The number of coffee drinkers in our country amounts to tens of millions. Some people drink only one cup of coffee a day, while others drink much more.
Some people prefer instant coffee, but they rarely call themselves true admirers of this drink. True coffee lovers prefer freshly ground and freshly brewed coffee. It is then that you can feel the real aroma and taste of this drink.
True, the procedure for preparing such a drink takes quite a lot of time, and this is precisely what we constantly lack.
Therefore, people come up with some devices to automate this process. Someone buys a coffee maker. But the coffee in it, although better than instant coffee, does not reach the quality of Turkish coffee.
But an inexpensive coffee machine for home can be compared in quality to hand-brewed coffee. And the process is completely automated and takes much less time.
Let's look at the main advantages and disadvantages of coffee machines and see which one is suitable for your home.
What is a coffee machine?
So, what is a bean coffee machine for home? This machine was created for cafes and restaurants to quickly prepare coffee for customers. These machines were quite large and cumbersome.
Machine manufacturers saw the advantage of making small machines for home use.
Such machines are quite popular in the modern world. Therefore, let's look at the main features of coffee machines that you should pay attention to when choosing them.
Types of professional coffee machines for coffee shops
The classification of professional coffee machines includes several categories based on functionality:
- devices for coffee shops, restaurants, bars, cafes;
- machines for office;
- models for servicing public events.
They differ in power, preparation volumes, design features, and the number of drinks prepared.
At the same time, the classification of such units involves two categories according to the degree of automation of the process:
- professional models of coffee machines in which ingredients are added manually - the barista is forced to monitor the presence of water and coffee beans in the refilling blocks;
- super-automatic modifications - here all the ingredients are added in advance in a volume that is usually enough to serve customers during the shift. Preparation is done by pressing just one button and selecting a drink.
What you should pay attention to when choosing a coffee machine
The first thing you should pay attention to is the rating of coffee machines for home 2020. It shows not only the popularity of machines of a particular brand among the population, but also reliability and ease of use.
You can also ask the price of various types of cars from a financial point of view.
Typically, such ratings are accompanied by reviews from users of these units, which can be quite useful when choosing your own coffee machine for your home.
Automatic
If you don’t know which coffee machine is best to choose, pay attention to automatic devices; owners of such equipment only need to fill in water, pour in coffee beans, make the necessary adjustments, and clean the device after use. After setting the desired program, you just need to press the start button, and in a couple of minutes your favorite drink will be ready.
Choose household appliances with the maximum range of useful options, then you can enjoy any type of coffee: a delicious cappuccino or an amazing ristretto.
The steam function and high power speed up the preparation of the drink; it’s great when you can dose the coffee strength and choose the volume of water per 1 cup.
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The included cappuccino maker, in addition to cappuccino, allows you to prepare espresso and lattes; it is connected to the steam wand of the coffee machine.
Millstone
When choosing the best coffee machine for your home, you should first of all look at the millstones of this machine, which are responsible for grinding the beans.
Currently, millstones come in two varieties:
- steel, more reliable, but overheat the grains during grinding. And the smell of burnt coffee is present in the drink.
- ceramic, more fragile, but the quality of the drink is higher.
Capsule coffee machine
If you want to become a coffee gourmet, but don’t want to understand the intricacies of preparing different drinks, then in the question of which coffee machine is best for the home, you may be attracted to a capsule coffee machine.
A capsule coffee machine also makes coffee by passing water under pressure, but through a special plastic or aluminum capsule. Each model of such coffee machines is designed for a specific type of capsule, the most popular of which are Nespresso and Tassimo brands - you can buy them in any hypermarket.
The picture shows an excellent model Bosch Tassimo SUNY :
The main advantage of a capsule coffee machine is the opportunity to try different types and recipes of coffee without delving into the intricacies of the barista’s art. Like the carob version, it can be equipped with additional functions and protection against overheating and short circuits, and there is no need to wash it at all - just throw away the capsules and drain the drip tray.
