Beauty & The Geek | La Marzocco GS3MP vs. Decent DE1XL 

I’m a CIO so I work with technology 10-12 hours a day. While I marvel at the beautiful engineering and capabilities of the Decent, my GS3 feels like the last analog bulwark that’s preserving sanity in my life.

During the Dark Times of the pandemic, I "got into" coffee, quite quickly developed a fascination with espresso, and ended up buying a DE1PRO. It's unsurprising that it appealed to me, as a techie and a software engineer, but it just has *so* many advantages over traditional machines. The relatively small weight and size are awesome, and it perfectly fits my usage pattern: a few shots a day. Turn it on, it's hot and ready to go in a few minutes, pull a shot, back off again. I don't have a machine sitting there turned on all day to stay hot, or waiting tens of minutes to heat up. I can appreciate how the interface intimidates some. You don't *have* to tinker with shot profiles though, you can just pick the profile that suits and stick with it. I believe there's a skin that massively simplifies the UI for folks who don't want to tinker. You can even use the machine without the tablet once it's set up, the profile configuration is stored on the machine itself and all the necessary controls are on the group head. The vibration pumps don't *sound* great compared to the rotaries in other machines. The drip and water trays are quite finnicky. And there are occasional software problems, unsurprising for a machine that's so software-oriented but annoying nonetheless. But those are my only complaints. I absolutely get the appeal of the traditional hunks of metal with tactile controls, but the Decent is the machine for me, and I don't see that changing anytime soon, if ever. I'm currently loving brewing with light-roasted coffees using a variation on the adaptive and blooming profiles. It's a complex profile, with a long halt after preinfusion, and a swap to flow profiling after pressurising. It gives consistently great results and is very forgiving of variation in puck prep thanks to the flow profiling. That amazing level of versatility is, as far as I'm aware, unique to the Decent.

You CAN make on the fly adjustments on the Decent utilizing the GHC (group head controls)

You don't lose the ability to make on the fly adjustments with the Decent, you can use the touchpad to change the pressure during a shot: 9 o clock is 9 bar, 6 o clock is 6 bar, etc. In that sense it works exactly like a paddle control, just digitally.

It's also worth noting the Decent can do SO much more than just straight espresso. You've got all sorts of shot types, allongés, spro-overs, filter coffee, tea. The options are so wide ranging. The compact size is also far more practical for most homes. ___ I personally don't love the button pressing for steaming and the button delay though. The Breville dual boiler is my favourite machine to steam with from an ergonomic perspective.

As a software developer, I would choose the GS3, but I would love to develop for the Decent. I know it sounds weird, but I have to be honest and say that mechanical stuff just works, and often even if something is broken (that isn't critical). Something running on software can essentially become a brick, if some guy you don't know makes a mistake.

Amazing and unbiased approach to this comparison! I didn't expect anything less from you. Thanks for all your work and videos. I would just add one thing: you actually can do on the fly adjustments on the Decent using the GHC :)

They both are a wonderful world of espresso machines. I have one of the first Decent espresso machines made, it is amazingly fun to use, I absolutely and positively love it.

To me, dialing in my brew temp on my Linea Micra app is as much hightech that I need for great espresso of all roasts. I appreciate your due diligence of these great machines of opposite approaches.

Great video as always. You need to add a lever to your bank and do a 3 way comparison. One from ACS and put them head to head. That would be awesome!

Hi, thanks for the video , do you think little difference was related to different pump ?

As a Decent owner I can attest to how easy it is to adjust this machine on the fly.

In the four years I had the Decent, I only ever encountered one issue when my pressure sensor broke. They sent me a replacement with an express courier alongside a video on how to replace it. It only took me a few minutes to do so. I think the concerns in the video are overblown, because the support is excellent. With the Marzocco, I suppose, you are tied to your vendor, which may vary in reliability.

An interesting set of comparisons, and Thank You. I nearly went the Decent route until I saw the converted price to UK Pounds (even allowing for shipping and various taxes). The energy bill for the GS3 rules it out for my very modest coffee consumption, and the purchase price also gets a Pass. I wish all the Best Coffee Experience to anyone who purchases either, and I am sure the coffee will taste great. Enjoy !

if you could please. Random test on "Dry" steam. Can you fill a pitcher with 6oz milk then tare on scale. weigh the water added after each is steamed on DE1XL vs GS3MP.

I have so many thoughts, too many for a comment section, but overall I always enjoy your videos! 🎉

A methodology consideration - there is a body of work showing how plate or cup color impacts flavor perception, it might help to use the same or similar cups when blind tasting. Thank you for the comparison!

