Espresso Coffee Machines: Simple, Reliable, and Consistent

I recently visited Highlander as I was considering upgrading my current machine. Phil spent more than 1 hour, patiently explaining what each machine represents and their capabilities. There was no pressure to buy throughout.

I bought the Lelit Bianca eventually. Installation was another wonderful experience. The staff came, made sure everything worked and that I was completely satisfied before they left. Phil has continued to be very response to any questions. Absolutely first class client experience. If you are ever looking for a machine, don't go anywhere else.

This review is about my experience with purchasing Espresso making equipment from Highlander.

TL;DR Don’t look anywhere else, these guys are the nicest, most customer oriented bunch of folks I’ve ever encountered in any industry, in any country. You won’t go wrong buying from them.
I made an appointment with Phil to have him show me some different machines and grinders at the back of the Cafe. Phil very patiently walked me through all the features of the machines, pulled some shots for me, even let me play around with pulling my own shots and steaming. All in all I spent a good hour or more with him — and never was there ever any pressure to buy from them. He’s very open about that – come take a look, experience the machines, absolutely no obligation to buy. And as sincere as he was — I totally believed him.

In the end I did end up buying from Phil — the price was good, he threw in some little extras, and I had the confidence that these are good honest folks that would take care of me if the machine broke down. And indeed they also perform on-site servicing.

The delivery was also just as smooth. I got a What’sapp message from Cedric giving me options on delivery dates, and on the chosen date and time – they arrived.

Drinking one cafe latte a day, I cannot really claim to be an avid coffee drinker. Before 2014, I almost exclusively only drank tea. A medical problem got me a 4 week stay at home and that was when I started drinking a daily dose. The engineer in me also got me to read and learn the technical part of the esthetics of coffee. That led to first having a full automatic Jura coffee machine, and even Nespresso. But wanting to be hands on, I invested in learning to do the full manual bit from beans to drink.

Starting with double boiler VBM and the Mazzer grinder, which gave much great service and coffee pleasure, I have succumbed to enjoying my cafe lattes even more with recent acquisitions of the Lelit Bianca machine and Niche Zero grinder.

The Bianca has innovation everywhere one looks – from the flat bottomed portafilter to the variable pressure head to the wood knobs and insulated steam tube. Same for the Niche grinder – wood trim, accurate shot dispensing and high esthetics. My wife and I are enjoying our morning cafe lattes even more now. Thanks to Highlander Coffee who led me on this journey!

Dear Phil,

Thank you for your patience In guiding and coaching me along the way to making the right espresso.

Through all the countless videos and remote guidance during the cb period, my lelit Bianca and grinder can consistently produce good tasting coffee elixir.