Lelit - Anna Series

Lelit anna with pid would be great to pull consistently good shots. Gcp without the mod is not that good as compared to anna

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.

You're coming from a pretty competent entry level machine, so your budget is tough. The Lelit is probably the best of the 3 for usability, but I don't think you'll notice much difference in output, and the workflow will be slower. I don't really like the BDB (cheaply made, common failure points) but they offer *a lot* for the money, especially here in Aus - you can regularly get it for $1000-$1200. Expect issues after 5 years and you can decide whether that's a worthwhile investment for you. Quick Mill Silvano is an interesting machine that flies under the radar a bit here. At $1650ish it's a decent chunk over your $1000 - but it's not much more than a Silvia... Good built quality, 58mm, PID controlled, steam & espresso at the same time. Ticks a lot of boxes.

I like the setup - but why go for a dual boiler version if you just occasionally need milk? I’d go for the cheaper Lelit Anna with PID to check temperature.

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.

I've had an Anna for 7 years, making 2 flat whites back to back twice a day, and I absolutely love it. I got a precise fit tamper for it and have never felt I've missed anything at 57mm. In terms of maintenance I backflush weekly and descale monthly and haven't had a single issue until this year when I've had to replace the steam valve stem. It's also a compact, beautiful machine. Can't recommend highly enough.

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.

Biggest piece of advice: budget for the grinder first, machine second. That “avg coffee grinder” you have almost certainly won’t cut it for espresso — pour over and espresso grind requirements are worlds apart, and a mediocre grinder will bottleneck even an expensive machine. I’d split your budget roughly 50/50. A Eureka Mignon Notte ($300) or DF64 Gen 2 ($360) paired with a $700-900 machine will run circles around a $1,500 machine with an inadequate grinder. For the machine — at 4-6 shots a week you absolutely don’t need a dual boiler. That’s overkill for your use case. A single boiler with PID gives you temp stability without the cost. The Lelit Anna PID or Rancilio Silvia Pro would both give you a real espresso experience with room to grow, and since you like tinkering and dialing things in, you’ll appreciate the control they offer over the more “black box” Breville options. You already know what good espresso tastes like from that Rocket at work — what grinder are they pairing with it? That might help narrow things down for you.

Anything by Lelit. Solid machines at a good price point. The manufacturer also has great videos on YouTube for how to do basic maintenance. I have the Anna PID but would love to get a Victoria or Elizabeth.