You or your family, or even more employees, love coffee. And you drink a lot of it. At some point, the thought comes to you that it would be nice to optimize the process. So that it takes as little time as possible, and the quality of the drink at least remains the same, and preferably it rises to a new level. So you started to figure out which coffee machine to buy for your home or office.
And here it is necessary to dot the I. What is a coffee machine? How is it different from a coffee maker? Why, after all, are coffee machines several times more expensive? Do you really need it, and not a more affordable coffee maker? And if it is, which coffee machine is better for the home? Or even more: What’s the best coffee machine? What are the criteria for choosing a coffee machine among hundreds of models from a dozen brands?
Coffee maker or espresso machine?
All such devices for making coffee are divided into two large classes: the coffee maker or the espresso machine.
Moreover, both classes also have many subclasses, coffee makers – and generally countless of them: drip, geyser, carob, capsule, pod, etc. Here we will immediately explain: everything that is sold on the market as a “capsule coffee machine” is actually a coffee machine. That is why their prices are much more modest than those of real coffee machines and are comparable to the prices for classic espresso machines.
The main difference between an automatic espresso machine and a coffe maker is the minimum human involvement in the preparation of your favorite drink, even if the drink is made from whole coffee beans.
This unit is sometimes called an automatic espresso machine. This, strictly speaking, turns out “oil oil”. If you stick to modern terms, a coffee machine cannot be “manual”, it will already be just a coffee machine. Thus, we can say that any coffee machine is automatic
Thus, if you need to use ground beans to make coffee in the device (buy ready-made beans or grind them on a separate coffee grinder), this is by definition not a coffee machine.
In capsule and pod coffee makers, it is ground coffee that is pre-packed in special containers at the factory. By the way, buying such a device, you become rigidly attached to the manufacturer of capsules or pods. You will not be able to use coffee at all, which is not included in the assortment of the manufacturer of certain “blanks”. At the same time, the prices for these capsules are unpleasantly surprising. In a year or two, you will “surpass” the amount that you saved by giving up a full grain coffee machine.
So after all, how to choose a coffee machine?
So, you seem to have decided. Away with compromises, “buy a coffee machine at home”! So that any Brazilian bean coffee turns into premium espresso in one click. And so that a delicate cappuccino can be drunk for breakfast, not otherwise! In short, you need a grain coffee machine for your home!
Literally in the previous sentence about cappuccino, there is a fundamental division of machines into two subclasses: coffee machines with an automatic cappuccino maker or with a manual one, it is also called mechanical. In general, a cappuccino maker is a device for whipping milk or cream and creating a thick froth. The automatic version is usually a separate container into which you just need to pour milk, the machine does the rest itself. There are also options with a discharge tube that goes down into any container and sucks milk from there. In the case of a “fancy” car, you can even set the degree of density of the snow-white cap in the settings.
Coffee machines with a manual cappuccino maker have a separate metal tube from which pressurized steam comes out. You pour milk (chilled and better fatty, at least 2%) into a separate cup, substitute it under the tube and in a circular motion, catching the border of liquid and foam in the glass, move the container up and down, whipping the milk with steam. If the machine comes with a Panarello attachment, the process will be easier, but some skill is still needed.
It is clear that machines with an automatic cappuccinatore are more expensive. But then you get not only an espresso at the touch of a button, but also a cappuccino, as well as other coffee drinks, lattes, latte macchiato. Indeed, in this case, the machine at any time can use the milk itself to create any “snacks” in automatic mode.
In any subclass of coffee machines, even with an automatic, even with a mechanical cappuccino maker, there are divisions into conditional “fancy”. Simpler, more affordable machines can literally have a couple of buttons: make “espresso” and “regular coffee”. Yes, you can in any case set the portion size or get hot water to dilute the drink (or generally to make tea).
Yes, any grain coffee machine will perfectly grind grains (with the rarest exceptions, they are all equipped with high-quality burr mills), while having an adjustable grinding degree. By the way, there is an opinion that a coffee machine with ceramic millstones is definitely better, they say, they do not set the beans on fire. This is partly true. But to notice this you have to be a true connoisseur, turn eat. In the place of an ordinary amateur, I would not put any special emphasis on this and proceed in choosing a coffee grinder from the material of the millstones.
Coffee machines with a manual cappuccino maker have a separate metal tube from which pressurized steam comes out. You pour milk (chilled and better fatty, at least 2%) into a separate cup, substitute it under the tube and in a circular motion, catching the border of liquid and foam in the glass, move the container up and down, whipping the milk with steam. If the machine comes with a Panarello attachment, the process will be easier, but some skill is still needed.
Conclusion
When buying a coffee machine, as almost always in life, there is a typical choice: “check out or go”. You will have to pay extra for “checkers”, but you will most likely arrive at the same time to a pleasant awakening from the magical aroma and unique taste of your favorite drink.