Wide Awake Espresso Machines

Espresso Machines and Consumer Considerations

When you are considering the purchase of an espresso machine you need to look at some different factors that will effect your purchase. This is a big purchase that could be with you for many years to come, it could make or break your business, or it could sit and collect dust if it not a good fit for what you need.

Who is the machine for?

Think about who will be using this machine. Is it for home use, is it a gift for the office for a job well done, is it a piece of restaurant equipment? If you will be going through hundreds of pounds of coffee beans per week you probably do not want to get a hand crank variety. If it is for office workers you probably would be better off with some sort of self cleaning automatic functions that allow people to avoid making a mess.

Will is be a Cafe Latte, Machiatto, or Mochaccino

What are you going to be making? Some machines do things better than others. Some have the ability to froth milk and warm up cups. If you want something simple don’t spend extra money on features that you are not going to use .

Control

Do you want your machine to have an on off switch and that is it or do you want a full touch screen led display that allows for 250 different incremental coffee grind micron sizes and precise temperature controls? Some varieties take all of the control and spit out espresso others leave all of the control in your hands. If people are not going to take the time to learn how to use the machine and simply want to push a button get them something simple.

Level of Work

You can go manual, semi automatic, automatic, fully automatic, or combo. How much work do you want to do for your espresso? One end of the scale requires muscle patience, and practice. The other requires you to push a button. How much work do you want to do when you wake up in the morning or before a lunch meeting?

Care

Machines require maintenance and these are no exceptions. These machines are more complex than some vehicles on the road. Though you will not have to get the oil changed you do need to clean, decalcify, and change filters. Some machines have numerous self cleaning functions and make it a push button procedure, others are more complicated.

Do your research and don’t spend more than is necessary to get the proper cup of coffee.

Espresso Machines Galore

Espresso machines are a complicated bunch of gizmos. You can get more frightened of the variety of different machines than than the menu at a coffee bar. First you must make the distinction between automatic, semi auto, manual, and super automatic, or even combo machines. So what exactly is each one and what does it do.

Manual Machines

These are old school, lots of fun, and a fair amount of work. If you enjoy the process of making a good cup of espresso go for one of these. You will have to pump the machine to get the water to flow through at the right pressure and some people find these to be a little more exercise than they want to do first thing in the morning. These machines can be very attractive and classy looking. Expect to have to do all of the work from grinding, to tamping, to filling with water, and emptying. These machines also take some practice.

Semi Automatic Machines

These do some of the work for you, but not much. They will normally have a water reservoir and a pump that forces the water through the grounds. Grinding, tamping, emptying, and cleaning are still up to you.

Automatic

These are nice and easy, not as much fun or hands on, but if you are going for high volume or don’t want a whole lot of clean up and you want to minimize the equipment necessary these can be a good route. You simply add beans and water and out comes espresso. Make sure you get a model with a good burr grinder. Some models you can hook up to a water source, some you will have to fill a water reservoir. Most of these models are also have a self cleaning function.

Fully Automatic

These babies are bad to the bone and usually reserved for commercial establishments, serious addicts, or the ultra wealthy. Thinks a couple thousand bucks for a good model. They do it all. From grinding, to tamping, to pumping, cleaning, cup warming, and giving you a back rub they do it all.

Combo Machines

There is an increasing number of combo machines available because lets face it, some people just can’t handle that much caffeine. Like alcohol you must build your tolerance. These machines fit into all levels of the espresso machine hierarchy but they also have the ability to make good old fashioned coffee.

Getting The Right Grinder

Espresso machines are not all created equally and neither are the brews that they produce. As I have previously mentioned the grind is the most important part of the coffee, it creates the foundation. Experts will tell you that they can produce a better espresso with a $200 grinder and a $50 espresso maker than with a blade grinder and a $1000 espresso machine.

There are two kinds of coffee grinders. The burr grinder and the blade grinder. The blade grinder is what people usually use to make percolated coffee and you can pick up one of these for as little as $30 at the grocery store. They simply use spinning blades to pulverize the coffee beans. This is fine for regular coffee but not nearly enough torture for a cup of espresso.

A burr grinder is more difficult to explain but simply uses crushing power and two pieces of moving burred metal metal to accomplish its feat. Burred metal pieces move against each other allowing the coffee beans to fall downward and be pulverized into smaller and smaller bits. The dust in the hopper is ground so finely that it is measured in microns. Prices of these grinders is all over the board but starts at around $100 for beginner model and goes up into the thousands for commercial varieties. Expect to pay a couple hundred dollars for a decent quality long lasting machine.

There are some hand crank varieties of burr grinders but if you like to have coffee in the morning I suggest staying away from these models. If you are a masochist and you like to work harder than need be go for it. You can even get camp varieties of these grinders.

If you are willing to make the investment in an espresso machine think long term and think durability. These should be quality long lasting pieces of equipment and should be treated accordingly. Do your research and think along the lines of a television purchase. A good quality machine could be with you for many more years to come and can lead to many a happy cup of coffee. A bad purchase will degrade quickly and leave you disappointed, out a couple hundred bucks, and stuck with regular old coffee.

There are lots of companies out there that make great products. Do your research and spend your hard earned money wisely.

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Espresso Machines and Consumer Considerations

Espresso Machines Galore

Getting The Right Grinder

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