Ascaso Dream Espresso Machine

Yes, the Dream PID uses a professional 58mm portafilter. This is a significant advantage as it makes the machine compatible with a wide range of aftermarket accessories, including baskets and dispersion screens designed for the popular E61 group head format.

The PID controller allows you to precisely set and maintain your brew temperature in one-degree increments. It also features offset programming, which lets you calibrate the temperature to account for heat loss as water travels from the thermoblock to the group head, ensuring consistent extraction.

The Dream PID uses an aluminum and stainless steel thermoblock, which provides continuous, unlimited steam with constant pressure. Because it heats water on demand rather than relying on a traditional boiler, you get faster heat-up times and excellent stability for texturing milk.

An adjustable OPV allows you to manually set the maximum pressure the pump exerts on the coffee puck. This gives you an extra variable to experiment with for different roasts and also enables you to backflush the machine for easier maintenance.

While it offers professional-grade features like PID control and an adjustable OPV, the inclusion of volumetric shot programming makes it quite approachable. You can program your preferred shot lengths for single or double shots, allowing for consistent results without needing to manually time every extraction.