Orchestrale espresso machines were created through a joint effort of serious coffee aficionados from three separate industries – espresso machine development and manufacturing, the restaurant industry, and the world of furniture design. In 2006, this group of professionals formed D. I. D. Srl and began producing espresso “instruments” that create “symphonic” espresso drinks for the discerning pallet.

Italian engineered and produced, Orchestrale was inspired by the worlds of music and poetic verse and reflected in this poem by Founder Marco Breda…

“Behind the wheel I think of my next stop, the next service centre, the customary break during long trips to have a coffee, hopefully made on an Italian machine.

At last I spot a bar and with my mind still far away I open the door and find myself amid a clamour of voices that startle me back to reality.

I head for the bar where a small group of persons is quietly, almost ceremoniously, waiting in two orderly queues.

I look at the barman and all at once, as if by magic, the noisy bustle turns into an opera of orchestrated sounds, gestures, actions, rhythmic humming and whirring…

I’m rapt by this ritual performed by a man, clearly unperturbed by what’s happening behind him, who manages to turn the humdrum of daily routine into a melodic work of art.

The coffee machine he uses is Italian, with a classic eye-catching design and metal parts that gleam like polished wind instruments. It’s very high-tech but seems to have a soul and like an old violin its notes evoke the sounds of days gone by.

I’ll never forget that sound because it made the clamour disappear forever…

a passionate barman… the greatest conductor,
a special coffee… the best composition,
an Italian coffee machine… the finest orchestra!”

Marco Breda

The Nota in stainless steel is Orchestrale’s entry-level commercial-grade machine for the home. At first, when we were evaluating the sample model, we just thought of another E61 grouphead espresso machine with a heat exchanger. However, after placing the sample in our showroom and using it for training and demonstrating, we as well as our customers learned a few things.

First and foremost, no matter which espresso blend we used, the notes of the flavor profile were spectacular! Now, we know why this machine was called the Nota! Compared to many other competitive E61 grouphead heat exchanger espresso machines, we figured out why. Even without any PID temperature controller, the machine’s larger boiler, with a specific sized restrictor in the thermosyphon loop, contributed to a more stable temperature profile, but at the same time, the variation in temperature would contribute to a superior extraction.

This leads us to steaming power. With a three (3) liter boiler, this machine has plenty of power in the steaming department. In fact, we used the sample machine for training in-house as well as new customers. We feel the espresso extractions coming out of this unit in a double-blind taste test would compete well in scoring with any double boiler machine.

The satin stainless finish complements most kitchens that have stainless steel appliances. It is also easier to clean compared to polished.
After a visit from the folks at Orchestrale in October 2014, our complete evaluation of the sample unit (at the end of January 2015), and our suggestions for improvements genuinely accepted by Orchestrale, we decided to move forward with ordering stock from Italy.