El Rocio - Manus S

Not a dual boiler but heat exchanger, but I recently got a El Rocio Manus S. I'm extremely happy with it! You can steam milk and pull shots as it's a heat exchanger design. It has pre infusion, pressure and temp control via PID. Build quality is excellent and it looks really nice - I got the white one. Massive step up from my Silvia. Price here in Aus was $2149 which is less in USD !

Had a shortlist of espresso machines that I considered before settling with the Manus S. 1. Lelit MaraX 2. Rocker Appartamento TCA 3. Profitec 300 I was looking at these machines and almost settled with the MaraX until I saw an IG ads on the Manus S that a local distributor just released. Intrigued, I did my research on on the machine and felt it was perfect for me and what I was looking for in a machine. We drink roughly 4 cups of coffee a day and occasionally host family and friends. The features that sold me was the flexibility of pressure profiling and PID. Had this for 24hrs now. Very pleased with all it has to offer. Pairing the Manus S with Eureka Mignon Manuale that I had since 2021. Thankfully the grinder is capable of working with the Manus S.

Thanks! Been reading online that it takes around 20-25minutes for it to completely ready. Had a late start this morning and cannot wait for 20-25 minutes. The boiler reached target temperature at around 5 minutes, group head was room temperature at this time. I gave it another 10 minutes because I was in a rush. Pulled my shot, and it was as good as the 20-25 minutes heat up. Had this machine since Saturday, and honestly, can't say anything bad about it. Let me know if you had any questions regarding the machine.

One month in and I am very happy with it. If I was to be nit picking the improvement it could have is on the manual pressure mode. Would be nice if we can see what % of power we are on instead of just relying on the pump sound.

If you can deal with E61 HX machine. Manus S will fit your bill. I upgraded from Basriata express impress about three weeks ago. I like it even though I have to deal with typical E61 HX machine cons. I put dual water temperature and pressure sensor at e61 groupset (pressure sensor is not necessary) but I can monitor water temperature so I can anticipate water temperature and adjust temperature whenever I like it.  I drink co-fermented light roast beans nowadays so anything little bit of differences from pressure, temperature, pre-infusion time will make differences. Past a few days, I am extracting high water temperature (about 97) and today, I dropped temperature down to (95 degree). Definitely there was some differences. 97 degree gave a little bitter taste (but not really bothers it) but flavors still there. 95 degree gave a little less bitter tastes and slightly more different flavors (from notes). 

My choice was Manus S which is E61 HX machine and I have DF54 grinder but I will upgrade to DF83V or similar grinder.  Actually that’s exact budget of $2k.  Some people just hate E61 machines and I agree that it’s not perfect but there is reasons for… many espresso companies still make e61 machines. It’s proven logivity and parts are widely available.  Also if you want dual boiler then leit Elizabeth is popular here but your grinder option will be entry level grinder unless you want to expand your budget but if you can have discount price, you might be able to have DF64 or timemore 064S or similar grinder.  Some people might like Meraki as all in one machine and it looks good but I’m not sure about longevity for the machine because it’s new machine and new company.  You are giving wide range of possibilities so it will be very hard to pin point your needs. 

Manus S. It’s HX machine and click of knob, you can change brewing temperature, pre-infusion time, and pressure. Also it has built in flow control (by pump pressure. I believe new Mara X v3 put similar thing).  You can save money and possibly can get better grinder. 

In your budget…  Manus S and possibly DF83v grinder might fit your budget and serve well for you. 

Espresso outlet is US distributor so they should have parts and service. I try to do DIY for maintenance or repair after two years of warranty. Also they are very popular machine in Korea and they won’t disappear in my opinion (El Rocio is making espresso machines over 10 years). If espresso outlet has issues with part supplying, I will directly contact the company so I don’t really worry about it. 

Manus S…  It’s E61 HX machine which is similar to apartmento or Mara X but it gives better features.  Good build quality, easy of use, even it has built in flow control (by pump pressure).  Manus S with separate grinder like DF64, timemore 064 or similar grinders or even DF83v or timemore 078S…. If you want to stretch to your budget to philos or Z1 which is very popular and still under 3k.  But manus S with DF64 or similar grinders will be under $1800 and DF83v/timemore 078S with Manus S is about $2k.  What a generous gift… no doubt that they will love it. 

