The sale of Espresso machines has grown in the recent past. The reason is the increasing love of coffee and the fact that it is expensive to spend on the Espresso daily, at the local cafes. The major reason why people are buying Espresso machines is that they are specially designed for making nice coffee and all the functions like frothing, steaming, and boiling is inbuilt in the machine itself.
The espresso machines for the home are however smaller in size than that the ones found in coffee shops but the functionality is the same. You can get as good coffee sitting at home on your couch watching your favorite TV show.
People often confuse themselves between espresso and brewed coffee after they were accustomed to the word ‘espresso’ lately. There aren’t any special coffee beans being used for preparing espresso coffee. Only that, the method of preparing an espresso coffee is different. The hot water in espresso is used at high pressure and the coffee beans are very finely ground as compared to a brewed coffee. Also, the extraction method in espresso takes less time as compared to a brewed coffee.
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What is an Espresso Machine?
An espresso machine is a machine which is used to prepare coffee. The coffee preparation in an espresso machine is done by inducing water which is at very high pressure in grinded coffee. The water used is nearing the boiling point. Then, a special filter is used underneath to produce a dense, concentrated coffee.
Some espresso machines also have a steam nozzle for steaming and frothing for cappuccinos and latte coffees. Thus, there are various kinds of espresso machines which may be steam-driven, pump or air-pump driven or piston-driven. There are both manuals as well as automatic machines.
The first espresso machine was designed in 1884 by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy. With that multiple designs of machines got patents for espresso preparation. An espresso machine typically includes a control panel, a storage reservoir, a pump, a boiler, a group head, and a portafilter.
Top 5 reasons to buy an Espresso Machine
To own an espresso machine that can prepare a hot steaming cup of coffee as soon as you wake up in the morning is a dream come true for coffee-lovers. With the latest technology, the features provided by such machines and the ease to use them has greatly been improved. Here we illustrate the top 5 reasons to buy an espresso machine.
- Understand your ideal coffee: Once you start exploring the coffee-making with different amounts of coffee, timing, temperature, and the grind size, you will best understand the one combination which tastes the best for you. This can be done only if you have the espresso machine at your convenience and you have the ease to try these various combinations. Moreover, you get to know the different number of techniques to make coffee.
- Cost-Factor: Buying coffee daily at the coffee shop will definitely shoot up your consumption expenses. You will be amazed to know the actual cost of a coffee per cup which you prepare at home and sometimes this will be far better in taste than what you have outside at the expensive coffee shops.
- Research of the material: You can do careful research of the various brands of coffee available in the market and choose the best within affordable prices. This increases your knowledge and at the time you get to know what you are consuming along with its contents and its origins.
- Enhance the look of your kitchen: Modern day coffee machines are manufactured keeping in mind the look they would provide to your kitchen shelf. Espresso machines, no doubt ups your kitchen appeal.
- Coffee Anytime: If you are too tired to go out and have coffee or you have a small get together at your place, espresso machines prepare coffee in literally no time. Moreover, you can get to use them at any hour in the night.
Factors one needs to consider before buying an Espresso Machine:
- Type of coffee: You might have different choices for the machine if you want to have a traditional coffee or a special coffee. If you want to try a large variety of coffee types, you might want to own a standard espresso machine.
- The capacity of the machine: You must check the amount of storage available in your espresso machine. Very less storage space would mean refilling the coffee beans and water every alternate day which might be problematic. There are also machines in the market which can make up to 10 cups of coffee at a time, so you should choose the one which best serves your purpose of owning an espresso machine.
- Available technology features: Markets today have many machines which have unique technological features. There are machines which have programmable clock which will start the machine at a fixed time every day, a water level indicator, an auto clean option and an auto-shut option to save electricity. You should carefully select the best mix of features you would want to have in your espresso machine.
- User-friendly: The machine you are buying should not give you nightmares to clean it. So you must definitely shift away from machines having complicated cleaning mechanisms. The machine should be easy to maintain and the chores of water filling etc. should be easily accessible.
- Filters used: There are various types of filters available with espresso machines like Paper or water filter. Some machines have paper filters which are known to remove cholesterol and it is only a single use filter. Whereas the metal filter is a permanent filter which should be periodically cleaned. There are gold-plated metal filters for hard coffee-lovers while calm-coffee lovers prefer paper filters.
- The durability of the machine: While some espresso machines might prepare awesome coffee for you, but for a small period of time, after which they fall prey to rusts and pay the price of having a fragile body. One should prefer stainless steel body as it can be expected to create a little ruckus for you.
- Speed and Noise: While your preference for speed will be mostly high or maybe it wouldn’t matter to some, the noise level produced by your espresso machine should definitely be less.
- Space occupied: Most people would prefer a relatively compactor machine for their kitchen shelves versus a huge bulky machine which occupies much space over the kitchen shelf or their kitchen cabinet.