Spro I love the editing. You and Emilee crank out art

the other thing not mentioned from an energy perspective is the Decent warm-up time is so fast, I can wake it from sleep, measure out beans, grind, load, tamp, and lock the PF in and most times the Decent is ready to pull a shot or I maybe wait one minute. No more timers and all the other planning to allow for a 20 minute warm-up. A friend comes over and wants a cup and I can be pulling a shot in under 5 minutes even if my machine is off.

Very much liked this episode, and learned a few things. Have one concern though. What is the temperature of the shots 'water onto the puck' accuracy and variability between the GS3 and the DE1xl? Not just what it's set at. And assuming you have the correct offset value in the GS3 (mine was a little different than the factory set value, so needed a small but important adjustment. You'd have to use a Scace device and a Fluke recording thermometer to check offset, and then run your tests. I have a hard time conceiving how the uniformity (and precise temps) of a vibe pump and thermoblock system is going to match the precision and accuracy of a calibrated GS3 saturated group. I use a GS3-AV (plumbed) and love it's precision in brew temps, consistent weight of output and the ease of use. Just as someone else mentioned, waking up sleepy, walking to your machine, locking in the portafilter with fresh ground coffee and pushing a button to get totally repeatable results -- there is a significant difference in the approach used between a GS3-AV and GS3-MP -- different strokes for different folks. The AV is more efficient (coffee shop) oriented, the MP more for those who want hands-on control during a shot. I love the automatic (also has pre-infusion and pre-brewing - I tried them and prefer the taste not using them). Also less maintenance on an AV (no paddle valve) and less water waste (dumping water by the paddle mechanism to achieve a brew pressure). GS3-AV also great for lunch or dinner guests, the automatic dispensing allowing time to do other things (like steam while you're brewing a cup, or cleaning up). The big thing here though, are the two machines relative and accurate temperature profiles. If unanswerable, no problem, not many have calibrated Scace devices. Hard to come up with all these interesting episodes, this was an extra good one. Thanks again.

Thanks for the detailed review. I have a question I have about the Decent is about the steam. The owner claims the steam is much drier than most dual boiler machines. Have you noticed this? Thanks!

If I had to pick between the two, I think I’d pick the Decent. I like the idea of different profiles but, all that being said I honestly would go with a lever machine. Something like the ACS or the Profitec pro 800. The tactile feel and the traditional old style machine I’d want over the tech. All the skill relying on my hands and not the machine.

What is your camera setup? Do you use a macro lens for your closeup shots?

You can also adjust the steaming "pressure"/flow on the fly with the skin you are using. The bottom bar is a slider that let you control that flow. That would potentially put the steam capacity near the GS3

You can control shot midway while profile is running, and you can also do a full manual with ghc.

Thank you for this comparison. I have a Breville Dual Boiler that I have been debating doing the slayer mod or eventually upgrading to something with flow control. The GS3 is a big jump in price. I’m not sure I like the sound the Decent makes and that’s what holds me back from that direction. What avenue would you recommend?

Thank you my friend.

I’m gonna go decent. Repeatable good shots will always be the end goal for me.

You can do on the fly adjustments with the DE1 using the GHC

Love this. Just to let you know in the steam portion of the video, you have the decent set to less than half of its capacity steaming wise. Not sure if you did that in the test or not.

I wish I had the cash for either, but even if money were no object, I'd go with the Decent for one big reason: my wife or kids could use it. Once it's dialed in, using the decent is basically just pressing a button. The LM requires you to really understand at least what you're doing, and preferably why. As a coffee nerd, I'm willing to put in that time. But not everyone is, and being able to press a button and get actually good espresso is worth the downsides to me.

I want buy the exact model Sprometheus you have from Decent, coming from a Profitec Pro500, but I am I techie, which do you prefer?

love my decent de1xl, cuz when i feel to have a coffee, I can literary head over to the decent and turn it on and start making my coffee. Love the pre-set brewing options too which can tailored to different coffee I bought.

Being that the prices are significantly different, I’d pick the Decent and then get a KILLER grinder. Probably still have spent less than just the LM.

In your opinion, what is the best go to dual boiler machine in the 3k-7k price range? Thank you!

As a guy who loves data and automation the proposition from the Decent is just too enticing, however, as I am more going deeper into pour over these days I just can't justify the expense. Fantastic comparison!

Thank you

Would love to know where you got those cups from!

