Products · Coffee makers & gear · ECM
ECM Synchronika II Espresso Machine
Reader ratings
A dual-boiler machine whose maker names stainless steel boilers. A retailer’s parts list shows silicone tubing, brass fittings and PTFE gaskets; the E61 group is chrome-plated brass, and nothing says the brass is lead-free.
Best for Someone who wants a serviceable dual boiler with named stainless steel boilers and accepts brass in the group.
- Our quality rating
- Fair (3 of 5)
- Price range
- Premium
- Size
- Dual boiler: 0.75 L coffee and 2 L steam and hot water; 2.8 L tank or plumbed in; rotary pump; 30 kg
- Made in
- ECM says it produces in both Italy and Germany; Whole Latte Love lists this model as made in Germany
approx. $3,599 at Whole Latte Love
See it on ECM’s site →We are not affiliated with ECM. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
Reader ratings & reviews
– out of 5
Loading ratings…
Rating breakdown
- 5 stars 0
- 4 stars 0
- 3 stars 0
- 2 stars 0
- 1 star 0
Have this product? Please rate it.
Check your email
We sent a sign-in link to . Click it and you’ll come straight back here, signed in. It expires in 15 minutes; check your spam folder if it doesn’t show up. Thank you for helping the community!
Your review
Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.
How we evaluated it
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- ECM names the boilers. Its page lists a “stainless steel coffee boiler: approx. 0.75 L” and a “stainless steel steam and hot water boiler: approx. 2 L”.
- More of the path can be read from a retailer’s copy of ECM’s parts list: silicone tube (5 x 8 mm), metal flex hoses, a brass T-fitting, a stainless steel group socket, a stainless filter in the group and PTFE (“Teflon”) gaskets. It names no PTFE or PFA tubing.
- ECM publishes care rules: a manual that asks for water up to 4° dH, refreshing the boiler water every 1 to 2 weeks, and descaling by an authorised dealer if the machine calcifies; an FAQ with a 3 to 6 month descaling interval and group cleaning every 150 cups.
- No Prop 65 notice and no recall naming ECM turned up in our searches on 2026-10-22 (the only “ECM” notices belong to unrelated companies).
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- ECM does not say whether its brass is lead-free. Whole Latte Love lists the E61 group and the portafilter as chrome-plated brass, and we found no metal-release test.
- Beyond the boilers, ECM describes no material. The parts list does not say what lines the metal hoses or what the pump body and tank (plastic, per Whole Latte Love) are made of. PTFE gaskets sit in the group and the steam and hot-water valves.
- Servicing runs through dealers. ECM says spare parts come only from authorised dealers, does no remote diagnosis, and says a calcified machine may need the boiler and tubing partly taken apart.
- At about $3,599 it costs more than six times the Gaggia Classic Pro, and only one US dealer was open to us.
What to know Details worth knowing first
The Synchronika II is a dual-boiler machine with a rotary pump, and ECM names what the boilers are made of: stainless steel, 0.75 L for coffee and 2 L for steam and hot water. That is the part of the water path our criteria care about most, so it is listed.
The rest of the path is only partly visible. A retailer’s copy of ECM’s parts list shows silicone tubing, metal flex hoses, brass fittings, a stainless steel group socket and PTFE (“Teflon”) gaskets in the group and valves, but no PTFE or PFA tubing. The E61 group and portafilter are chrome-plated brass per the same retailer. ECM does not say whether its brass is lead-free, and we found no test. Our guide to lead in cookware and food explains why we ask.
ECM’s manual asks for water up to 4° dH and says a calcified machine should be descaled by an authorised dealer. The one German test of coffee machines found metal release highest right after descaling, so rinse well afterwards. We are asking ECM which parts touch brew water and whether its brass is lead-free, and we will update this page with its answer.
Quality & testing How it measures up against our checklist
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Inert materials in the hot path Maker’s claim | Boilers: stainless steel, stated by ECM. Group and portafilter: chrome-plated brass (Whole Latte Love’s table). Tubing: silicone and metal flex hose in the parts list; the pump body and tank are not described. The list names no aluminum part. |
| Lead-free brass Not verified | Not stated by ECM. The group and portafilter are chrome-plated brass per Whole Latte Love, and the parts list names a brass T-fitting. |
| No PTFE or PFA in the water path Not verified | No PTFE or PFA tubing is named. The parts list, as copied by Whole Latte Love, names PTFE (“Teflon”) gaskets and washers in the group, the boiler fittings and the steam valve. |
| Filters you can name Not verified | A 7 g and a 14 g basket ship with the machine; the basket metal is not stated. |
| Built to last Maker’s claim | Parts list public through retailers; spare parts and servicing through authorised dealers; manual and FAQ give descaling and cleaning intervals; Whole Latte Love lists a 3-year parts and labor warranty. |
| California Prop 65 notices Verified | No notice naming ECM Espresso Coffee Machines Manufacture GmbH in the California Attorney General’s 60-day notice database (searched 2026-10-22; “ECM” matches three notices that name unrelated companies). |
| Recalls Verified | No ECM recall in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recall database (title search, 2026-10-22). |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- ECM: Synchronika II product page. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- ECM: Synchronika II user manual (PDF). Maker’s page. Water hardness limit, boiler water refresh and descaling advice. It names no materials. Open ↗
- ECM: FAQ. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- ECM: Handmade Quality. Maker’s page. Open ↗
- Whole Latte Love: ECM Synchronika II (price, spec table, warranty). Independent source. A retailer’s spec table, not the maker’s. Open ↗
- Whole Latte Love: ECM Synchronika part diagram (parts list). Independent source. Part names for the Synchronika family; it names the metal or plastic of only some parts. Open ↗
- Müller et al. 2015: Metal release from coffee machines and electric kettles. Test report. German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. Brands are not named. Open ↗
- BfR: Some portafilter espresso machines release too much lead (questions and answers). Test report. The institute does not name products and calls the small sample not representative. It advises rinsing after descaling. Open ↗
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search, defendant name “ECM”. Certifier or regulator listing. Three results, none naming ECM Espresso Coffee Machines Manufacture GmbH; they name unrelated companies. Open ↗
- CPSC recall database, title search for ECM. Certifier or regulator listing. Open ↗
Where to buy Other stores and the prices we saw
- Whole Latte Love approx. $3,599. The store lists and services a 3-year parts and labor warranty. ECM does not state its own warranty period on its site or in its manual, and sells spare parts only through authorised dealers. Whole Latte Love was the only US dealer we could open.
Prices as we saw them on October 22, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Profitec Drive About $3,449. Profitec names stainless steel boilers and a stainless steel group mushroom; the parts list also shows silicone hose, brass fittings and PTFE gaskets.
- Rocket Bicocca About $5,790. Rocket states stainless steel boilers and publishes almost nothing else about the water path.
- ECM Classika PID About $1,699. A single-boiler ECM with a stainless steel boiler stated by ECM.