What is the closest espresso machine on the market to Londinium I?

It would have to be the Quickmill 0996 Achille

You can see a Youtube video of it in action below

It uses the same group as the Londinium I, the Bosco, and Kees van der Westen’s idrocompresso

If you haven’t joined the dots yet, the magic in a lever machine lies in the group design, so while I haven’t yet had an opportunity to try the Quickmill Achille I am very confident that the taste will be very similar to the Bosco & Kees’ idrocompresso

I have read some comments about the cost of the Quickmill Achille relative to say a Bezzera Strega. The group on the Quickmill Achille is an expensive group, if you want to sublime taste that it produces you will have to open your wallet. The Quickmill Achille is a superior machine in every respect

We will also be looking to make the Londinium I a lot smaller, with a boiler of just 2.3 litres instead of 4.5 litres on the Quickmill, and in the full fat option at least, a 2850W element for a short warm up time so you can use your espresso machine in the rush to get to work on a weekday

The dimensions of the Quickmill are (wxhxd) 355 x 770 x 500mm

Notwithstanding, I think the Quickmill is the best professional grade home espresso machine on the market for the time being and if you need a machine now this would be my recommendation

Just like the Londinium I, the Quickmill Achille is tank fed

ps – we don’t recommend the ‘open port’ flushing that you see near the start of this video – it leaves you at an indeterminate temperature, usually too hot. we really hope that our thermosiphon will ensure the group is at the right temperature from the start.