Being a wizard with tech and loving the geeky depth available, I'm definitely in favor of the Decent machine. As much as I love the aesthetics and 'simplicity' of pulling on the La Marzocco. For me, having the long term potential to explore an endless variety of variables to get ever better espresso...the programmability wins out.

A nice video. When you consider the price difference as well the Decent seems to be quite the bargain.

I think to satisfy both sides sorta id buy decent and odsy leva, still cheeper for both than MZ. I do wish someone would make a more approachable mp/needle valve machine. Seems only afordable mechanical flow control machines are e61. I got xbloom and dripper kettle set up to compare to pourover style for example

I guess it would be interesting to see how the comparison would have been if you tasted the 20th cup pulled back to back. Would the 20th cup taste the same as the 1st

As a long time happy GS/3 paddle owner facing a major overhaul after many years, this careful comparison was valuable. I think I will forego that exercise and try something completely different this time. Can I assume the software/firmware is upgradeable by the user? (Edit: Of course it is.)

As much as I am into tactile controls and doing things myself, the sheer repeatability of the DE1 would be my preference. I usually make espresso just after I have gotten up so having a machine taking the capability to mess up away from my groggy head is pretty nice. Also being able to download whatever tf Scott Rao has been up to kinda seems like fun. Would be cool to see if a company could build a machine that is like the automatic Decent experience when you need it, and like the manual GS3 experience when you want it.

I really like the Decent. However, If I have an issue and take one of these to a local repair shop, they will be able to work on the GS3. With the Decent I'll be tearing into my little espresso computer myself.

So you can have the Decent mimic the GS3, but the reverse is more difficult. I take that to mean that the GS3 is a great choice IF I want a GS3 style of espresso. But what if I don't or if I want to experiment with different styles? Can those be done on a GS3? It seems like it's just a matter of picking a profile on the Decent. Finally, the $3100 price difference is not nothing.

I would think you'd find the right pressure profile to accentuate the coffee you're using on the de1 and taste that compared to what the gs3 only uses. Comparing the two based on a gs3 profile doesn't seem like the best way forward.

You should review and compare the Strada X single group vs the GS3.

Can you make a review video of the ECM Mechanika Slim VI Please ?

Does the DecentXL have a hot water tap and how well does it work? Also it appears that the Decent cannot be plumbed in, so I see these two items as big differentiators between these machines.

I'm on the fence about which way I'd go, mostly because I'm not the most techy guy out there and the idea of owning a Decent does intimidate me at the moment. I do plan to check one out in person before making any future machine purchases.

When doing blind taste you can't have two cups with different color because you actual perceive the color as taste. There is scientific study on it. That's why bristas uses different cup colors to highlight the notes.

I'd like to see a comparison between the Lelit Bianca V3 vs the Decent, or something like it.

Great review and comparison, as always. I suspect that the #1 reason why people will choose one of these machines over the next is usability and repairability. I wouldn't choose the Decent, for example, because the resulting espresso is slightly more clear and distinctive. Do you like your espresso with smooth rounded edges or sharp square corners? The simplicity of the La Marzocco wins for me and the fact that it's more easily repaired is a plus. The sound of a rotary pump is far more preferable to the sound of a vibration pump too. Also, I'm sure many people are tired of using connected smart devices for everything. I've said this before too. There is a middle ground between the La Marzocco and the Decent. It's the Ascaso Baby T Plus, which uses a rotary pump like the La Marzocco and a thermocoil design like the Decent. I could be wrong here but I think thermocoils are the future of semi-automatic espresso machines.

What’s your favorite basket?

Decent probe place right upper of the puck ,may be for decent 93 means GS3 95 ?

where did you get that shirt?

A few things he didn't mention. The Decent doesn't have a safe place to put cups or a cup warming tray. The water tank setup isn't great .There is no lid on the water tank and when I got mine I ended up with bugs in the tank and was forced to spend money on a custom built lid. Steaming is less powerful and you can't steam and pull a shot at the same time, something I did regularly on my old E61. It relies heavily on Bluetooth which often failed and you then need to reboot the machine or reset Bluetooth. Someone described Bluetooth as Decen'ts achilles heel. There is no local support. I once had a leak on my old Giotto. I was not only able to speak to someone but had it repaired with available parts and had it home on the same day. Decent can't compete with that. So I ended up selling it as I wanted a more traditional machine with local support and a balance of style and technology. I ended up buying the San Remo YOU. I have a science background and thought the geekiness of the Decent would suit me but the novelty of constantly tweaking and experimenting wore off very quickly. Don't get me wrong the Decent is a good machine, just not for me.

