Espresso Machines · Single-Product Review
The Meraki Gen 2 packs a dual-boiler PID machine and an espresso-tailored grinder into one 370mm-wide footprint, a combination that usually means two separate appliances and two separate price tags. We break down exactly what you get, who it genuinely suits, and how it holds up against the Lelit Mara X V2, the nearest real heat-exchanger alternative on our shelves.
Every Meraki Espresso Machine ships as a complete espresso station rather than a bare machine, which matters if you're comparing it against a standalone boiler-only unit priced similarly. Inside the carton you get the Gen 2 machine itself, a dedicated storage box for accessories, a coffee distributor, a tamper, a dosing cup, a 58mm E61-standard portafilter, a milk frothing pitcher, a blind portafilter basket, an 18g single-dose basket, a double spout, a cleaning brush, and a cleaning cloth. That's enough to pull a reasonably dialed-in shot the same day it arrives, without a separate order for baskets or a distribution tool.
Where most entry-level all-in-ones lean on plastic tampers and undersized pitchers, the Meraki's bundle is closer to what you'd expect alongside a standalone prosumer machine, though the stock tamper and pitcher are still the first things serious home baristas tend to upgrade. That's exactly the gap the Meraki Espresso Upgrader Kit is built to close (more on that below).
The Meraki Gen 2 is compact at 370 x 370 x 415mm and 14.5kg, closer in footprint to a high-end drip machine than to a typical dual-boiler setup, which usually needs a wider chassis to fit two boilers plus a separate grinder. Fitting a grinder, two boilers, a 2000ml water tank, and a touchscreen into that frame is the machine's real engineering story, and it's also why the design picked up an iF Gold Award and an IDSA IDEA recognition rather than being a forgettable clone of an existing platform.
The control surface is a circular touchscreen rather than dials or buttons, which keeps the front panel clean but means every adjustment, including grind size, dose weight, and shot timing, happens through a menu rather than a physical knob. Di Pacci's own support confirms the firmware receives over-the-air updates, so features and fixes can land after purchase rather than being frozen at the point of sale. The finish is offered in white or black; both read as considered rather than overtly "appliance white."
This is the section that decides whether the Meraki is a toy or a legitimate espresso machine, so we're sticking strictly to what's been confirmed across Di Pacci's own listing and the machine's other retail listings.
A separate 350ml brew boiler and 550ml steam boiler let the machine pull a shot and steam milk at the same time, the same architecture used on full-size dual-boiler machines several times its size. Boiler material isn't published on the listing, so we're not stating it as copper or stainless.
The Gen 2 uses PID control across its dual-boiler system rather than a mechanical thermostat, which is the detail that separates it from budget single-boiler machines at a similar size. PID control means brew temperature is held to a set point electronically instead of cycling on and off a wider mechanical band.
Gen 2 moved to a 58mm, E61-compatible portafilter and basket standard (the original Meraki used a proprietary fit), plus a redesigned shower screen for more even water distribution across the puck. That switch to 58mm/E61 is the single biggest usability upgrade over Gen 1, since it opens the machine up to the same baskets, bottomless portafilters, and pucks screens used across the wider 58mm ecosystem, including the pieces in the Upgrader Kit.
A commercial-style rotary pump holds a steady 9-bar line pressure and runs quieter than the vibration pumps found on most machines in this size class, including the Lelit below. The built-in grinder uses a conical burr set with 45 grind steps and a stepless adjustment feel in between, dosing to within about 0.1g on its own scale, with a second scale at the group head weighing the shot to roughly 1g.
One detail that genuinely sets the Meraki apart from a standalone grinder-plus-machine pairing: the grinder, dose scale, and brew scale talk to each other, so dialing in a recipe by weight doesn't require you to run a separate kitchen scale under the cup.
Grind-to-cup on the Meraki is unusually linear for an all-in-one: dose by weight on the built-in scale, tamp with the included tamper (or the upgraded one from the kit), lock into the 58mm E61 group, and the shot scale at the group head will stop the pour automatically once your target weight is hit. That auto-stop is the single biggest quality-of-life feature over a standalone machine, since it removes the guesswork of eyeballing a shot glass or timing a pour by stopwatch.
Because the brew boiler is PID-controlled and separate from the steam boiler, temperature stability shot-to-shot should hold up better than a single-boiler machine cycling between modes, which is the main reason dual-boiler architecture exists in the first place. The 45-step conical burr grinder gives enough range to dial in most medium-roast, espresso-oriented coffee, though very light or unusually dense beans may need more fine-tuning than a dedicated stepless grinder would offer.
With a dedicated 550ml steam boiler running independently of the brew side, the Meraki Gen 2 can texture milk immediately after (or during) a shot without the recovery wait that single-boiler machines impose. That's the practical payoff of dual-boiler design for anyone making milk drinks daily rather than occasional single espressos. The included milk frothing pitcher is sized for one to two drinks at a time, which is typical for a home-scale machine in this class and in line with what ships with the Mara X V2 below.
