Profitec GO 2.0 Review

The Profitec GO has consistently been one of the most popular single boiler machines we’ve carried since its launch. It was the successor of sister company ECM’s Casa V, modernizing the platform with the inclusion of a PID controller and the addition of several playful color options to appeal to a more youthful home barista. As we round the corner into 2027, it’s the GO’s turn to get the upgrade treatment that’s been sweeping across Profitec’s catalog. The GO 2.0 is here, and with it, many updates.

What’s New at a Glance:

Modular Bottomless Portafilter | Programmable Shot Buttons | Pre-Infusion | 0.3L Brass Boiler | Hot Water Function

The Design

Visually the GO 2.0 pretty closely resembles the original. It’s still incredibly compact at just 8.3” W x 14.25” D x 15” H. The button layout has been updated and I’ll get into what that means in just a bit, but overall things are a bit tidier. The PID has been relocated from the front panel just above the tray on the old GO to its new location right beneath the steam valve on the 2.0. It makes programming considerably easier as you no longer have to reach beneath the portafilter. In place of the old PID, the brew pressure gauge has been relocated to right side of the machine, with the black 2.0 in particular still sporting a unique pale blue gauge compared to the black gauges on all the other color GOs.

The drip tray and steam wand are more or less the same as the original GO. The tray is still plastic with a steel grate to reduce vibration and rattling. The water tank lid was also similarly designed with rubber posts on the bottom for that same reason. Both panels on either side of the group assembly now feature Profitec’s signature ventilation holes, giving the GO 2.0 the same synergy with the TWIST grinders as the MOVE. The OPV remains accessible from the top of the machine with “-” and “+” indicators to guide you in adjusting your brew pressure.

Internally the GO 2.0 remains quite tidy, with the only major changes to speak of really being the new positioning of the PID display and the pressure gauge. Otherwise the boiler remains directly above the group with a 3-way solenoid valve directing wastewater from brewing directly into the drip tray. The vibration pump remains mounted with noise insulation, and with the updates to the drip tray and tank lid, the GO 2.0 is notably quiet for a vibration pump machine.

The GO 2.0 will be available in all five colors (black, blue, red, stainless, and yellow) sometime in 2027, with black and blue available at launch. Like the previous GO, the 2.0 can be updated with a wide range of wood species for its portafilter handle and steam knob with accents from Wiedemann Manufaktur.

What’s New

The GO 2.0 received more than just a facelift. Several changes both to its physical components and accessories as well as its programming and features help to modernize the machine in several very useful ways that ultimately increase the out-of-the-box value of the 2.0 vs the original GO.

The Portafilter

It seems to be the case that all of Profitec’s machines are starting to include modular bottomless portafilters with all of their machines, and GO is no exception. The handle on the GO’s portafilter is a little different from the handle on the other modular portafilters, with a shape that resembles the design of Profitec’s custom wood handles with a point at the end of it.

I will say that the new handle feels a bit more plasticky than the previous design, and there is a small seam between the handle and the small neck segment that actually comes in contact with the filter head. In any case, the handle can be removed by hand (along with the steam knob) allowing you to easily customize your GO with components like our Wiedemann accents without the need of any additional tools.

Included with the portafilter are two unique modular spout inserts. I say unique because they’re significantly shorter to leave more room under the portafilter than the other style that are included with the RIDE and current MOVE for example. The inserts also have a section labeled “Tamping Surface” for you to brace against your counter (or you can use Profitec's very nice tamping station).

Of course, with the spouts removed the portafilter can be used to pull bottomless shots as well. And because the portafilter can be used without the spouts, Profitec includes a 7g single, 14g double, and 21g triple basket for all sizes of shots. If for some reason you’re not a fan of the new design, the group still accepts traditional E61 portafilters. That said, our independent testing of the silicone inserts has found that they have no negative effect on brew temperature.

The Controls and Programming

Compared to the original GO, the 2.0 has adopted the same navigational layout as the Profitec MOVE (albeit in reverse). The two brew buttons on the left of the machine work in tandem with the buttons under the PID to control all aspects of programming.