Top four Espresso Machine reviews of 2020:
#1. Mr. Coffee Barista ECMP1000 Review
Mr.Coffee Espresso system comes with an excellent user-friendly one-touch control panel which is ideal for preparing a whole range of customized coffee drinks like coffee lattes, espresso martinis, café mochas, and caramel cappuccinos along with regular coffees. The product has a sleek design and has indicator lights to highlight the selection.
- The weight of the product is 9 pounds.
- The product dimensions are 12 x 14 x 12.2 inches
- It is best for making espresso, latte, or cappuccino and has these 3 as pre-programmed options.
- It also has an option to customize the drink with its manual espresso and milk froth modes.
- It has the option to choose from single/double servings.
- The product features an electric pump that creates around 15 bars of pressure.
- It comes with an integrated milk container.
- The milk container is easily detachable for cold storing or washing purpose.
- The Milk container is dishwasher safe, however, the porta-filter and the water reservoir are not.
- The capacity of the water reservoir is 55 ounces.
- It has the option to slide the cup-tray platform according to the cup-height for smaller-sized cups.
- The drip catcher tray is also easily removable and is easily removable to clean.
- The product comes with a recipe book of 10 drink recipes.
- The material of this product is stainless steel.
- There is an auto-frothing feature for milk.
- Complementary tools are a Measuring Scoop, a filter for Single/Double Espresso and a tamper.
Video Review:-
#2. DeLonghi EC702 Review
DeLonghi Espresso maker is quite stylish in design and the product features include dual filters suitable for both ground and pod coffee. The device functions to make awesome coffee with controlled water and steam pressure through separate thermostats for each.
- The product dimensions are 11 x 9.1 x 11.6 inches.
- The Weight of the product is 13.4 pounds.
- The capacity of the water tank is 44 ounces.
- It has dual filters for ground espresso as well as Easy serving Espresso with pods.
- It has an adjustable control system to modify preferences according to taste.
- The device is pump driven and has a 15 bar pressure system.
- It comes with a 3 in one filter holder.
- The product has a special Sempre Crema filter to produce crema in the brewing process.
- The product has two separate thermostats to control water and steam pressure.
- It has a unique patented cappuccino frother which has a special chamber to mix steam and milk.
- The device has a self-priming operation to eliminate tough start-up preparation.
- It has a no-drip design and a high-quality stainless steel boiler.
- It has a quick Cappuccino System for back to back coffee preparation.
- The product has an automatic flow stop feature to dispense just the perfect amount of espresso.
- The water reservoir is detachable and is easy to refill and re-attach.
- The water level is clearly visible in the water tank.
- All the parts of the machine are dishwasher safe.
Video Review:-
#3. Breville BES870XL Review
Breville Barista Express is made of high-quality product material and is quite sturdy and durable. It has a no-slip mechanism underneath to keep the machine from moving while the grinder is in motion. The unit is easy to clean and has a nice storage compartment to hold the cleaning tools.
- The product dimensions are 13.2 x 12.5 x 15.8 inches.
- The weight of the product is 23 pounds.
- The material of the product is stainless steel.
- The capacity of the water tank is 67 ounces and it comes with a replaceable water filter to reduce impurities.
- It has 1600 W thermo-coil heating system to accurately control water temperature.
- It has an automatic clean-me light to indicate when a cleaning cycle is required.
- The product has a removable drip tray.
- The product automatically adjusts water temperature through the auto purge function.
- It has an integrated conical-shaped grinder and a ½ lb. sealed bean hopper.
- The features offered include grind amount and size selector pane.
- The product has a 54mm tamper for expert tamper control.
- The portafilter has spouts like commercial machines and is stainless steel.
Video Review:-
#4. Nespresso Inissia Review
It is a multi-functional Espresso maker from Nespresso which is ideal for your home coffee-making needs. It is the lightest machine within this range is available in a wide range of attractive colours including red, white, silver and black. The handle of the machine is quite ergonomic and this machine is quite compact in shape.
- The product dimensions are 12.6 x 4.7 x 9 inches.
- The weight of the product is 5.3 pounds.
- The capacity of the water tank is 24 ounces.
- The product has a foldable drip tray.
- The motor creates a 19 bar pressure.
- The product has a unique Nespresso capsule system for exceptional aromas in coffees.
- The capsules are easy to insert and take out.
- It has 2 buttons for Espresso and lungo preparation.
- The product comes with 16 free capsules for unique tastes and aromas.
- The Nespresso capsules can also be ordered online.
- It takes only half a minute to warm-up the machine
- It serves up to 9 cups of coffee without refilling.
- There are 2 inbuilt options to adjust the cup size.
- The product has a unique energy-saving mode to automatically switch off the machine after 9 minutes of use.
Video Review:-
Thus, there is a whole range of coffee machines available in the market. Manufacturers are going to great lengths to serve the requirements of avid coffee-lovers. Thus, they are increasingly designing unique, sleek and stylish espresso machines for home as well as commercial usage requirements.
