Profitec Pro 300 Espresso Machine Overview
The Profitec Pro 300 Dual Boiler Espresso Machine is our most compact and competitively priced German dual boiler.
With beautiful German engineering and modern features that give similar performance to its considerably more expensive big brother (the Pro 700), it's capable of warming up in under ten minutes making it the fastest starting dual boiler in our lineup.
Comparing to single boilers like the Rancilio Silvia
The Pro 300 directly addresses the biggest limitations of single boiler espresso machines like the Rancilio Silvia or the ECM Casa V. First, single boilers require waiting for the machine to heat up (from 200°F for brewing to about 250°F) to make steam power, and they need to be cooled down after steaming before another shot can be pulled. This is exacerbated by the lack of temperature control and information on many single boilers, which limit the ability to make consistent drinks. There’s simply no way to know what temperature you’re pulling your shot at, which means you may get more sour shots by the machine being under 200 degrees, or more bitter shots by the machine being above 200 degrees.
By contrast, in five to ten minutes, the Profitec Pro 300’s PID display will show that the machine has reached your preset temperature and is ready to pull a shot, while the pressure gauge will show you when the steam boiler is ready to work. The 20-amp model has the convenient ability to heat both boilers at the same time. This is why the Pro 300 can warm up so quickly, and also why you’ll be able to steam bigger volumes of milk and make drinks back to back without having to wait. This means making a couple cappuccinos or lattes feels like a natural process, as opposed to the more jarring experience of using a single boiler for the same task.
Comparing to dual boilers like the Breville Dual Boiler, Quick Mill QM67, and Profitec Pro 700:
Many of our customers want to move beyond single boiler espresso machines, but want something longer lasting and more maintainable than the Breville Oracle Touch and more compact and affordable than the LUCCA A53 Mini or the beautiful E61 dual boilers like the Profitec Pro 700 or the ECM Synchronika.
The Pro 300 has been designed for simplicity, durability, and performance. This means that its electronic and mechanical designs are simpler than the Breville's, but that they will last considerably longer and can be maintained by the owner. The Breville Dual Boiler can only be serviced by Breville themselves, and because they’re designed to combine performance with convenience and economy, they almost always have a shorter lifespan.
Previously, moving into a dual boiler with Italian build quality meant a nearly $2000 investment. The machines at that price point are great, and the way they differ from the Pro 300 is more dramatic Italian styling, bigger steam boilers with more power, and the ability to make more drinks at a time. When we measure the temperature at the group head while pulling shots one minute apart, all these Italian machines are able to stay within a degree of your target brew temperature. The advantage of the Profitec Pro 700's E61 group head is mechanical preinfusion with every shot, and its 9-pound thermal mass is even more forgiving at maintaining brew temperature. The disadvantage of the Pro 700 is that it takes 20-30 minutes to warm up thanks to that big brass brew group, weighs 10 pounds more, and is at least an inch bigger in width, depth, and height.
When Profitec released the Pro 700, it immediately stood out from everything else on the market with the cleanliness and order of its internals (and use of stainless steel). To fully appreciate this machine, you have to see the way it looks with its panels off. Whether people have worked on espresso machines or not, there’s something confidence-inspiring about seeing orderly wires, velcro wrapped insulation on a boiler, and beautifully made components. The Pro 300 continues this tradition, but its compact boilers, integrated group head and traditional pump mean that it can fit into a considerably smaller and lighter package as well as saving you a good chunk of change. And because it shares identical commercial portafilters and PID with built-in shot timer, the Pro 300 and Pro 700 can be set to the same brew temperature and share very similar flavors in the cup. You will be able to maintain this machine for many years to come, and we’ll be here to help with photos, email coaching (if you want to learn how), or servicing at our Portland showroom.
Want to learn about single and dual boilers? Check out our blog post: Espresso Machines Type, by Boiler.