ECM Estetika Review

For years, ECM’s Synchronika has sat at the top of their catalog as the “all-in” choice for people wanting the best of German espresso technology. But the desire for a next-level machine has always existed, and ECM has dabbled with the idea in the past. They say history doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes, and while ECM didn’t dust off their old Controvento machine to give it another shot, their latest machine, the Estetika arrives to raise the bar as a dual boiler with even more stable temperatures, explosive steam, and programmable volumetric brewing.

The Design

From first glance the Estetika appears to play it safe when it comes to its design. The frame and panels are actually the same as the Synchronika II, the anthracite in particular for its striking black color. Upon closer inspection, the Estetika’s identity begins to reveal itself.

Many people have made their feelings known about the smaller OLED displays that have become commonplace on modern prosumers. The Estetika splits the difference on this issue because it actually has two displays, one built into the top of the brew group that displays the brew boiler temperature, your shot time, and other espresso related info. A second larger display is in the usual spot above the ECM logo on the bottom left of the front panel alongside a slightly larger encoder knob. This display is used for machine programming and also shows the temperature in the steam boiler.

The new brew group is pretty eye-catching in general, with the three brew buttons illuminated and a set of barista lights on the underside. The buttons themselves can be set to one of four colors (white, green, blue and red) and both the button lighting and the barista lights in general have conditional illumination settings or can be left on at all times. The group’s shape is also echoed in the discharge port above the drip tray.

Compared to the Synchronika, the Estetika's overall design is bolder, with more personality and distinct visual hallmarks. The back panel in particular reminds me of Rocket, with the stylized lettering, but instead of the brand, it spells out the name of the machine, which codes as much more exclusive as the only ECM machine to do so. The trapezoidal feet are also something I've never seen on a machine. Initally I wasn't sure how I felt about them, but eventually I came around to them after spending more time with the machine.

Under the Hood

Internally, the Estetika is a bit of a cross between the Synchornika II, the Technika VI, and the now defunct Elektronika (ECM's volumetric heat exchanger). The Estetika has a 0.5L stainless steel brew boiler like the Technika and a 2L stainless steel steam boiler like the Synchronika. Its larger frame permits it to use the same plumbable rotary pump as the Synchronika, this does mean however that pump adjustment is not accessible without first removing the left side panel.

Fortunately, the shared housing with the Synchronika means that the Estetika's side panels can be removed with just a single screw. It also means that the machine can be customized with Wiedemann's wood side panels. Another change is the new heavy-duty plastic reservoir frame which does make it slightly more laborious to remove the back panel as you first have to remove several screws that attach it to the cup tray.

3CT (Triple Temperature Control)

The most unique visual feature of the Estetika is obviously the new group that replaces the E61 found ECM's other machines. They refer to it as an Active Core brew group, which is heated by cartridges and equipped with a solenoid valve to permit volumetric brewing. I've borrowed a photo from ECM to better explain the design.

Because the group is heated actively and doesn't rely on a thermosiphon, the machine can reach brew ready temperature in just 6 minutes. The group's temperature can’t be changed directly, but there is a programmable offset accessible within the advanced programming menu. This is where triple seems to come from, referring to group heating in addition to heating the two boilers. The primarily function of the group heater is to maintain stability during extraction and you should still use brew boiler programming to set your desired extraction temperature.

On the inside, you can see plumbing from the brew boiler into the group along with cables for the heating elements temperature probes that regulate the system. The solenoid valve is hidden behind the cuboid frame that extends from the Estetika's front panel. Despite the new design, the group is still compatible with E61 portafilters and shower screens, so there's a large ecosystem of accessories to choose from.

In the Box

It should come as no surprise, but the Estetika comes with a full complement of premium accessories to deliver quality espresso out of the box. It’s the first ECM machine to include a modular bottomless portafilter, with both single and double silicone spout attachments.

ECM also included a traditional chrome plated brass double spout portafilter as well. There’s also a single, double, and triple shot portafilter basket and one of ECM’s premium stainless steel tampers. If you choose to upgrade your Estetika with wood accenting for the portafilter and joysticks, a matching tamper handle is included with the machine.

Brewing on the Estetika

On top of the brew group are three brew buttons that can execute a programmed brew profile on-demand. Each can be programmed with its own unique volume, and you can optionally set a pre-infusion cycle per button as well.

Each brew button can contain the following settings:

• Water Volume (in ml)
• Pre-Infusion (on/off)
• Active Phase (in seconds)
• Pre-Infusion Pause (in seconds)

Volumetric Programming

Unique to the Estetika is that it programs dispensing volumetrically instead of using a timer. This means that you're likely to see changes in the total brew times based on changing variables such as grind size, coffee age, etc. but the amount of liquid actually passed through the flow meter will remain the same.

Programming requires you to simply press and hold the desired button. When held long enough, a prompt will appear asking if you want to program the shot with or without pre-infusion. Leaving pre-infusion off will cause the Estetika to begin brewing immediately and will save your total volume.

