to manipulate flow and temp on the fly is unmatched for bringing out the acidity in lighter beans. If you're prioritizing that commercial steam power for your milk drinks the linea mocra is incredible just keep in mind you lose the profiling flexibility.if u want a balance of both Series 1 is a good middle ground

I'd get the decent if there's even only a slight chance you're going to experiment. Simply because it can do everything that all the other machines can do, while none of the other machines can do what a decent does. You can easily make a flat 9 bar profile and get the same espresso as a micra from the decent, but the micra cannot make a blooming shot, or an ULC shot, or etc...

I'd recommend checking out Decent. If you're patient you can nab one with a cosmetic defect for 20% off. Edit: they make a video for each unit, so you can see the defects and pick the one you want. This is the video for the one I ended up picking. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MaMNfVZIQ0U#