Victoria Arduino Eagle One: Too Good To Be True

When James Hoffmann endorses an espresso machine, you bet I sit up and take notice. I’ve been following the Victoria Arduino Eagle One’s development for some time and was thrilled when it finally hit the market four years ago. One thing I wasn’t so delighted about—the humongous price.

The Victoria Arduino Eagle One has an advanced heating system, complete machine control via an app, a stylish design, autoflush, and more. But do these factors justify the high price, and most importantly—how long does it take to heat up a Victoria Arduino Eagle One?

Read on to find out.

Summary: Victoria Arduino Eagle One

• Cool touch steam wand remains safe temperature at all times
  
• The app provides total machine control
  
• LED display contributes to a stylish design

The espresso shots from the Eagle One are just fantastic. With my old machine, most coffees were milk-based, but the Eagle One has me pulling more espressos than ever.

– Customer review

SEE ON SHOP COFFEE

Victoria Arduino Eagle One Review

Victoria Arduino Eagle One is an espresso machine that guarantees high performance and low energy consumption. The Eagle One is a perfect fit for people who care about environmentally-friendly processes; it’s made from innovative materials with high thermal insulation that provides brew quality.

Here’s how Victoria Arduino Eagle One fared in my tests.

Victoria Arduino Eagle One

• Design
• Brewing Capacity
• Cleaning and Maintenance
• Value for Money

4.6

• SEE ON SHOP COFFEE

Design – 4.5/5

Victoria Arduino Eagle has a sleek and modern design. Unlike most other professional espresso machines, this machine is compact, and the exact dimensions vary whether you choose two or three group machines. It comes in steel, black, and white versions, but you can also opt for custom red, light blue, or green colours.

The espresso machine is made with durable stainless steel material. Victoria Arduino machines use a steam switch instead of a traditional valve or knob. Getting used to it takes some time, but I love it.

LED touchscreen display

One of the key design features of the Eagle One is the ghost LED touchscreen display. The display feels modern and shiny, located on the group head’s top. Touchscreen displays are usually small and difficult to navigate, but not in case with the Eagle One. It’s easy to use, yet it lets you program three espresso doses, which comes handy when using the machine in a coffee shop.

Finally, I liked the cup warmer design on top. It’s a nice touch, and serving espresso in preheated cups makes a huge difference. Experienced baristas know pouring coffee in a cold cup will make it go cold much faster.

Finally, an essential part of the design is the technology. Keep following to see how to control this intelligent machine through an app.

Victoria Arduino App

Eagle One espresso machine uses Bluetooth to connect with an app, which all of you tech geeks will love. But those who prefer a traditional way won’t like this app feature.

By using the app, you have total control because you can:

• Turn on the machine.
• Change the temperature.
• Choose extraction time.
• Check how the machine is programming.

You can even set up the machine from your bedroom or office, which means virtually no waiting for a caffeine fix!

If you’re a coffee shop owner or a roaster, you can publish recommended recipes for a specific coffee bean to the cloud. This is an excellent opportunity for your client to use the recipe and get the same shot. It’s also a nice feature for businesses, but I cannot say with certainty that it’s useful for home baristas.

Note: Several user reports complained about the connection between the app and the machine. They often had to reinstall the app (several times!) to establish a connection to Eagle One successfully.

Brewing Capacity – 5/5

Victoria Arduino Eagle One is full of advanced features that allow precision brewing. Here’s a round-up of all of them:

• Volumetric Dosing — You start the brew cycle, and the machine automatically stops pouring once it reaches the correct dose. This ensures consistent extraction.
• New Engine Optimization (NEO) — The machine heats up the water just before entering the brew group rather than heating it everywhere. The result is reduced energy consumption and less waste. The Life Cycle Assessment showed this machine has a 23% lower environmental impact than the same category machine (1).
• Thermal energy recovery system (TERS) — Recycles water during brewing (another eco-friendly feature). Espresso machines waste a lot of water for brewing, steaming milk, and purging (2). The TERS system reuses water to preheat incoming water, lowering water expenses.
• T3 system — A group of boilers, each with a different purpose. There’s a steam and a brew boiler, allowing you to steam milk and pull a shot at the same time. You can control the temperature in each boiler and make tweaks to get a better flavour. Even a small temperature change can result in big flavour differences.
• Soft infusion system (pre-infusion) — The espresso machine lets water come into contact with ground coffee at low pressure (3)—the coffee blooms, which creates better extraction of the coffee solubles, and a more flavourful cup.
• Cool-touch steam wand — Can you call yourself a barista if you don’t have steam wand burns to prove it? Luckily, Eagle One’s wand remains calm no matter how much you use the machine. The wand is insulated and always remains in safe temperature ranges.

Overall, Eagle One espresso machine has an advanced brewing capacity, creating excellent quality coffee. Plus, the machine gives you much control over the final brew. You can change the temperature, pre-infusion time, and extraction time to get a drink according to your preferences.

Cleaning and Maintenance 5/5

It has a built-in automatic cleaning cycle, ensuring the machine is clean and runs smoothly. The drip tray is on the smaller side but is removable, making it easy to clean up spills. Wipe it down with a damp cloth, and you can easily maintain the stainless steel exterior.

Moreover, the steam wand is self-cleaning, too, ensuring no curdled milk. This feature is handy for busy specialty coffee shops where baristas need more time to clean the wand after each use.

Value for Money – 4/5

The Victoria Arduino Eagle One machine is one of the most expensive, and there’s no going around it. Only a few coffee drinkers can shell out several thousand dollars for a coffee maker. However, it’s worth the investment for serious coffee enthusiasts, professional baristas, and even smaller coffee shops.

This machine has plenty of advanced features and precise brewing options, making it stand out from other commercial espresso machines.

Do Not Buy the Eagle One if…

• You want a more affordable espresso machine — If you’re looking for an affordable and easy-to-use espresso machine but still suitable for a coffee shop, check out Appia Life. Yet it comes with many options, such as soft infusion, volumetric dosing, and simultaneous steaming and brewing.
• You need a machine for a large and busy coffee shop — If you’re running a large coffee establishment, Eagle One might be too small. Check out the La Marzocco Strada espresso machine. You can choose a two or three-group model, depending on how much espresso you produce.

The Verdict

Victoria Arduino Eagle One combines precise brewing, modern technology, sleek design, and eco-friendly features that set it apart from other machines. Yet the best part is that it’s easy to use and maintain.

This machine is an excellent investment for serious coffee enthusiasts, professional baristas, and coffee shops. However, if you’re an espresso beginner, have a tight budget, or don’t like controlling the machine from the app, there are other options for you.

SEE ON SHOP COFFEE