Models we service and repair
Faema has been building machines in Milan since 1945 and changed the espresso world in 1961: with the E61 group head, named after the total solar eclipse of February 1961. That group is the industry standard today — every ECM, every Rocket, every Lelit Bianca, every Profitec with a classic layout uses the E61 concept or a direct evolution of it. Faema didn't just build a machine, they built a platform.
Today Faema belongs to the Cimbali Group (since 1955) and still builds in Milan. We look after the entire range.
E98 in its variants RE (semi-automatic), Up Auto (volumetric) and President (top line) is the bread-and-butter commercial machine. Found in plenty of classic Berlin cafés, Italian trattorias and bakeries. Robust, easy to service, long service life.
E71 is the modern premium line. Display, pressure profiling available, dual-boiler construction. Rarer in the Berlin café scene than the E98, but usually well kept where you find it.
Emblema is the design-driven line for ambitious cafés. Touch controls, Gicar modules, pressure profiles.
Teorema is the mid-range — robust, straightforward, at home in many bakeries.
E61 Legend is the 2011 reissue of the historic E61. Not identical to the original, but a modern re-edition with the classic looks. Serviced like a modern commercial machine, looks like 1961.
E61 Vintage is the real old E61 from the 60s through the 80s. Collector material, technically runnable, but its own restoration universe (see below).
Compact / Prestige are the smaller models for bars with lower throughput, or as backup machines.
Typical problems and how we fix them
E98, pump getting loud. Classic Procon issue. After 8-12 years of heavy café use, the rotary pump gets louder from wear and pressure becomes inconsistent. Replacement in the workshop or on site, depending on logistics. Genuine part from Milan, pressure set to factory spec.
Faema E61 Vintage, group head dripping or sticking. That's restoration territory. On an original E61 from the 60s or 70s, the group is usually the first thing that needs attention. Gaskets are often Conti-specific, cam pins may be worn, springs fatigued or replaced by a previous owner with the wrong rate. We strip the E61 head completely, check every component, replace with original parts where available or with modern, tested equivalents where originals can no longer be sourced. Workshop work with special tooling, several hours up to several days depending on condition.
Teorema or E98, water under the machine. Heat exchanger gasket perished or group drain blocked. Diagnosis on site, repair either on site or after pickup, depending on what we find. With a two-group Teorema and a heat exchanger leak, pickup makes sense — boiler work belongs in the workshop.
Emblema, display shows an error or responds sluggishly. Gicar control system. We check the firmware version, then the sensors (pressure sensor, level probe, temperature sensors), then the control board itself. Genuine parts from Milan; repairs take longer than mechanical faults, but they're solvable.
E71, boiler won't hold temperature. Three-phase heating element — we measure each phase individually and replace the faulty one. Test the PID probe. If the dry-run protection has tripped: the level probe in the brew boiler is crusted over — probe comes out, goes into citric acid, goes back in clean.
Vintage Faema: restoration as its own line of work
The real old E61 is collector's material these days. We regularly do vintage restorations for collectors in Berlin and Brandenburg, occasionally for cafés that want a restored E61 as a showpiece.
What a vintage E61 restoration includes:
- Boiler inspection with pressure test and internal check. If the boiler has scale crusts or even pitting corrosion, it gets descaled or, in the worst case, replaced — the latter is expensive, because original boilers are rare and only come up through collector networks.
- Complete gasket replacement on the group, boiler heating flange, gauge and small valves — to original Conti spec where possible.
- Electrical overhaul — every wire checked for breaks and insulation, protective earth routed properly, switches and contactors replaced where needed.
- Group head rebuild — full E61 head stripped, springs checked for rate, cam pins for wear, regreased or replaced.
- Repainting optional — if the machine should look the part again, we'll do it, but only with an honest cost calculation.
- Grinder service for the old Faema grinder that often comes with the machine.
Cost of a full vintage E61 restoration: low to mid four figures, depending on condition. Duration: two to six weeks. We give a clear cost frame before we start, progress photos after each phase, and at the end a handover report plus documentation for value retention.
Genuine parts
We source Faema spare parts through the German Cimbali Group distributor (Faema has belonged to Cimbali since 1955). Procon pumps, solenoid valves, heating elements, control boards, Gicar modules, sensors — all genuine.
For standard E61 parts (group gaskets, springs, cam pins on the modern machines) we're flexible, because the platform has been standardized since 1961 and several manufacturers supply tested parts. For vintage Faemas with genuine Conti special parts we search specifically — sometimes through collector networks in Italy, because remaining original stock from the 70s is finite.
On site or in the workshop
Faema commercial machines (E98, E71, Teorema, Emblema) in a café: on site. Standard commercial service, often as an emergency call-out, travel charge plus hourly rate. Smaller faults fixed the same day; for bigger repairs, pickup and a loaner machine where possible.
Faema E61 Vintage: workshop. Restoring and servicing a historic machine belongs on the workshop bench with good light, a pressure test rig and special tooling — not on a café counter or in a living-room corner. We pick up in Berlin and Brandenburg.
E61 Legend (modern reissue): depends on where it lives. In private homes, workshop work after pickup; in cafés, on site where possible.
Prices and flat rates
- Service, E98 two-group in a café: flat rate plus travel, standard parts included
- Service, Teorema / Emblema: flat rate by model
- Service, E61 Legend: flat rate as for modern premium home machines
- E61 Vintage full restoration: by effort and condition, several weeks in the workshop, low to mid four figures
- Café emergency service: travel charge plus hourly rate from 99 EUR net, small weekend surcharge
- Pickup Berlin / Brandenburg: flat rate by postcode
What we don't do
We don't retrofit modern control systems into old E61 vintage machines to make them "smart" — an E61 from 1968 is an E61 from 1968, and that's exactly its value. If you want a modern machine, buy a modern one.
We don't flash custom firmware onto Emblema Gicar modules.
We don't repair counterfeit Faema machines. There are the odd overseas imitations that look like an E98 but technically have nothing to do with Milan — if you bring one in, you'll get a straight answer.
We repair all espresso machines
Faema is one of our core brands in the commercial segment, and one of our restoration specialties in the vintage segment. We repair all portafilter machines — Faema across the board, from a 1965 E61 veteran to the current Emblema with touch display. Super-automatics and capsule machines are not our business.