Like the MOVE, the small buttons are still used to access and navigate the programming menu along with some additional functions. When making changes to programming, they allow you to scroll up or down through the menu or make contextual changes based on the menu you’re in. The brew buttons serve as your dedicated confirm and back buttons. The one cup button confirms selections (choosing a menu to enter, saving changes to move on to the next option) while the two cup button serves as your dedicated back button that will leave a menu.

Unlike most other ECM and Profitec machines, because the GO has a button dedicated to exiting menus, they will no longer time out. This is great because you no longer have to feel rushed to make your changes, but you also have to remember to deliberately leave the programming menu when you are finished making changes.

If you noticed the lack of a dedicated steam button like the past GO, don’t fret! Pressing and holding the right button beneath the OLED will switch the machine into steam mode (the coffee cup icon on the OLED is replaced by a steam icon to indicate the change). Once in steam mode, pressing the button again will switch back to brew mode.

In terms of programming features, adopting the modern controller used in ECM and Proftec machines means that the new GO has all of the same functionality that you might expect like programmable on/off times and automated cleaning cycles. Full menu and programming options include:

Brew Temperature, Steam Temperature, Pre-Infusion (on/off), Brew Button Settings (time and pre-infusion), ECO Mode, Cleaning Reminder, Cleaning Reset Reminder, Automated Cleaning, Filter Change Reminder, Timer Enable, Clock Set, Schedule Set (2 on/off times per day of the week), Temperature Units, Brew Temperature Offset, Fast Heating (on/off), Descaling Cycle Activation.

Menu Shortcuts

Because the new controls are quite a bit smarter than the previous GO, there are several button shortcuts to trigger different machine functions.

Brew Buttons

Press and Hold Brew 1 or 2

This is the shortcut for programming the timed brewing that will be assigned to these buttons. After 4 seconds, a prompt for pre-infusion will appear. This allows you to program a pre-infusion phase first (active and passive) before programming your shot time. I do want to note that if you have pre-infusion enabled, the final time you see displayed on the PID when you save your shot is actually cumulative and adds the duration of your pre-infusion steps to your total brew time.

Pressing the Other Brew Button (while brewing)

If you press the other brew button while a shot is pulling, the infinity symbol will appear above the portafilter on the screen, indicating that you are now in continuous or manual dispensing mode and the pump will continue to run until you stop it. There’s no specific timing to this feature, you simply need to press the other brew button at some point before your shot finishes pulling.

Pressing Both Brew Buttons

Pressing both brew buttons allows you to dispense hot water from the machine. You’ll see a wave icon appear on the screen and hear the pump run. The solenoid valve stays closed so water won’t flow through the group, allowing you to open the steam valve to let water flow. To stop dispensing, press a single brew button. Pressing both will register as two inputs and begin pulling a shot.

Pressing and Holding Both Brew Buttons

Pressing and holding both of the brew buttons will initiate the GO’s automated backflush program. The screen will display a countdown for 135 seconds. The flush routine is divided into 6 active 10 second phases and 5 passive 15 second phases, alternating between active and passive. Once completed, OLED will return to your brew temperature. Pressing either brew button will end the cycle early.

PID Buttons

Pressing and Holding Both PID Buttons

This will enter the programming menu.

Pressing the Left PID Button

This allows you to toggle pre-infusion on or off by continuing to press this button.

Pressing and Holding the Left PID Button

This will put the GO into ECO mode.

Pressing and Holding the Right PID Button

This will switch the GO into steam mode. The PID will display a steam icon and the current boiler temperature. Pressing the button again will exit steam mode.

Brewing on the GO 2.0

Compared to the original GO, the GO 2.0 does feel different from a brewing workflow standpoint. The original had a single button for brewing that started when pressed and stopped when pressed again. On the 2.0, the best way to achieve this would be to program one of your buttons for 30+ seconds so you can manually start and stop by pressing it. The alternative is to use the continuous brewing shortcut I mentioned above, but that requires three button presses, so my preference is the latter technique.