Cool

I love my ACS Vesuvius, like best of two worlds...

I would definitely go with the GS3. I have a Lucca X58 HX machine on my bar. I chose this partly for the price vs features(It was a sale reburbished) but also the classic aesthetic. I added an e61 flow control and love the hands on manual work flow. I feel the Decent is for the user who is most interested in playing with the variables.

At half the price of the GS3 the Decent is the bigger bang for buck especially since the DE1XL can be plumbed in. I love the look of the La Marzocco hands down. Give me lots of brass, levers and gauges on my espresso machine. The Decent is highly functional but I'd rather have a capable piece of art in my home that also makes a great espresso.

I'd choose the decent over the la marzocco any day

I would go with the La Marzocco because I like the tactile manual experience of making coffee vs. high tech. Also, I would be concerned about getting repairs for the Decent.

I just want a good cup of coffee, so I go with which ever make the best tasting cup 😊

Love the title of this video 😂 I think overall I would prefer the GS3 just because the idea of playing with a paddle is amusing.

Very biased after owning a Decent for 2.5 years. I'm still very excited getting up in the morning to use it to make coffee (and then drink the coffee, of course ;)). Best thing about it: It makes Espresso significantly more approachable as any time of the day, the warm-up is just 2 minutes (240V version). It also makes great filter, black tea (with crema using the pressurized tea-portafilter) and is all around just a reliable and convenient appliance with endless nerdiness on offer whenever you want it. The biggest downside is that you often feel like playing around with all the settings and, as a consequence, end up enjoying many of the worst cups of coffee you ever had. :P

☕☕ Love Is Important ❤❤❤

Is he going to the sca in Chicago

For me an espresso machine is firstly a machine, and the process is a multi-step action. I would not change that. I think I see the semi-autos vs Decent is like the difference between a high quality carbon race bike with top components, vs a top end bike with a battery boost. I still want to ride with my own power.

I'm just waiting for the Chinese to come up with a Decent killer, strange that it's taking a while considering gaggiuino and Kafmasino shows how cheap you can make a machine similar to a Decent.

Fun review! I have had a decent for about 5 years. I would love to have the chance to side-by-side like this, but since I can't, I appreciate the video very much. One topic that comes up often is the concept of "mouthfeel." Any comments on the two machines in this regard? Thanks again.

Making espresso is one of the very few things we can do today without looking at a screen. I want to keep it that way. GS3 all day!

It’s very much an analogue vs. digital setup imo. When I think of music or photography, digital often offers more convenience, control, and reproducibility. Analog usually wins out in longevity and the tactile nature, often said as having a “soul” that digital lacks when it comes to the process. Personally I can see both use cases, I think when it comes to hobbies I prefer analog and when it comes to work I prefer digital.

To me this is going exactly the way of time pieces (La Marzocco) and apple watches (Decent) Sure I can get a fangled new apple watch with a bunch of Gizmos for a few hundred dollars. Instead I bought a Nomos Tangente with every part of it's movement painstakingly made by hand by craftsman in Glasshutte more than a few hundred dollars. La Marzocco will in the coming years be the best of the best mechanical machine, the Rolex of Espresso Machines. Always making an amazing mechanical espresso machine. For me it will be La Marzocco and I have owned a first gen GS3 and a first gen Linea Mini. Next probably a Micra for the LM lever.

Can someone explain to me why anyone would be looking for "fruity" notes in their espresso? I know all that stuff is subjective and everyone has different preferences, but I got attracted to "traditional" espresso with sweeter chocolately notes. I guess my real question is, do you think a person who loves darker roast chocolately goodness can learn to love the fruity side of espresso?

So... craft vs tech. For me it would be the Decent every time. "Half" the price, spot on repeatability, and my shot profile is entirely intentional. I can say to myself "I did exactly _this_ thing, and the result was _this_" and if I do again, _this_ is what I'll get. If I make a change to a parameter, I know exactly what that change was (even if I don't yet know the effect it'll have), then I can observe the effect. I believe that gives me a much better chance of discovering the parameters that affect my shots - and more to the point, being able to reproduce them, time after time. A win for the Decent. Now, where can I get my hands of £5000?

I would lean Decent. If I were to upgrade it would be to that machine so I could experiment. If I just want a good shot of espresso, I have my robot.

The million dollar question is what makes the better espresso?

