Espresso Coffee Machines: Italian Machines Are The Best

Thanks to the commercialized coffee industry espresso has become of of the worlds most popular coffee based drinks. Espresso coffee makers can be found in coffee houses as well as the average persons home these days and there are many options available.

In 1901 people saw their first glimpse of the espresso coffee maker. There have been several different variations since then. Most, however, include a few of the same basic parts. The portafilter, for example, which uses a small metal basket to hold the grounds. A steam wand on these makers is pretty common as well. The steam wand steams the milk and then froths it for certain espresso based drinks.

The four main systems of espresso makers are discussed briefly in the article. These brief descriptions should give you a fairly accurate idea of the good and bad about each one. Preference is usually based upon application with these types of machines.

Piston: Achille Gaggia, the founder of the manufacturer Gaggia, created the piston driven espresso machine in 1945. This type of coffee maker is easy to use by way of a lever being pumped by the user to force hot water through the grounds. The term “pulling a shot” derived from the usage of this machine since it requires pulling the lever multiple times to get the outcome that you want. There are two main types of the piston style coffee maker, manual and spring driven. Manual requires the user to push the hot water through the grounds by simply pulling on the lever while spring driven requires the user to tension a spring which in turn builds the pressure needed to make the drink.

Pump: Pump style espresso coffee makers work off of a motorized pump. This pumps builds the force needed to brew the drink properly. This is the type of coffee maker you will see most often in coffee shops because it gets the job done quickly. Commercial styles are hooked in to the buildings plumbing making them ideal for business use while cheaper versions that are normally used at home come with a built in water reservoir.

Steam: A steam espresso maker is pretty straight forward in the way it works. Steam pressure is used to push the water through the grounds. This style of maker was the mechanism used on the first ones created. The system works well too because this type is still used today. They are cheap to produce and require no moving parts making them ideal to market in the industry.

Air Pressure: Air pressure espresso coffee makers are hand held and pump highly pressurized air into a chamber to get the result that you want. These only make one cup of coffee at a time however. The commonly known name for this style of coffee machine is Handpresso, created by Nielsen Innovation in 2006. The product hit stores shelves soon after in 2007 and has gained much popularity.

If you are looking to add an espresso machine to your home or business you can see that you have a lot of options. The setting and frequency in which you will be using the machine should be a big factor in your purchase decision. The price range on espresso coffee machines are vast and brand and ability play a huge role in the sticker price. All will give you the same result in the end, great espresso drinks.