I got Manus S about one month ago.  Love it. It’s not perfect but One of best valued machines.  I upgraded from barista express impress and definitely I can taste more detail flavors since I drink co-fermented beans nowadays.  I like the way which I can control my shots easily. Just click of knob, I can change temperature, pressure pre-infusion time and pressure. Currently I put dual temperature gauge and pressure gauge at e61 head but you only need temperature gauge since it’s similar from pump pressure and e61 head (it almost synced to 0.5-1 bar difference).  It does not have hot water wand but you can use electric kettle since single boiler hot water from machine is super hot and if you use hot water from machine, temperature stability will be dropped from HX machine. 

In that price… so many possibilities hahaha.  As usual, get linea and forget about it but it will stretch your budget.  More options for e61 dual boilers In your usage… E61 HX machine is good enough (for my case haha. I upgraded BBE impress to e61 HX machine:Manus S. Click of knob, I can control brew temperature, pre-infusion and pressure. It even has built in flow control by pump).  Wendougee looks very interesting machine for better and easier controls.  If I have your budget and make a decision… it’s tough.  One side of my mind will tell… get fancy linea then endgame and one side of mind tell… get wendougee for all controls then concern about longevity… One side of mind will tell, get e61 dual boiler for proven longevity. Lastly one side of mind will tell… HX machine is good enough especially (for my machine:Manus S) hahaha.  My machine is not perfect but good enough to endgame machine for me. I put temperature gauge at e61 grouphead and monitoring brew temperature as consistent as possible (as I said before, it won’t be perfect but good enough). 

Yes. I have manus S. One of the best value E61 HX machine in my opinion. Drip tray is small and no hot water but I don’t remember when I used hot water from espresso machine directly (maybe two years ago). If I need hot water, I can use electric kettle.  It’s not well known company in US but it’s hugely popular in Korea. Especially Manus model is third version for Manus S. I initially thought I might use flow control often but I have not used yet because I don’t want to change current setup which makes reliable coffees so why not change? Haha. Accidently I had 6bar low extraction and I know why some people were talking about low pressure coffees. It gave me more various flavors but light body. It can be good or bad in some sense.  Honestly HX machine is not perfect but It still gives consistent enough coffees for me. Still thinking that what if I have wendougee like control…. But I still need to double the amount I pay (not really considering longevity) so it was easy decision to go with HX machine. As I said before, it’s not perfect but it’s good enough for me. My final puzzle will be new grinder since I still use DF54. Thinking about DF83v but I will make decision after I see bookoo motto80. 

From your list Bambino or bambino plus and DF54.  My suggestion is expand your budget a little and get Manus S which is HX machine and grinder.  Currently I have manus S and DF54 (I will upgrade grinder soon). So far so good. I had barista express impression for 3 years but if I bought Manus S, I still happy with it.  I sold Breville machine for $300 so breville machine retained used value. Basically I bought it for $550 so about $80 per a year. It was not that bad but I wanted to control my shots more so I upgraded the machine.  If you want to start slowly Bambino option is good option then upgrade to next level if you think you need more than bambino. 

If you like e61 HX machine and don’t use hot water, check Manus S. It does almost everything like other E61 machines with less prices. Even it has built in flow control (by pump pressure). 

Search Manus S before you buy.  Australian market has Manus S pesado edition which has all pesado accessories and basket. You don’t need to spend tons of money to get fancy accessories. I think it’s one of underrated HX machines in my opinion. Especially you will not use hot water so it will fit better for you (do not have hot water feature).  If you are concerned about servicing, ask the shop. Probably they might do servicing too.  The company is very popular in korea and parts will be available. I upgraded from BBE impress a week ago. So far, I am satisfied with all features. I like I can control temperature, pressure and pre-infusion time for click of knob. 

I was eyeing on HX machine for a while and I visit to Korea once a year. Manus S is very popular in Korea. Actually I tried to bring it from Korea to US but the company told me they could not make the machine for me at that time because they had  Pesado special edition project. A month ago, one of US store decided to bring the machine to US so I got the machine. I received it about a week ago. So far, I like it. I think it’s one of best value machines from HX machine in my opinion.  Especially in this price point, Manus is only machine which has flow control.  US version is not pesado edition so I don’t get fancy accessories but for AU market…. Definitely envy for included pesado accessories haha. 

If you are interested in HX machine, Manus S with DF64/timemore 068 or DF83v/timemore078.  I upgraded from BBE impress to Manus S. Click of knob, I can change brew temperature, pre-infusion and pressure. Also it has built in flow control (by pump). It’s not perfect but it’s a good value machine. 

Not an expert, but did you consider manus s? It needs 20 minutes to heat up (from being cold to ready for the shot), and i pulled muitlple shots back to back with it without any probelm or change in taste. Cant say a lot about the machine as i am still learning about it, specially what would be considered cons or pros.