Quibbles aside, the ability to program two profiles is an objective improvement, especially if you’re pairing the GO with a single-dose grinder to brew different coffees, or going for the more traditional route of programming your buttons on a per-dose basis. On top of that you also have programmable pre-infusion with active wetting and soak, so your ability to tame brighter coffees is stronger than ever.

Brew Temperature

Despite the GO’s incredible popularity, there are some in the past who’ve questioned us regarding its thermal performance, and interestingly enough, both of the topics that come up are related in a way. The first is regarding the drop in boiler temp after brewing.

At base settings, it’s not uncommon to see the boiler temperature reported by the PID dip into the 180s after brewing. However, that doesn’t mean that the actual temperature in the boiler is that low. The GO uses an offset to try and achieve your set brew temperature at the group, meaning that the actual temperature inside is much hotter than what it says on the display, still above 200 degrees.

In our testing of the thermal performance using a thermocouple probe across ten back to back, 25 second shots you’ll see that brew temperatures were quite stable with the PID set to 200° F. It’s useful to remember that the offset Profitec uses should be thought of more along the lines of “what would the temperature be if I started brewing right now?” And what I mean by this, is that at the tail end of your shot where the boiler is cooler than it started and your portafilter is much hotter, the actual in puck temperature will be much higher than if you pulled a fresh shot starting at that same lower temperature displayed on the PID.

To put it more succinctly, the in puck temperature is much higher and more stable than the number on the PID might lead you to believe, and we have the data to prove it. What I will say however, is that some of my most stable shots were pulled when the PID just reached my target temperature. So performing a minor flush in order to trigger heating can be very helpful. Again especially because the temperature on screen is a prediction and not the exact temperature.

Performance

Based on my testing and using a method that involved brewing as soon as the PID displayed my target of 200 degrees, you’ll see that on average, my results were very good. The highest overshoots at 200.8 and 201.1 degrees can be attributed to me being a bit less aggressive with my start times on my shots as opposed to pressing the brew exactly on time.

Apart from that, the average across the 10 shots was amazingly 200. Needless to say, I played around a bit with the offset and had to create my own workflow for best results, but I have no doubts about the GO’s ability to perform when you need it to produce stable temperatures.

Steaming on the GO 2.0

In terms of steam performance, the GO 2.0 is more or less on-par with its original counterpart. When heating for steam, it takes the 2.0 roughly 1 minute and 10 seconds to reach its maximum 273° F temperature from an idle of 200° F. My fastest observed time for steaming was around 20 seconds and some change which isn’t bad for a PID single-boiler machine. Profitec does recommend to purge the boiler several times before steaming to allow more room for steam to expand in the boiler, and we have found that this does help to reduce the overall time spent steaming at the expense of adding another 30 seconds in the form of two 5 second flushes followed by 10 seconds of pause after each.

Personally, given the GO’s incredibly stable brew temperatures, its steam performance is still quite good for having such a compact boiler. Though if you’re looking to make milk drinks every single day, I recommend taking a look at the Profitec MOVE or ECM Mechanika Max II as alternatives, given that both have very stable temperatures and on-demand steam.

Performance

Based on our testing, the GO 2.0 steamed 5oz or 142g of refrigerator temperature milk to 140° F in roughly 30 seconds on average with approximately 18% water added. My testing utilized Profitec's suggested flushing method outlined above.

Final Thoughts

Profitec has done quite well with the GO 2.0. In nearly every way they’ve improved the platform by adding modern features and ergonomic improvements that make using it even more compelling. You have more brewing options with added pre-infusion and programmable shots, but also things like the convenience of hot water dispensing and on/off programming make the machine that much more enjoyable. If you had any doubts regarding the original GO’s temperature stability, throw them out the window. If you’re looking for a compact and temperature stable machine, unless you’re looking to make milk drinks every day, I can safely say, it’s GO time.

Photography by Quinton Marchand

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