Leading the list of types of espresso makers is the “super automatic espresso machine“. They should rename the category the “super-awesome super automatic espresso machine” because that more accurately describes these wonderful dispensers of caffeinated deliciousness.
One Touch Ease of Operation
As the name implies, these machines do just about everything you need in order to create a perfect shot of espresso, automatically, at the touch of a button. It will grind your choice of fresh-roasted coffee beans; it will measure your preferred amount of coffee that the machine puts into your shot; it’ll perfectly tamp down the ground espresso; it heats the water to just the temperatures that you like your espresso to be; it will extract the precise volume of water to be utilized in brewing; finally, it’ll brew your coffee or espresso to the precise specifications that you had programmed–your personal, ideal cup of espresso. Wait–there’s more: the used coffee grounds will then be moved to the used grounds dump box! All automatically!
Save a Ton of Cash as an At-Home Barista!
Many more individuals nowadays are thinking twice prior to paying $4 for their daily cappuccino or latte, and are selecting instead to make their own espresso beverages at home for mere pennies per drink. Whilst coffee lovers increasingly desire to save cash on their daily caffeine habit, they aren’t willing to abandon their favorite local coffee bars for a homemade espresso drink that’s only an imitation of the actual thing. Is this an Issue? Not any more. These days there are many European espresso machines which are creatively designed, impressively engineered, and well-built that make creating your personal lattes and cappuccinos a piece of cake. And they can be as good or much better than your local espresso bar barista could make!
Not all fully automatic coffee machines are the exact same high quality. There are a lot of machines from a lot of different manufacturers on the market. This can make it somewhat difficult to decide what type of machine is best for you.
Here is a list of features that you could expect to find on an espresso machine that falls into the “completely automatic” class:
Water Volume Control
This is a programmable feature which allows you to choose and control the amount of water that is dispensed per drink, depending on whether you’re making an espresso or a crèma.
Pre-Grinding
This function will have your coffee beans already grinding while you make one shot of espresso so they’re prepared for the subsequent shot.
Moistening the Ground Coffee Grounds Prior to Brewing
This function will lightly spray the coffee grounds just prior to brewing. This begins to leach out the aromatic and flavorful oils from the coffee.
Temperature Control
If you like your coffee piping hot then you’re able to get it piping hot! This function allows you to serve your espresso drinks at your preferred optimum temperatures.
Adjustable Dosing
This feature will permit you to control the taste and strength of your drink by increasing or decreasing the amount of ground used in a shot.
Cup Warmer
A shot of espresso will be a lot better should you brew it directly into a warm cup. Espresso coffee is brewed at a lower temperature than the temperature at which drip devices brew. If you brew an espresso right into a cold cup your espresso may be too cool to enjoy.
Water Filter Systems
This is a nice feature merely because the removal of minerals and chlorine from your drinking water will make your coffee taste better. Only Jura-Capresso features a water filtration system that’s built-in.
Grinder Settings
Customizing the grind of your coffee beans is another way that you are able to adjust the flavor and strength of your espresso beverages. Too fine and your coffee will be bitter; if you leave it too coarse it will result in a weak cup of coffee.
Bypass Doser
When your bean hopper is full of your preferred beans and somebody wants a decaf coffee (truly?) you’re able to pour pre-ground coffee into the bypass doser and make the decaf cup.
Double Boiler System
In contrast to single boiler systems which requires a waiting period in between brewing and frothing (to allow the water to reheat), there is no waiting using the double boiler system since the 2nd boiler is ready to go the moment you finish brewing. You’ll by no means need to settle for drinking a cooled off cappuccino again!
Digital or Liquid crystal display Display
The digital or liquid crystal display will show you in plain english what is going on with the machine, as well as what needs to be done, like adding water, adding beans, or emptying the dump box.
You’ll Get What You Pay For
Some, but certainly not every super automatic espresso machine includes all of these functions. Typically, the more features that a machine provides, the higher the cost of the machine will most likely be. Don’t be fooled by lower priced machines that seem to be feature-rich. More often than not they’re poorly designed, cheaply made, and truly do not make a quality shot of espresso. In the long run, what might seem like an up-front price savings will wind up costing you more, and you’ll never really appreciate the quality of the espresso you make.