ECM Classika PID Espresso Machine with Quick Steam

Perfect machine for me. Rarely do milk drinks, but when I do it’s not horribly long. Finish is top notch, a beautiful machine. This is my first real espresso machine and the staff at Clive was great in assisting on what machine would be right for me and my budget.

This single boiler E61 machine suits my daily espresso needs perfectly. Long heat up time solved with a smart plug off/on scheduler. Keeping the steam wand and brew head screen clean is a must. I replaced the stock screen/gasket with the EB E61200RNT screen and a Cafelat silicon 8. 5mm gasket. Also replaced the portafilter basket with a Pullman 876 basket.

This machine and the customer service from Clive has been nothing short of amazing. The team answered all my questions when searching for the right machine, and they were spot on with this one. It is amazing for making espresso and delivers flawless results for both light and dark roasts. I only regret not buying it sooner.

Amazing machine

Great machine. Love it. Bought it from best company

Love the machine and the help from Clive when trying to decide which machine to purchase. I was looking at getting the profitec pro 500 but I really just love a good americano. So in the end I decided on the ECM Classika. If you want to make lots of milk based drinks maybe look at another machine. I have made a few milk based drinks but it is not on a daily basis. This machine does do a good job steaming milk but does require a few steps to get to that since it is a single boiler. Not too much of a problem for me. Thank you Clive for helping me with my large purchase. I also ended up getting the Eureka Mignon single dose grinder. Very nice grinder. Just wish I could put the portafilter under it to directly grind into.

My new Classika is on its way here. I write the review now because of the fantastic help I received in making the order. Immediate, thoughtful, responses to each inquiry. A mistake I had made in the order (not making sure before ordering to first give a referral credit to my friend who had referred me) was immediately fixed. Much more. I KNOW that if there is any problem when I get the Classika, it will be immediately resolved, not that I expect any problem. Niko at Clive was simply wonderful: his care and attention made the difference in my buying the Classika and buying it from Clive. (Sorry if I just added to your workload, Niko.) Plus Clive's videos articles are really good.

Per day I do about 8 Ristrettos and my son does 2 Expressos per. This is the perfect machine for those needs. It's so much fun playing around and experimenting with different types of coffees, grinds and extraction times.

In love with this machine. Looks great and It makes a perfect espresso every time.....we use it a lot! Quick to heat up and the built in timer is an added benefit. Highly recommend.

This is a great single boiler machine. As I was going back and forth between the Classika or Synchronika, I settled with the Classika because 99% of the time I will have only an espresso so I did not need the dual boiler capabilities needed to multiple milk based drinks. The Classika does not disappoint, it sleek design and ease of use you can lock in consistent pull. One huge benefit has been Clive themselves, as they provide countless videos on how to dial in a great espresso pull, care, and other useful information. So glad to have this machine and will enjoy for years to come.

My machine arrived a few weeks ago and I couldn’t be happier with it. The machine is beautiful and made out of very high quality materials (and heavy!). The PID allows for quick and easy temperature adjustment, the steam wand is super powerful and steams milk very quickly, and the addition of a bottomless portafilter is very helpful for diagnosing problems with brewing techniques. On top of all that, the folks at Clive have been amazingly helpful. They have all sorts of helpful videos for setting up the machine, cleaning, etc. and they’re always happy to help if you give them a call. I highly recommend this machine (especially with the additional features of the Clive special edition) and will definitely be a return customer for any coffee related needs in the future!

Love the ECM Classika PID! Great control, constant pressure and easily controlled temperature. An all around winner. The Clive package hit the spot for my coffee bar. Everything I needed, all a solid quality built product.

This is really excellent nderful espresso machine. It’s really beautiful, small (compared to other models and machines out there), and very easy to use. It’s a winner, and I’m so glad that we bought it!

Fantastic machine. It looks so nice that we are hesitant to touch it, just enjoying it as a museum exhibit.

Great machine!

The ECM Special Edition Classika is a beautiful machine, and I’m glad to have the connection with Clive for tips on dialing in my shots. Make sure you want a single boiler machine. My cortados are now so good it’s gotten me more excited about milk drinks, but the straight shot is still my passion, and the Classika has taken my game to the next level - think liquid gold coalescing in drops across a bottomless portafilter. I like that Clive has carefully considered the machines they offer in each performance category and price point. Once you decide what you need for your style of coffee production, you can count on them having the right machine for you.