Capsules are also the main disadvantage of this type of coffee machine. You need to buy them, and the cost of one package is not that cheap. If you run out of capsules, you can’t put ground coffee into such a machine.
We have compiled a selection of good capsule coffee machines presented on the domestic market. Here she is:
- Which capsule coffee machine is best to buy for your home?
Water heating
There are also two options for heating water:
- a boiler that heats a certain amount of water, and after preparing one serving of coffee, cold water is added to it and it needs to be heated again. As gourmets say, repeated heating of water spoils the taste of coffee.
- The thermoblock heats water exactly enough for a serving of coffee, but the heating time is longer if you need to prepare several servings of coffee at once.
How the coffee machine works
To prepare coffee, either beans or capsules are used. The coffee machine itself will boil the water to the desired temperature. The water temperature ranges from 80 to 120 degrees. This difference arises due to the type of drink chosen and the characteristics of the machine itself.
Not all devices allow you to adjust the strength of an invigorating drink. For carob-type devices, a richer coffee can be obtained if the prepared raw materials are tightly placed in the holder.
The vast majority of coffee machine models have push-button or touch controls, which allow you to set the desired volume of the finished liquid.
Device structure
The main structural element of the coffee machine is a water container with a built-in heating element (tubular electric heater). The number of such heaters may vary for different models. It is these elements that are responsible for heating the water to the desired temperature.
There are models that heat the drink being prepared with water vapor coming from boiling water. In this case, the liquid moves through special tubes using a built-in pump. The tray prevents water from spreading in the event of an unplanned drain. The safety valve controls the pressure inside the device.
A special tank is used to store and grind beans for combination models. When buying a coffee machine, you should keep in mind that not all models have the ability to adjust different degrees of grinding. If the coffee grinder fails, significant costs will be required to restore its functionality.
In capsule-type coffee machines, the compartment for coffee powder replaces the holder for capsules or pods (portioned coffee pressed into tablets). One or more spouts with built-in nozzles are designed for dispensing the prepared drink. The water filtration and purification system helps protect the unit tank from lime deposits and scale.
Coffee preparation speed and quantity
Mainly depends on the power of the coffee machine, both electrically and in terms of refilling coffee and water.
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In small families, there is no point in buying powerful coffee machines as they are quite expensive and will be ineffective.
Types of coffee machines and their principles of operation
To prepare coffee drinks at home, you can choose one of the following types of coffee makers:
- drip;
- geyser;
- capsule;
- carob;
- automatic.
Let's take a closer look at the device and operating principle of each type.
Geyser coffee maker
These devices come in both electric and non-electric types, which can be placed directly on the hob or simply on an open fire. Unlike the previous coffee machine, here the principle of operation is exactly the opposite. The water in these devices is supplied from the bottom up, identical to a geyser, and pours over the coffee. After that, it, saturated with coffee, is poured into a special flask.
The volume of geyser coffee makers is small. They look like porcelain coffee pots. What’s great is that coffee doesn’t “escape” from the device like it does from a cezve, but of course you need to keep an eye on it.
A geyser coffee maker consists of two containers connected to each other like an hourglass. In the central area, in a narrow channel, there is a compartment for coffee. When the water in the lower compartment boils, it rises and makes its way up a narrow passage, brewing coffee along the way. In the upper container there is an almost ready drink.
Drip coffee maker
The device is the simplest in terms of design: in such devices coffee is brewed without steam pressure or boiling water. Allows you to brew strong Americano coffee. Inside the machine body there is a heating element, a water tank and a filter compartment for adding ground coffee. A container with a handle and a measuring scale (coffee pot) is installed at the bottom. The principle of operation of the device is the drip passage of heated water through the filter. As a result, the water that has leaked through the filter, saturated with taste, aroma and color, flows into a glass or plastic coffee pot.
Depending on the power of the coffee maker, the preparation time for the drink varies. On average, a drip coffee maker takes about 5 minutes to prepare coffee.
