New to the Australian market, the compact Slayer Steam Single is designed to make everyone – from seasoned baristas to coffee enthusiasts – feel at home.
Finding a dynamic espresso machine that ticks all the boxes for an efficient performance can be a challenge for coffee lovers. Many high-level home baristas, smaller cafés, pop-up venues, restaurants, and bars seek an affordable and easy-to-use machine which also offers the intuitive user experience that comes with a professional model.
Under its Slayer brand, Italian manufacturing company Cimbali has recently released a new espresso machine that might just fulfil those exact criteria. The compact Steam Single is the latest instalment in Cimbali’s legacy of machines and the first single-group model from Slayer’s Steam product line.
Setting out in 2007 with a mission to craft the modern machine, Slayer’s founders consist of baristas, roasters, café owners, and technicians. The brand’s original ethos “for us, by us” still rings true today and has evolved to “make coffee better” for its customers around the world.
The uncompromising nature of Cimbali and Slayer products is something Slayer Brand and Product Manager Tommy Gallagher highlights as a key feature of the brand.
“The focus at Slayer has always been uncompromising when it comes to our professional machines,” he says.
“And when I say uncompromising, I mean the products don’t make the kind of concessions to convenience that home machines typically do. We always value quality.”
Built on the idea of ultimate convenience and unwavering quality, the new Slayer Steam Single is an attractive proposition to the coffee-educated home market. However, its modern applications mean it also appeals to a wide range of professional coffee environments.
“We are fortunate enough to have cultivated an audience among home enthusiasts as well as in the hospitality scene,” says Tommy.
Coinciding with the growing desire to make barista-level coffee at home, the machine is best suited to a small-yet-consistent flow of coffee volume. Despite this, Tommy says it can also hold its own in the busier environments of restaurants and bars with a “thoughtful coffee program”.
“It is well designed for anywhere you might find a single-group machine. It’s great for anyone who likes to prepare coffee and enjoys that process,” he says.
“In the home, and at mobile applications such as coffee carts, pop-ups and events, is where the Steam Single really shines.”
To create a timeless product, the team at Slayer looked to combine many of the popular features of its most successful commercial machines. Ease of use was a key priority, which is characterised by a few key components of the Steam Single.
“Most notably, the machine features a freshwater reservoir and drain tray that doesn’t require installation for plumbing. This means it’s simple to set up and move between venues that might not have a conventional bar,” he says.
“What’s more, the easy-to-use pre-infusion and volumetric programming only adds to its efficiency.”
Whether in use regularly throughout the day or just a few times each morning, the machine is designed to make managing both peak periods and quieter times easy. Through its smart interface, it can save the user’s ideal shot for a reliably consistent espresso.
“The Steam Single allows you to manually brew at two distinct flow rates in a very consistent and intuitive way. Once you’ve pulled a shot you love, the interface lets you quickly and easily ‘save’ that shot and ‘replay’ it endlessly,” says Tommy.
“For busy periods, thoughtful features such as the automatic group purge and automated cleaning cycles make it faster and easier to keep drinks moving.”
For many users, one of the highest priorities is producing consistent espresso, which requires both temperature and pressure stability.
“The Steam Single uses a 900-watt heating element in the dedicated group boiler to keep the temperature stable,” says Tommy.
“A commercial-style rotary pump keeps smooth and consistent brew pressure, while a dedicated pre-infusion circuit ensures the ability to brew at two distinct flow rates in a consistent and repeatable way.”
Developing trust in a coffee machine and learning how it operates is crucial for any hospitality business owner. For high-end coffee venues, the Slayer brand remains focused on stability and the machine’s water delivery.
“Be it through manipulation of pressure or flow rates, at Slayer we’ve always focused on water delivery in our machines as a crucial part of the design,” says Tommy.
“Being able to manipulate water delivery in a consistent and repeatable way lets you change how coffees present themselves beyond the limitations of altering grind or dose.”
For high-end venues, Tommy says manipulating water delivery lets users lean on their expertise and exploit what makes the coffee unique in a way a flat nine-bar machine can’t. No matter the type of coffee being used, the Steam Single is designed to operate smoothly with single origin, light roasts, and seasonal blends.
To get the most of the machine and the beans, Slayer also gives customers and the public access to educational videos on its products and equipment.
“Brewing coffee manually is very easy on our machines,” says Tommy.
“The group actuator lets the user toggle between flow rates in real time as they brew. We have a great series of videos on our YouTube channel walking users through the many ways to exploit brewing with different flow rates.”
The barista dashboard is the central tool for users in ensuring the internal systems are operating as planned, and includes built-in alerts for maintenance and cleaning.
“The dashboard has a service indicator reminding users when preventative maintenance is due,” he says.
“It also displays service alarms to help troubleshoot technical issues, which is super helpful for busy individuals and businesses.”
As with all Slayer products, in the creation of the Steam Single the team focused on creating a compelling design that emphasises every stage of the coffee-making process. Ensuring the machine is seamless and fun to use is all part of exploring the opportunities of coffee.
“When tools are fun to use, it’s easier to learn more about your craft,” Tommy says.
“We want our tools to cultivate more coffee enthusiasts, and the Steam Single is Slayer’s most accessible attempt at that while staying true to our promise of professional, commercial performance.”
With promising and encouraging feedback from the industry so far, Tommy highlights how this motivates the Slayer team to keep producing customer-focused equipment.
“Baristas familiar with our commercial machines have told us they feel immediately at home when using our Steam Single, which is always great to hear,” he says.
For regular commercial use, the typical lifespan of the machine echoes that of other Slayer and Cimbali products.
“Slayer is rooted in professional commercial equipment,” says Tommy.
“The Steam Single is designed to be heavily used, and the design ensures the machines are well laid out to be serviced with ease.
“Our approach at Slayer is always sustainability. We design and build machines that can be repaired and restored, so there’s no need to replace. And that includes our new Steam Single Slayer.”
For more information, visit slayerespresso.com
This article appears in the August 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
