Profitec RIDE Espresso Machine Review

The world of home espresso machines is a tapestry of threads interwoven between machines and manufacturers. Shared DNA between your favorite brands may be obvious at times or seemingly more recessive at others, but the open secret that Profitec and ECM are two brands that are owned and operated by the same person is pretty well established at this point. ECM as it exists today has roots that can be traced back to the Italian company of the same name that existed several decades ago and that has since become the modern day Rocket Espresso. Profitec on the other hand is a purely German endeavor.

If you were to turn the clock back five years, you’d notice a marked difference in Profitec’s machines compared to now. If you spend any time in the coffee media sphere, you’ve likely heard the term “shiny metal box” used to describe home espresso machines, particularly ones with E61 brew groups. The thing is, this isn’t an entirely inaccurate description though it definitely undersells just how beautiful polished steel can be in person. In 2020, Profitec was no stranger to shiny metal boxes and occupied a position as a more modest alternative to ECM’s heavy emphasis on luxury. The thing is though, Profitec has always marched to the beat of its own drum, and even 10 years ago they were proving it.

You might not have realized it, but Profitec has not one but three dual boiler espresso machines in their catalog, not to mention a compact PIDed single boiler and a sprung lever machine to boot.

A Brief History of Names and Machines

Profitec has one of the most diverse ranges of machines by type that we carry. Despite this, Profitec was something of a more conventional brand aesthetically. All that changed in 2022 with the release of the GO, Profitec’s reimagining of the ECM Casa V. Not only was the machine  painted black, but it was also the first time that Profitec dropped their naming convention of “PRO ###” in exchange for a single verb name instead (much to my personal dismay as I yearn for the timeline where the PRO 100 exists). Since then we’ve been graced with several reimaginings in the form of the DRIVE (PRO 700), JUMP (PRO 400), MOVE (PRO 300) and even the TWIST (the C-series grinders). Now at long last the time has arrived for the Profitec PRO 600. Enter the Profitec RIDE.

The RIDE and the PRO 600

To start things off, the Profitec RIDE is a reimagining of the popular PRO 600 espresso machine, so if you’re familiar with the 600 you can skip ahead to my discussion of the RIDE’s features and performance. If you’re not familiar with it, read on.

The Profitec PRO 600

The Profitec PRO 600 was created to fill the gap between the PRO 500, a PIDed heat exchanger machine with a vibration pump and the PRO 700 (now DRIVE) which is a dual boiler machine with a rotary pump. The 600 debuted with a vibration pump and dual boilers and was housed in a modified version of the PRO 500’s frame and panels. It also had the same steam and hot water valves at the start but would eventually receive an update in the form of quick steam valves (AKA joysticks). As a major improvement over Profitec’s other dual boiler at the time, the PRO 300 (now MOVE), the PRO 600 also offered PID control over both brew AND steam temperature which was something the original 300 lacked.

Back then, we were also working with ECM/Profitec in order to improve the steaming performance of the ECM Synchronika by adding an updated safety valve and increasing the maximum steam boiler temperature. On the Profitec side, this feedback was incorporated into both the PRO 700 and 600 as well. From a brewing standpoint the PRO 600 has the same 0.75L brew boiler found in both the Profitec DRIVE and the ECM Synchronika II. Where the cost savings come in however are the smaller 1L steam boiler and vibration pump. So while the PRO 600 can reach a similar max pressure to the DRIVE and Synchronika II, it lacks the same capacity and it can’t be plumbed into a water line. Further, the use of a vibration pump does affect the ramping of brew pressure as well as the range of achievable flow rates when using flow control, though that’s not likely to be a deal breaker for most people.

The Profitec RIDE

Now that we’ve established the history and the fundamentals of the PRO 600, it’s time to talk about what’s new with the RIDE. The easiest place to start is with the exterior. As I mentioned earlier, many home espresso machines are referred to as “shiny metal boxes.” With the recent facelifts Profitec has given their machines, they seem to have thrown this design philosophy out the window and the RIDE is no exception. The front panel and cup tray are a darker brushed/satin steel while the side and rear panels are painted black. The OLED PID display is the same tiny cutout found on the JUMP, MOVE and DRIVE with similarly compact buttons. Most eye-catching are the oversized blue pressure gauges that add a lively pop of color to the machine’s face.

Visually the RIDE combines many elements of the other “verb” series Profitec machines so I’ll condense them into a little table for you:

The Modular Portafilter

Apart from the housing, the most obvious change made to the Profitec RIDE is its modular portafilter. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this feature, starting with the MOVE, Profitec designed a portafilter with exchangeable silicone spouts. It was a “move” inspired by the La Marzocco Linea Micra and essentially allows a single portafilter to be used with or without spouts. The portafilter that comes with the RIDE is a little different from the MOVE though, including both a single and double spout and features an angled bakelite plastic handle. Because the portafilter can be configured for bottomless use, the machine comes with three baskets (7, 14, 21g) unlike the usual 2 + Backflush that come with most prosumers.

In our testing we’ve found that the silicone inserts have minimal impact on the overall extraction temperature. They don’t absorb as much heat so they don’t cool your espresso as much. Overall receiving one less portafilter with your machine likely won’t matter to most people. I imagine they’ll put the silicone single spout in the drawer like they would their single spout portafilter and really only use the double spout when serving two shots at once. Personally I’ve come around to the utility of the modular design though I’m not 100% on board with seeing the black spouts on a portafilter just yet, but I felt that way about flow control when it first dropped, so I’ll probably get used to it.