Brewing with pre-infusion on will first prompt you to program your active wetting duration (by time) followed by your passive phase (also by time). Then you will program volume as usual. If you can't get the exact settings you want by pressing and holding, you can access your brew settings for each button in the settings menu and refine your pre-infusion settings and your volume. Pre-infusion can be programmed within 1/10th of a second and volume within 0.5 ml.

While Brewing, the top OLED on the group becomes a shot timer, while the bottom left screen displays the active flow rate, total volume, and the profile being brewed. This data will persist on the screen beneath the steam boiler temperature so you can review the results of your shot even after you've finished brewing.

Full manual control over brewing is also possible. To brew manually, you can press any brew button, and then press a second brew button. An ∞ symbol appears above the portafilter icon on the screen to indicate that you are now in manual brewing mode.

Shot Observer

The Shot Observer is an interesting feature that leverages the Estetika's volumetrics to provide feedback on your extractions based on time. Because shots are programmed volumetrically, the same amount of water will be passed through the flow meter regardless of how long the shot actually takes to pull. As a result, you can program a desired shot time for each of your programmed buttons using the Shot Observer function.

The Observer also lets you set a tolerance for your shot times as well. So for example, if you set your observer settings for button 1 for 25 seconds, and then give it a tolerance of 3, the Observer will consider shots pulled between 22 - 28 to be successful. To be honest, pulling shots that are outside of your programmed tolerance is a bit underwhelming. The Observer uses very small icons of a "-", "✓" or "+" to indicate where your shot landed in terms of your time and tolerance.

In practical terms, the Observer will be best applied to cases where you aren't actively paying attention to your shot. In most cases you should be able to catch extraction issues as they happen, but if you're dialed in but making heavy use of the volumetric programming, you might miss when your shots are off, in which case the Observer can come in handy.

Performance

In my temperature testing of the Estetika, I pulled back to back shots as quickly as I could. I performed no flushes and I made sure that the PID at the group read 200° before initiating my brew cycle with each shot pulled for 25 seconds. As you can see from my graph below which reports the average temperature reported during each shot, the Estetika is incredibly temperature stable. Not only was the average of all ten shots 199.9°, but the highest deviation was at most only 0.5°.

Now to be clear, taking the averages means that there were times when the brew water was slightly under, and slightly over my targets, the initial climb starting at around 198/199 and quickly rising to 200, and then into decimals above.

Overall this kind of thermal behavior was incredible, with my only real caveat being that I experimented quite heavily with both brew boiler offset and group offset to achieve my results (with the help of a Scace device). Suffice it to say that the new Active Core group does a great job at keeping brew temperatures consistent during extraction, and the recovery time was nearly instant. By the the time your shot timer leaves the screen, the brew boiler will have recovered for your next shot.

Steaming on the Estetika

With the same 2 Liter boiler as the Synchronika II, the Estetika has impressive steam pressure and can handle back-to-back milk drinks without issue. When set to the max temperature of 274° F, boiler pressure idles at around 2.25 bar (and it's not uncommon to see the PID climb as high as 276°). When steaming, pressure drops to around 1.5 bar and will continue to drop the longer you leave the valve open. With the stock five hole tip installed, pressure was down to about .9 bar after one minute of continuous steaming, but you'll see in my test results that one minute is more time than you would ever need.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the stock steam tip included with the Estetika is actually a black plastic replica of ECM's optional Tornado steam tip. While functionally the same from a frothing standpoint, the decision by ECM to use plastic was deliberate, as it helps to prevent milk from burning on.

However, all Estetikas purchased from Whole Latte Love include a free metal Tornado tip that can be subbed in place of the stock one. The Estetika is also compatible with the full range of additional steam tips from ECM so you're free to experiment with different ones to suit your preference and skill level.

The Estetika is also compatible with the 2-hole tip from the Synchronika II, and when installed, the steam performance between the two machines is nearly identical, with pressure maintaining at 1.5 bar even after steaming for one minute.

Performance

Thanks to the tornado style tip and the high pressure overall, the Estetika was able to froth 5oz of refrigerator temp milk to 140° F in anywhere from about 11 to 12 seconds. That measurement does come with one small detail to mention. My thermometer is set with an alarm that sounds at 134° as the temperature will continue to climb for several seconds after steaming stops due to a lag in reporting. As a result, the total time it takes to reach 140° is likely even a second or so faster.

In terms of the experience, at the max temp of 274° with the stock tip, the Estetika steams incredibly quickly, and personally, I feel like you might have a tough time working the milk the way you want without a bit of practice, but that's why you can lower the temperature after all. After steaming, the wand cleans easily, so overall it was a great experience.

Final Thoughts

The Estetika is a gorgeous machine that ultimately cements a place for itself by offering an entirely different experience than the Synchronika. Group temperature control appears to be the future of home machines and ECM have made huge strides towards it with several machines, the Estetika simply being latest. If you're looking for power, beauty, and ultimately repeatability, and you're looking for a machine to make a statement, I can't recommend the Estetika enough.

Photography by Quinton Marchand

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