For the last half dozen years or so, the Vibiemme Domobar has been one of the best selling home espresso machines in the New Zealand and is today, arguably, the most well known top end Italian brand in the domestic market for home espresso. Here we review why the Vibiemme Domobar coffee machine is so popular.
So why is this then when it comes to the Vibiemme Domobar ? Well us kiwis love our coffee, but then so do the Italians, (let’s not mention the Scandinavians who seem to drink everyone else under the table!). The thing is though we generally like to add steamed milk to our coffee, and we’ll drink it like that all day long. In contrast with this Italians might have a cappuccino with a pastry for breakfast, then progress to drinking espresso shots for the rest of the day.
This means that milk steaming capacity of an espresso machine is of much greater concern to the average kiwi coffee lover than it is to those espresso swilling Europeans. Because we drink coffee with milk a lot we need machines that can produce a lot of steam in a short space of time.
On entering the local espresso machine market Italian manufacturers Vibiemme were made aware of this, duly uprating all of their commercial machines with much larger boilers than the equivalent model would have in Italy. Why? Because bigger boilers mean more steam is available, which in turn means we can make more flat whites in a shorter space of time.
With the meaning of the Italian word ‘Domo-bar’ loosely translating to ‘Home-Cafe’ you can understand why Vibiemme decided that this machine should also break new ground in domestic equipment, with the aim to truly provide cafe quality coffee at home. How did they achieve this? The Domobar Super was introduced with an (at the time) unheard of 2.7 litre copper boiler, making it instantly the most powerful machine in it’s class. This was paired with the thermal stability of an e61 lever activated group head and an advanced heat exchange system, then wrapped in a beautiful stainless steel body. Instantly, a classic home espresso machine was born. Here was a machine that delivered exquisite cafe quality espresso and had steam power comparable with that of a much larger commercial machine. The Domobar Super was also well built with Vibiemme selecting only high quality componentry such as Gicar electronics, all copper pipework and an Ulka pump, making it a very reliable piece of equipment.
Today the range has been expanded with Vibiemme offering also a smaller boiler model called the Domobar Junior, as well as plumbed and tank only versions of the Domobar Super. Internal components have also improved with the Super now sporting a commercial pressure switch, the part that controls heating (and boiler pressure). A new version will be available soon which will be switchable between being tank and plumbed in, which will be driven by a larger commercial style rotary pump.
Let’s take a quick look at the different versions. First off is the Junior, which as previously noted is the smaller boiler version of the Domobar. This means that this machine is now similar in boiler capacity to a number of other machines in it’s class. Some of these also come with e61 heads and Hx systems, such as the Rocket and Isomac Tea, so the performance level is similar and the choice mostly comes down to aesthetics (and perhaps a sharp deal).
For many, the Vibiemme Domobar Super is still head and shoulders above the Junior (and the rest of the Italians). It’s just really reassuring to turn on that steam and know that it’s going to last as long as required, without needing to pause for breath at an inopportune moment. It’s a bigger machine sure, and so takes up a fair bit more of kitchen real estate. It also costs a bit more, but for that added performance, it’s worth every penny. The majority of buyers, put off perhaps by the thoughts of an expensive plumbing bill, opt for the versatility of the tank, which outsells the plumbed model by a fair margin. But are they missing a trick? Possibly. Yes the tank version is a little easier to install and move about, but the plumbed version has a major advantage in that it can be hooked up to a decent filter system, protecting the machine and ensuring many more years of trouble free service. It also never needs to be filled up, with the pump and auto-fill system taking care of that particular task. And those expensive plumbing bills? Often less than you might think, in fact more often than not a plumbed Domobar Super can be fully installed for less than the cost of the tank version. A switchable version is going to be out soon, which will allow ultimate versatility but that is sure to come at an increased cost.
For me? A Vibiemme Domobar Super Plumbed with an in-line scale reducing filter (and a decent burr grinder) is still my dream home espresso setup.