On most machines the brew group is a lump of brass bolted onto the boiler, and it takes a long time to come up to temperature and a cold shot or two to settle. On the Athena the group is part of the boiler. Brew water surrounds it rather than passing through it, so the metal the water touches is already at brewing temperature.
A saturated E61 group
A 500 ml saturated E61 brew system, heated by a thick film element. Because the group and the boiler are one assembly, they come up to temperature together and hold it together. Elenza put the machine at around four minutes from cold, which is not a figure you normally see next to an E61.
Flow control on the group
The paddle on top of the group adjusts water flow by hand, during the shot. Open it up to get the extraction moving, ease it back as the shot runs. It is the difference between pulling the same shot every time and being able to shape one.
Pure Fusion pre-infusion
Espresso goes wrong in the first few seconds. Hit dry coffee with full pressure and the water cuts a channel straight through the puck, then runs past the rest of it.
Pure Fusion wets the coffee at a gentler pressure first, then brings it up to full. Both stages are adjustable, so you can set it for the coffee you drink and change it when you change beans.
| 3 to 7 bar Stage one | 7 to 11 bar Stage two |
PID temperature control
Brew temperature is set electronically and held there. The number you settle on this week is the number you get next month.
A quiet pump
A vibration pump, but a good one. It delivers brewing pressure without the clatter these pumps are known for, which matters more than it sounds like it should at six in the morning.
App control and brew by weight
The machine can be set from the Elenza app. Add the optional Elenza scale and it will end the shot at the weight you asked for, rather than leaving you counting seconds.
Specification
| Brew system | 500 ml saturated E61 |
| Heating | Thick film heater |
| Heat-up time | Approximately 4 minutes |
| Flow control | Manual, on the group |
| Pre-infusion | Pure Fusion, stage one 3 to 7 bar, stage two 7 to 11 bar |
| Temperature control | Electronic PID |
| Pump | Silent vibration pump |
| Connectivity | App control, brew by weight with the optional Elenza scale |
| Body | Polished stainless steel |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Five year warranty and a workshop behind it
We stock the spares and these machines will be serviced and repaired in our own workshop, in Glasgow.
