969 COFFEE ELBA 4 ESPRESSO MACHINE REVIEW: A BIG YES

The recently updated 969 Coffee Elba 4 deserves way more attention. Let me tell you why.

969 Coffee’s prosumer espresso machines are little known in North America. Indeed, I hadn’t heard of the brand until recently, and I do this for a living. But now that I’ve got my hands on the new Elba 4, I’m on a mission to give it the exposure it deserves!

Handmade in Italy, the Elba is a heat exchanger espresso machine with some formidable specs at a reasonable price. In this review, I’ll explore this under-the-radar machine in detail and explain why I think it warrants your attention.

The Full 969 Coffee Elba 4 Review

In this section, I’ll explain the 969 Coffee Elba IV V02 specs in detail and, more importantly, how they impact the user experience. Read on to learn exactly how owning and operating this prosumer-grade espresso machine feels.

How I Rated It

• Brewing Capacity
• User Friendliness
• Milk Frothing
• Build Quality
• Value For Money

4

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The Basics: Boiler, Pump, And Group

The 969 Coffee Elba 4 is a semi-automatic heat exchanger espresso machine. It has a single boiler with a distinct section for lower-temperature brew water, allowing you to simultaneously pull a shot of espresso and steam milk.

The Elba 4 sports a 1.5 L copper heat-exchange boiler, a surprisingly premium material for this price. Copper has superior thermal properties than stainless steel, though it is slightly less resistant to corrosion and scale (1). I’d recommend brewing with filtered water (which is good practice in general).

The 1.5-liter boiler is relatively small compared to some of the competition, but not to the extent that I found it impacted performance. I could easily make two large lattes back-to-back, which is my expectation from these compact designs.

This allows it to heat up super fast upon start-up – as little as 10 minutes, in my experience – and recover quickly after the boiler refills. It also produces unexpectedly high steam pressure, which I’ll discuss below.

An update to the Elba IV from previous models is that it is now easier to adjust the over-pressure valve (OPV). This allows you to change pump pressure, providing another pathway to optimize extraction for different coffees.

Group Head Pressure Gauge

The Elba uses the famous E61 group, always a reliable choice. I feel more confident buying from a lesser-known brand when I see that distinctive E61 nose on the front. As expected, the temperature stability was excellent in testing – as good as any PID-less HX machine I’ve tried.

Finding a brew pressure gauge on a machine of this caliber is not uncommon, but I love the unusual placement. It makes it much easier to monitor the brew pressure, even while multitasking. 

You’ll also find a more traditional steam pressure gauge at the machine’s top right, which, again, is a practical choice for easy viewing compared to placing it at the bottom near the drip tray.

Using The Elba IV

The 969 Coffee Elba 4 requires a bit of know-how, as with any heat exchanger espresso machine. You need to use cooling flushes to manage the brew temperature. The longer the cooling flush, the lower the brew temperature. It takes a bit of trial and error to master a new machine, but it’s actually the most efficient way to adjust the temperature (2).

Other than that, the Elba 4 is very straightforward. As with any semi-automatic E61 machine, the art is in preparing the portafilter. You’ll need to dial in the grind size, dose, and tamping pressure. Then it’s as easy as inserting the portafilter, lifting the lever on the side of the group to start the shot, and lowering it to stop the shot.

It has a few key features that set it apart from the competition, the most innovative being the fully removable drip tray. Thanks to Elba’s six-legged design, the entire drip tray can be removed for easy cleaning, to free up counter space, or to brew into tall travel mugs.

The 2.5-liter water reservoir is amply sized for a compact machine, and it’s easily accessed by sliding back the cup warming tray up top. I like this design more than having to flip up or entirely remove the top of the machine.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Prosumer espresso machines with an E61 group share similar cleaning and maintenance needs. Along with emptying the drip tray and topping up the water reservoir, clean everywhere coffee oils can build up, like the shower screen and filter baskets. Use the included backflush disk to backflush regularly with filtered water and less frequently with cleaning solution.

As long as you follow the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning procedures, maintenance needs should be minimal.