Just bought it recently but loved it. The machine seems very well built, high quality and durable. It’s easy to use and I expect it will last a long time if it’s well cleaned and maintained. This machine consistently gives me the best tasted cup of coffee ever

I absolutely love this machine and am so happy with it. I agree that it is not the best if you want to steam milk on regular basis given the conversion time to steam. However, it's fine for a drink or two with steaming in the am. It took me some time to get everything worked out but now pulling great shots. It's also a beautiful machine.

Very happy with my purchase and the shipping from Clive.

So far excellent!!!

This machine is amazing. Great Americanos and the occansional latte. Perfect. The folks at Clive helped me get it right. Thank you

I love this espresso machine. It is such a step up from my Sylvia machine that serves me will for over 10 years. I guess I didn’t realize how much I was missing out by not upgrade earlier. Also,I have a wonderful experience with Clive and their sale staff. I will absolutely recommend both Clive Coffee and this machine.

A beautiful machine that is very well made, simple to use, a pleasure to look at. Highly recommended for those who want refined simplicity when making espresso.

Great machine for expresso

Couldn’t be happier with this machine. Incredible build quality and even better coffee. Everyone I interacted with at Clive was really helpful and responsive. I won’t ever buy coffee machines or accessories from anywhere else. I’d recommend Clive exclusively to anybody I know in the market for an espresso machine.

Great Machine. Little footprint . Amazing quality. Got the Lucca Flow Control and a Joey was very helpful in the whole process .

Hi! My name is Tony I. and I am a verified purchaser from Clive Coffee. In July of 2022, I purchased an ECM Special Edition Classika PID machine, and a Eureka Oro XL grinder, from Clive Coffee. I filed a detailed review at the time of my purchases but wanted to update that review since it is now almost 5 months that I have had the Classika PID and the Oro XL.

My Classika PID had an issue right out of the box with weak steam pressure. The Classika PID is a single boiler machine, and is not intended to handle making back-to-back milk-based drinks... I knew that going in. After several consultations with the repair experts at Clive Coffee, the problem was diagnosed as a faulty (misshapen) washer in the steam assembly. I was sent a new steam assembly (at no cost to me), but that did not resolve the issue. I asked for a new steam arm, as the original one was marred in the process of removal from the steam assembly (all parts that I had to disassemble were extremely hard to separate, and please note that I am mechanically savvy and had the right tools for the work). I was provided a new steam arm at no cost to me, and once I had everything disassembled and reassembled (there were a couple of rounds of this), I found that I could now get adequate steam pressure to create milk-based drinks.

I must stress that Clive Coffee was MAGNIFICENT in their treatment of my issue, and I do not think that any other company would have honored my request for 2 new pricey parts, and on top of that given me guidance for addressing the problem. Clive Coffee has a customer for life with me!

What I found out during this entire exercise was that there is a very specific series of steps that MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY in brewing espresso with the ECM Classika PID machine. Failure to strictly observe the steps in their proper sequence (they are in the machine's manual) for brewing and cooling off the machine before steaming and again before turning the machine off WILL RESULT IN DAMAGE TO THE MACHINE.

Since the time that the problem with weak steam pressure was resolved, the machine has performed flawlessly. You can make more than 1 milk-based drink in a row, but the specific steps I mentioned beforehand must be followed... and that can result in a lot of time being consumed, since there is only 1 boiler to handle brewing and steaming. That is the nature of this machine, but the espresso that it produces with a proper grind and tamping is out of this world.

All things considered... I would not buy the ECM Classika PID machine again.

I would instead opt for a heat-exchanger machine; in my case, I would have selected the Bezzera BZ10. Why didn't I get this machine in the first place? While doing my research, I found that the Bezzera BZ10 does not have an industry standard E61 Brew Group; it is a proprietary design. I was concerned that parts and service expertise might not be readily available for the BZ10, so I opted for the ECM Classika PID.

So that is my saga, and I'm sticking to it! Do your research and be sure to make your purchase from Clive Coffee. They will provide you with great before-purchase advice and will support you down the road.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!!

Love the machine and love the support I have received. The class was critical: my pulls have been too long for about 15 years, you recalibrated me!

I know this is likely espresso heresy, but I'm throwing 18 grams at 10 bars for 40 seconds...and I'm in love!! I love this machine!! All I make is espresso, so this single boiler is exactly what I needed. My only critique is...I wish the lights were BLUE (like my old Lelit Mara)!! ha!