Quickmill QM67 :: First Look

I was excited when I heard that Quickmill was coming out with a new take on the E61 double boiler design. The QM67 looked to be strong contender in the prosumer espresso lineup, especially since it was being placed as a bridge between the Andreja and Alex Duetto II. It features a professional E61 group with a clean, minimalist design. It will be a welcome choice for those that don’t have the counter real estate for the Duetto, and it’s $500 cheaper.

However, the reduced footprint and configuration exposes several issues with temperature stability and power management. Despite these drawbacks, is the QM67 a better value than the similarly priced Andreja or the more expensive Duetto? Well, that depends on what you are wanting to get from your machine.

For the lover of the latte or cappuccino, the Andreja is the better choice due to its higher capacity boiler. With a .8L steam boiler and .75L brew boiler, the QM67 is quick to run cold. I was only able to successfully brew two 6 oz. lattes spaced 30 seconds apart before I had exhausted both the brew and steam boilers. At that point, I had to wait 3 minutes before the machine had fully recuperated. As expected, the QM67 favors the brew boiler over the steam boiler when heating and was back up to temperature in under 2 minutes.

However, the QM67 solves the uncertainty of shot temperature that comes with a heat exchanger. The addition of the pre-infusion definitely sets the QM67 ahead of the competition in its category, especially considering the temperature stability gained with the E61 group. In a higher demand setting, the Duetto is certainly a better choice with its higher capacity boilers, but, as a stopgap between the Breville and the Duetto, the QM67 achieves its goal.

Where this machine really shines is as a shot brewer. Like the Andreja, the QM67 features a 6-8 second pre-infusion, a feature that the Duetto with its rotary pump does not boast. Paired with the PID and dedicated boiler, the QM67 is capable of pulling an exceptional shot. Unfortunately, the PID offset was not properly calibrated on our test model. I found the initial setting to be 15 degrees too cold. Once adjusted, my shots were full and sweet. In the end, the QM67 perhaps doesn’t white quite walk the middle of the road of introductory double boilers,  but it definitely fills a gap that had been sorely empty until now.

Aesthetically, this machine will look great in a modern kitchen, and it especially shines with the addition of a Clive wood portafilter.