Maintenance consists of periodically cleaning/replacing the filter. Models can use disposable or reusable filters. When choosing such a device for your home, you should pay attention to the following points.
- Power – to get weak coffee, you need to choose a device with more power, and for a strong coffee drink, you should buy a device with low power.
- Flask material (glass or plastic). Glass does not absorb odors, and plastic is more durable.
- The dimensions of the flask, which depend on the required amount of brewed coffee.
- Filters, which come in three types: disposable; gold – for long-term use; nylon filters that can be used up to 60 times of brewing.
Cleaning the brewing mechanism
The cleaning function is one of the most important in modern coffee machines. There is a manual cleaning option, but according to some coffee lovers, a residual deposit of coffee remains in the tubes of the machine, which subsequently spoils the taste of subsequent servings.
Automatic cleaners using special tablets do not have this disadvantage but are more expensive.
Carob
Many, not without reason, question whether the equipment belongs to automatic coffee machines: the machines do not provide a function for grinding coffee beans. The powder is poured into a holder - this is a special container through which hot water passes under pressure.
After preparing the drink, you need to empty the holder of used coffee beans. The device has a low price, but it cannot be considered ideal: the user has to interfere with the operation of the device, and it is impossible to regulate the strength of the drink.
Availability of a cappuccino maker
For cappuccino lovers, having a cappuccino maker is of great importance.
So, there are models with an automatic function for preparing this drink, but there are also machines with a manual cappuccino maker. And for those who do not like this drink, you can choose the option without it.
Geyser coffee maker
If you are wondering which coffee machine is better to buy for your home instead of the usual Turkish coffee machine, perhaps you don’t need anything particularly complicated.
A geyser coffee maker is an electric analogue of a coffee Turk, consisting of a water tank, a container with coffee and a compartment for ready-made coffee (from bottom to top). The water is heated, turns into steam, passes through the coffee and condenses at the top into the finished drink. This operating principle is called geyser.
The picture shows the classic geyser coffee maker ENDEVER Costa-1010:
What are the advantages of a coffee maker over a full-fledged coffee machine? Simplicity of design, ease of use without the need to understand the settings, noiselessness, and also a reasonable price.
Of course, the coffee maker also has disadvantages. This includes the lack of specific functions (for example, making cappuccino), relatively slow preparation of the drink, and the need to disassemble and wash the device after each use.
We have already figured out why a geyser coffee maker is convenient and have compiled a rating of the best models. Details can be read here:
- Geyser coffee makers: what is their beauty and which one to choose?
Choosing the best coffee machine
Still, the price of a home coffee machine plays a determining role when choosing.
If there is no need for certain functions, such as a cappuccino maker or memory, then you can choose a simpler machine, since it will cost less for your family.
Possible functionality of the coffee machine
- Choice of grinding degree from 3 (the finest) to 12 (the coarsest).
- Various temperatures of the finished drink from scalding hot to comfortably warm.
- Selecting the strength of the drink.
- Selecting the serving size.
- Possibility to prepare two cups of drink at the same time.
- Cup preheating function.
- Possibility of filtering tap water.
- Automatic descaling.
- The presence of an additional boiler to speed up the milk frothing process.
- The presence of internal memory allows you to save several individual coffee preparation options.
- The price of the coffee machine directly depends on the number of additional functions.
Photos of coffee machines for home
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Expert advice on choosing a coffee machine
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12.03.2020 10:37
Coffee has become so firmly established in our daily diet that it has long become a daily ritual. True coffee lovers do not limit themselves to consuming the aromatic drink in the morning, drinking several cups per day.
Of course, every coffee lover knows the intricacies of preparing it in a Turk or French press. For adherents of process automation, a coffee machine will help prepare coffee, the characteristics of which will be discussed in this article.
We recommend looking at the rating of the best coffee machines with cappuccino maker https://tehnoexpert.top/reyting-kofemashin-dlya-doma-s-kapuchinatorom. The article selects the best devices according to buyers. There are pros and cons for each device.