Dual Boilers and Dual Heating

The other big new feature on the RIDE is the machine’s ability to heat both boilers simultaneously. In terms of utility, this feature doesn’t make a huge difference when it comes to initial heatup time as the RIDE can still use ECM/Profitec’s Fast Heat-Up feature to rapidly reach brew temperature when first powered on; Instead, the RIDE makes best use of this when steaming. With its smaller 1L steam boiler, steaming performance and stability benefit from the boiler heating constantly rather than alternating as it used to on the PRO 600. When coupled with the fast heat-up the RIDE was ready for brewing AND steaming in just about 14 minutes.

sub-filterOther Updates

While they’re not brand new features, the updated PID controller on the RIDE offers expanded functionality for both brewing and general operation. The RIDE can be programmed with two unique on/off times per day. You also have the option to turn the Fast Heat-Up mode on or off according to your preference. The programming menu also offers options both active (pump running) and passive (pump delay) pre-infusion in order to further customize your extractions based on your coffee. Overall the features are what you’ll find on all of Profitec’s modern machines so it’s no surprise that the RIDE offers them as well.

Using the Ride

If you’ve used an E61 espresso machine before then brewing with the Profitec RIDE will be familiar territory. Before I go into a little more detail on brew and steam performance I just want to say that from a noise perspective the RIDE is among the quietest vibration pump machines I’ve ever brewed with. It’s not by accident either, the RIDE is equipped with a noise dampening fitting that connects to the pump in order to reduce noise from vibration. When coupled with the solid pump mounts and overall noise insulating design of the machine, brewing on the RIDE sounds like a gentle hum compared to the loud rattling that you hear on less thoughtfully designed machines.

Brewing

Brewing on the RIDE was a beautiful experience. The pump is nice and quiet like I mentioned, but more importantly the temperature stability was simply incredible. I’ll throw in Marc’s graphic from his in-depth test, but suffice it to say that if you set a temperature, you’ll land within ≤ 2° of your target temperature consistently. This is due to a combination of factors including both the RIDE’s independently regulated brew boiler, but also its overall capacity. It’s worth remembering that the RIDE has the same brew boiler as both the ECM Synchronika II and the Profitec DRIVE. At 0.75L it’s one of the largest independent brew boilers on a home E61 machine and the performance speaks for itself.

If you’ve been looking at the Profitec MOVE as an option, but the RIDE has caught your eye, it’s worth spending a little bit of time talking about the utility of the E61 group. Is the MOVE a little faster to heat up? Sure. But the RIDE isn’t wasting any time as I mentioned before. The E61 also gives you access to two very useful tools in the form of the Flow Control Device and the Pressensor.
 
The Flow Control Device is a manual valve that installs inside the group and allows you to adjust flow rate by hand during extraction. You can achieve extra long pre-infusions, high flow to combat bitterness, and create your own manual extraction profiles to suit your tastes and your coffee. The Pressensor similarly installs into the E61 group and tethers with smart devices (like the Varia AKU Pro scale) to communicate extraction data to your phone via the Pressensor app. You can get readings on variables like pressure, flow rate, and shot timing, save recipes or download ones that you want to emulate. These upgrades aren’t mutually exclusive either and you can use both the Flow Control Device and Pressensor at the same time.

Steaming

I was particularly excited to steam on the RIDE given its pedigree but also because Profitec themselves claimed that the new boiler heating would deliver greater stability during steaming as well. For the sake of my own testing, I used the machine at its max steam temperature of 274° F so the machine idled around 2.25 bar and dropped to around 1.7-1.5 bar while frothing. The wand has a two hole tip with the holes more tightly grouped together on the PRO 600. In general I’d say that the RIDE is very fast when it comes to steaming. 5oz of milk reached 140° F in under 25 seconds and produced a pretty vigorous roll in the pitcher. Marc was kind enough to share his test results from our recent video review as well so I’ve included them below for you.

Marc and I also teamed up to test Profitec’s claim of better steaming stability and set up a PRO 600 and a RIDE side by side. We let both machines heat up fully and set the PIDs to 270° F (the PRO 600 has a lower max temp than the RIDE) before letting them rip. The claim from Profitec is that the RIDE is more stable when steaming and brewing at the same time, so we started the pumps and opened the valves for a minute. Not only did the RIDE maintain a higher pressure, settling in around 1.5 bar while the PRO 600 dipped steadily below that, but the boiler also heated back up to steaming temperature more quickly as well. In the end it comes back to the simultaneous boiler heating, not only to better maintain pressure, but also from a recovery standpoint between drinks.

Customizations

As you might have guessed from the photo above, the RIDE can be customized with a variety of wood accents. If you checked out my table above, you’d also see that the RIDE is easy to customize. The handle on the included portafilter easily twists off by hand, allowing you to easily change the look of your machine, even at home. We’re offering both traditional accents for the drive alongside elegant chrome tipped options so you can choose the style that best suits your bar. The RIDE is also compatible with the magnetic side panels Profitec designed for the PRO 600 so you can go all-in on wood customization if you feel like it.

Final Thoughts

When the Profitec PRO 600 first debuted it created a new paradigm for home prosumers, offering an option between the heat exchanger and fully plumbable dual boiler. The RIDE is a welcome update, maintaining all of the features that made the 600 compelling while adding all of the modern performance features that keep Profitec in the forefront of people’s home espresso aspirations. 

Compared to the MOVE, the RIDE offers greater capacity for brewing and steaming, along with the flexibility for upgrades that comes with the E61 group. If you enjoy experimenting with single origin coffees but regularly make milk drinks or pull shots back to back, this machine is a great option. Pricewise, with the RIDE sitting below rotary dual boilers like the DRIVE, you’ll have more room in your budget for other parts of your setup like grinders and scales. That said, if you’re in the market for a plumbable machine, or you’re not enamored with the less traditional look of the machine, you may want to consider something from ECM instead.

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