The Elba 4 uses heavy-duty components designed to endure and has a few fail-safes to avoid catastrophic damage. Anti-flood protection cuts the pump if you’ve been brewing for more than 2 minutes, and low-water detection ensures the machine will shut off before the boiler runs dry.

Impressive Steam Power For Its Size

As I mentioned, the Elba 4 has a powerful heating element, which allows for intense steam pressure from a machine of this size. 

Because the steam boiler is relatively small, you won’t be able to prepare many drinks in a row before waiting for it to recover. Expect about two to four lattes. However, recovery is speedy thanks to the powerful heater. 

A minor complaint about this machine is that it lacks a dedicated hot water tap, something you’ll find on most of its competitors. The decision to leave it off keeps this machine more compact and affordable, and unless you’re a real Americano fiend, it’s only a minor inconvenience.

High Quality, Compact, And Colorful

The build quality of the Elba 4 is excellent – exactly as you’d expect from an Italian-made prosumer model. It has a steel frame, stainless steel exterior and accessories, and a chrome-plated brass group. It is clearly expertly engineering and well crafted. I noticed all the joints were flush, and everything slotted together seamlessly.

It comes with a single spout and double spout portafilter, accompanied by single and double shot filter baskets.

The Elba IV has a minimal footprint, measuring 9.2” wide by 16.9” deep by 15.7” tall. It’s one of the narrowest heat exchange machines I’ve tested. If you’re short on space, it should be on your shortlist.

Customize Your Elba

The market for compact heat exchanger machines has become fairly crowded in recent years. The Lelit Mara, Rocket Appartamento, Quick Mill Anita, and ECM Mechanika Slim all jump immediately to mind.

One way the Elba sets itself apart from the crowd is its various style options. If you want to tailor your machine to your home without paying big bucks for aftermarket customization, this is an important consideration. The Elba IV is available in 13 standard colors, from basic black or silver to vibrant orange or lime green, or you can customize a color all your own (for a fee).

The Elba Mini

The Elba Mini is one of the smallest prosumer espresso machines on the market, perfect for one or two people. This adorable heat exchanger model has a 0.85 L stainless steel boiler, 1200 W heating element, and 2 L water tank – all in a frame measuring 7.8” wide by 15.7” deep by 13” tall. Impressively, the Mini even offers PID temperature control.

The Price Is Right

The 969 Coffee Elba 4 is remarkably low-priced, with one caveat: you have to find it. While readily available in Europe, Canada, and Australia, it seems to be only sporadically available in the U.S. So delivery or export fees may cut into your value.

Setting that aside, I’ll briefly go over how the price of the Elba compares to the obvious competitors listed above. 

The standard Elba model is around $1500 – more if you opt for a lot of customization. The Lelit Mara X is $1700, the Rocket Appartamento is $1850, the Quick Mill Anita is $1700, and the ECM Mechanika Slim is $1900 (though it has a PID). If you can get your hands on an Elba, you’re getting a great deal.

Don’t Buy the 969 Coffee Elba 4 If…

• You don’t make milky drinks – If you’re not interested in lattes or cappuccinos, you can save money and get a very high-end machine by opting for a single boiler, dual use design. For example, the ECM Classika includes a PID and, like all ECM espresso machines, is known for its best-in-class build quality.

• You want PID temperature control – The accuracy of PID temperature control is valuable if you like to experiment with single-origin specialty coffees (3). There are a few HX machines with PID controllers, like the Profitec Pro 500 or ECM Mechanika, but I’d also recommend looking at the new crop of compact dual boilers, like the Lelit Elizabeth or Rancilio Silvia Pro X.

• You need more capacity – If you don’t think the 1.5-liter boiler of the Elba will cut it, consider the Rocket Appartamento or Quick Mill Andreja – both of which have 1.8-liter boilers. Or go even bigger with the ECM Technika, which has a 2.1-liter boiler. 

The Verdict

The 969 Coffee Elba 4 – or the even tinier Elba Mini – is a great choice for a compact and affordable heat exchanger espresso machine with vibrant style. Due to some unfortunate availability issues, this brand flies under the radar in North America, but I sincerely hope that is changing. The Elba 4 has everything you expect from a top-notch prosumer model – except the high price tag.