Neither machine is the wrong choice; they're built around different assumptions about what you already own and how hands-on you want the dial-in process to be.
Dual boiler (350ml brew / 550ml steam) · PID control · 58mm E61 portafilter · built-in 45-step grinder
The Meraki Gen 2 is the rare all-in-one that backs up its footprint with real dual-boiler, PID-controlled architecture rather than a single boiler doing double duty. The built-in grinder and dual scales turn dialing in by weight into the default workflow instead of an extra step.
Best for: home baristas who want one appliance, not two, and like dialing in by weight.
View & Buy →Our team can walk you through the Meraki Gen 2, the Mara X V2, and the Upgrader Kit before you decide.
Shop the Meraki Gen 2 Get Expert AdviceThe closest real alternative in our range is the Lelit Mara X V2, an Italian-made heat-exchanger machine that takes the opposite approach to the same problem: no built-in grinder, a traditional E61 heat-exchanger group with dual temperature probes, and physical dials and gauges instead of a touchscreen.
1.8L stainless HX boiler · internal PID (replaces the mechanical pressostat) · E61 group · vibration pump
The Mara X V2 trades the Meraki's all-in-one convenience for a more conventional, independently serviceable platform with a well-documented heat-exchanger system and an internal PID that stabilizes the HX boiler's temperature swings. It takes any grinder you already own, which matters if you've already invested in one you like.
Best for: buyers who want a traditional E61 heat-exchanger machine and already have a grinder.
View & Buy →In practice, the decision comes down to counter space and what you already own. If you have a grinder you're happy with and want a machine built around a long-established heat-exchanger format, the Mara X V2 is the safer, more conventional pick. If you want the smallest possible footprint and don't want to shop for (or store) a separate grinder, the Meraki's integrated design is doing something the Mara X V2 simply isn't built to do.
Day-to-day care on the Meraki Gen 2 follows the same basics as any espresso machine with a built-in grinder: wipe down the group head and portafilter basket after each session, empty and rinse the drip tray, and run the burrs occasionally dry (per the manufacturer's cleaning guidance) to clear built-up coffee oils, since a grinder that lives inside the machine body is harder to pull apart than a standalone unit. The 2000ml water tank should be refilled with filtered water where possible, since any machine with internal plumbing, boiler or otherwise, scales up faster on hard tap water.
Because Gen 2 uses a standard 58mm E61 basket and portafilter fit, the puck screen and dosing funnel from the Meraki Espresso Upgrader Kit drop straight in: the puck screen helps keep grounds off the shower screen between cleanings, and the WDT tool in the same kit reduces clumping before the shot even starts, both of which cut down on how often the group head needs a deeper clean. The machine carries a 2-year warranty from Di Pacci, and OTA firmware updates mean some maintenance-adjacent issues (timing calibration, scale drift) can potentially be addressed in software rather than a service visit.
| Item | Boiler / temp control | Grinder | Group head | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meraki Espresso Machine GEN 2 | Dual boiler, PID | Built-in, 45-step conical | 58mm, E61-compatible | All-in-one convenience, dialing in by weight | View → |
| Lelit Mara X V2 | HX boiler, internal PID | Not included (BYO) | 58mm, E61 | Traditional HX setup, own grinder | View → |
| Meraki Espresso Upgrader Kit | — | — | Matched to basket diameter | Upgrading stock tamper, pitcher, WDT, puck screen | View → |
The grinder is built into the machine body, with a conical burr set offering 45 grind steps and its own dosing scale. You don't need to buy or find counter space for a separate grinder, which is the core idea behind the Gen 2's design.
It's a reasonable fit for a motivated beginner because the dual scales (grind dose and shot weight) take a lot of the guesswork out of dialing in, and the touchscreen walks you through settings rather than relying on manual dials. That said, anyone brand new to espresso still has a learning curve around tamping pressure and grind adjustment that no machine fully removes.
It's a 6-piece accessory set (metal tamper, stainless milk pitcher, WDT tool, measuring cup, dosing funnel, and puck screen) designed to replace the lighter-duty tools that ship stock with entry-level machines. It's not required to use the Meraki Gen 2, but it's a common early upgrade for anyone who wants more consistent results from the same machine.
The Meraki is built around convenience: one appliance, built-in grinder, PID dual-boiler, and auto-stop brewing by weight. The Mara X V2 is built around a traditional, independently serviceable heat-exchanger platform with physical controls, but it doesn't include a grinder. Which one fits better depends mainly on whether you already own a grinder and how much you value a single, compact footprint.
Descaling frequency depends on your water hardness, but using filtered water in the 2000ml tank slows mineral buildup considerably. Day-to-day care is light: wipe the group head and basket after each use, empty the drip tray, and periodically run the burrs dry to clear coffee oil buildup, since the grinder is housed inside the machine rather than sitting as a separate, easily disassembled unit.
