Hi,
I'm Pedro from Coffee Parts
And today we look at the evolution of
the VBM Domobar Junior
coffee machine.
So the VBM Domobar Junior
Now, this machine is close to my heart.
And this actual machine here, the original Domobar Junior
was that machine I bought when I first left home 18 years ago.
So I grew up with always having beautiful coffee machines at home,
and when I left home it was a housewarming gift to myself.
I picked this machine because at the time
it was the smallest footprint, heat exchange machine you could get.
And I needed a bench space.
So this machine was perfect and I pair that up with Mazzer mini E
And it really was awesome.
So I've kind of got a soft spot for the VBM.
Fast forward to 2019.
I was at the House trade show in Milan with Christiano, the founder of VBM,
when he launched this machine, the updated junior in this case the Junior Digital.
Now in many ways they are same machine
1400 watter element, 1.5 liter boiler
heating exchagens with vibrating pump,
but they're also very different.
One thing I've always liked about the VBM is the actual E61
Group head that they use.
Compared to others E61 group head on the market, it has a really nice feel.
You can really feel the accentuation of going
from off to pre infusion to activation.
And from a servicing perspective it's a lot easier to work on.
They run Allen key screws to keep it all together rather than be both.
So a lot easier to get in without putting any scratches on the machines.
Now from the differences, they're all subtle but stacked up.
They make a difference.
Back when I got my machine, cool touch wasn't an option,
so the arms used to get really hot.
I actually bought this arm a few years later and modified this machine so I move
the angle of the valve and got this arm in here to have a cool touch one.
They now come with cool touch ones.
Not only do they come with cool touch one,
the actual steam valve is ergonomically designed,
so you only need a small turn to activate and close.
Talking about activation.
Although you're using the lever to activate the group head
on my original one you had two gauges, one for the pressure of the boiler.
So your steam pressure and one for the pressure of the pump
that's now all digital.
You see on the display, the pressures.
And while you activate the group head, you see a shot timer
So it has involved it's not miraculous change,
but it is an evolution inside the machine.
You've got insulation on the boiler and an eco mode, so you are saving less power
while keeping the machine more than mechanically stable.
And when it comes to the water reservoir, on my original machine,
when you wanted to fill it, you had to remove the whole lid
would come off and you could fill the tank.
And that water reservoir had two cables that came in to basically
pick up the water to run the machine.
On the new model, the water reservoir sits at the back.
You only have to move the back of the lid without having to move the cups
to fill the tank in.
And the tank is drawing from the bottom, so no more hoses going in.
A lot neater approach.
And when it comes to the drip tray, both had large drip trays.
But on the newer model, there is a red indicator mark
So if the drip tray is full, you know it quite clearly
it doesn't create any mess on my one.
It could either fil without you noticing.
Also, this drip tray is dishwasher safe so you can take it out,
throw in your dishwasher, wash it and put it back on the machine.
When it came to the esthetic appearance on the original one, the way you bought
the machine was what you had.
I did have a VBM Domobar Super, the bigger brother of the junior for a while
and I took the cover off and painted a bright green.
But on the new model.
It's a lot easier.
It comes with these removable panels that are just held on by magnets,
so you can pull them off and either get them painted, wrap them,
or just by different colored ones, and change them quite easily.
And just put them back in. Just align and back up
and away they're back on.
So it makes it super easy to change.
As I look around.
Once again, nothing earth shattering,
but it is cool that they have been evolving.
So what does it come with?
Just like the original one
It comes with the single and double portafilter
and the plastic tamper.
The tamper
I would suggest getting a real one,
but apart from that, the machine is really cool.
So I am a little bit biased cause I mean,
I've had this machine for 18 years and I love VBM.
So there's only one final way to see the evolution
between the two machines
and that is pull a shot on each one.
So let's get into it.
So let's start with the original VBM Domobar Junior
I've loaded 20 grams of coffee into the portafilter and it's just run
a shot.
I know it's a vibrating pump machine.
But there's still something about this machine I really enjoy.
There's something about this machine.
Coffee's nice, it's sweet.
It's not mind blowing.
I mean, we've just been playing with Levar X's, but
it is a really enjoyable machine.
And coffee.
I know this machine's 18 years old and still makes me smile.
So now let's see what the new Domobar Junior Digital can do.
We pre-loaded again the Portafilter with the same 20 grams of coffee
and was going to pull a shot
is nice,
but honestly you can't really tell the difference.
Now. I feel like that shot was a little bit tide than that one.
My attempt is a bit harder, but
the end result in the cup is very similar.
So I feel like effectively the differences between the two machines
really are nice to have usable visual.
I mean the steam arms are nice different.
We're not doing milk today, but it is nice.
Have the cool touch ones and a nice of valves display.
Having that shot timer really is nice.
The eco mode in terms of saving energy,
which I think everything that's saving the environment makes a difference.
Not having to remove the cups to fill, the water tank,
and being able to see if the water's overfilling the tank.
There already nice to have. but don't necessarily make it better in the cup.
Effectively the super 1400 element, 1.5 liter tanks, heat exchanger.
And as you could hear in the video, vibrating pumps.
But for what they are, they really do produce nice coffee
in the cup.
Now, my question to you is, do you have a VBM
Do you want a VBM? Do you like the evolution of the VBM?
Let me know in the comments below.
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hit that thumbs up.
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Thank you and see on the next video.