GS3 is the OG classic,(wish the price isn't that high thou), decent looks like a futuristic 'smart toy'

To me, this drives home the value prop of the Sanremo YOU. Hands on and manual when you want, Decent-like control and automation / presets when you don’t.

Add a spring/lever into the mix and that’s the real hands on comparison

If you ever do volume (family gatherings, parties, pop up bars), the GS3 is the obvious choice. That triple duration on milk steaming will get old, especially when Kyle orders a quad venti mega latte. But for one or two people in a small apartment, the smaller footprint of the Decent could matter more. Regarding control, maybe the endless options on the Decent will be entertaining. But maybe it offers option overload, where no matter how much you tweak the recipe, you fear that there is something better. If it satisfies the need for power and control, that great! But if it becomes a source of anxiety, the simpler and more maintainable GS3 would be a better choice. If you know yourself, the better choice will be obvious.

For home use, an interesting comparison would be time and power consumption from cold start through brewing one or two shots and steaming one or two cups of milk. In today’s world, power consumption matters.

This might be me being a geek, too, but for me the Decent gets the win in both the geek and beauty categories. That boxy look is unconventional, but quite beautiful, whereas the La Marzocco - well, if I would put this in my kitchen, it would not be for its looks.

WHOA!!!! I think I’d rather have “lesser” shots with the fun of doing everything manually instead of having “better” shots while having to hear that Chinese machine clicking and reading out stats on the tablet. It’s all in how it looks and sounds to me. Most of the fun to me is in how the tools we use look, feel and sound. Just my take. Judge me. I don’t care! EXCELLENT video man. Well done.

If someone offered to swap my decent DE1+ (not pro or XL/XXL) for a GS3 free of charge, I'd still decline and keep the decent.

Its all in your head. Only a machine with crazy accurate sensors MAY be able to pick up the 'differences' in all these notes.

Thanks. I prefer the Decent as they are moving coffee forward. La Marzocco seems lazy and resting on its laurels.

I own a MP. One of the big selling points was "one less screen" (ya, it has a screen but never really use it.) The feel and lack of repeatability making you work to get to close to repeatability makes it more pleasing of a machine. I think repeatability is great but think it should be more of a cafe focus. By repeatability I mean almost no difference between shots. Pretty much every pain point of the decent I echo as well. Decent users now can buy in at a level that was unavailable till recently. Which is really cool and will push other companies to design better hardware and software solutions. Where this leads us, we will see!

As a person who has a 9-5 day job and just want to pull a morning shot everyday, I can never understand the thought pf buying a GS3 over a Decent if you can only have one machine. Having to turn it on 20min in advance to heat up two giant boiler to pull one shot, just to admire the craftsmanship does not make sense to me lol

I would have preferred to see the shots presented in identical glassware, to remove any subconscious bias.

You don't get the consistence quality in your cup when pulling back to back by using flat profile machine, what you get is consistence shots to shots and that's not worth a huge amount of money for it.

Horse vs Car

Although am upset that it “won” the comparison in the taste test am sorry but there is no way i would spend $4+ on a appliance like that! Ill stick to my synchronika

The amount of water waste from the GS is such a bummer.

lol At the "You're unreliable". Personally I will probably get a (Sanremo You) to upgrade my good old (Rocket R58) this week with the current major sale. It's the most high-tech modernized E61 machine but still a "real espresso machine" with solid parts and made in Italy rather than a ugly cheap plastic cube made in China, thus being way too expensive considering it's made in china with no middle man since it's bought directly from the manufacturer only, no reason then to be that expensive... using a cheap pump too and taking out the fun out of a more classic machine. Also what if software support suddenly stops or if the bald guy dies at Decent?! No way too I'm shipping back such a expensive machine at crazy shipping cost back to China just to get it serviced, and being so high-tech will make it hard to get it repaired by a local repair shop. I don't trust the aftersale support of the Decent. I agree though that super huge bulky machines that takes forever to heat up, with super overkill boilers of 3.5L just make a 40ml espresso is a bit ridiculous, and that having a tiny ugly screen from a 1995 computer isn't cutting it for the asked price of a GS3. These things are outdated beast from the past now, just like muscle cars from the 60'.

I cannot really understand having a machine like the GS3MP for home use, it seems so wasteful to get all that mass heated up just to make like 2 shots, it's truly a semi truck being used as a grocery getter or maybe more like a G-Wagen that never goes offroad. I think a less wasteful and also more manual experience for home use is a Flair 58.

Machines like the Decent are the future of espresso machines.

If I'm going to spend close to 8k on an espresso machine, I'll add 3k more and get a Slayer single group instead