| |
| |
|
Coffee Information |
|
|
|
Factors to Consider When Choosing an Espresso Machine
Buying an espresso machine is an important decision - choose a wrong one and you've wasted a few hundred dollars; choose a good one and you will be rewarded for years to come. Picking the correct machine for your needs is a matter of prioritizing the features that are most important to you. There may not be a machine that is exactly in your budget and has all of the features that you want. For that matter, there may not be a machine for sale at any price that has all of the features you want. You may have to compromise a bit. The following are some factors to consider: Price Price is definitely a consideration for most people. As a general rule, you do get more for the extra money - more metal, less plastic, higher-quality workmanship, better support, more controls. On the other hand, if you just want an occasional cappuccino, or if you rather buy other things with your money, most cheap machines can make a pretty decent drink. Espresso machines are definitely not cheap, but, compared to going to Starbuck's every day, it may not take long at all for a good machine to pay for itself. Spending $3 every weekday at the local coffee house translates to $750 over the course of a year. You could buy a great machine for that amount that will last for years to come. Type Moka or Steam - Steam provides pressure to push water through a bed of coffee grounds. No real controls on pressure or temperature. Length of brewing time is controlled by operator. Semi-Automatic - Pump provides pressure. Operator grinds, doses and tamps coffee into a portafilter. Brewing pressure and temperature are set and controlled by machine. Length of brewing time (and, therefore, volume) is controlled by operator. Automatic - Pump provides pressure. Operator grinds, doses and tamps coffee into a portafilter. Brewing pressure and temperature are set and controlled by machine. Machine automatically brews to a predetermined volume. Super-Automatic - Pump provides pressure. Machine automatically grinds, doses, tamps, brews to a predetermined volume, and ejects the spent puck, all with the push of a button. Some commercial super automatics can also steam milk automatically, depending on your brew selection. Bosch, Saeco and Solis are a few of the brands that offer super-automatics. Lever - Lever pushes down a piston to provide pressure. Lever pushed down manually by operator. Lever espresso machines are harder to operate, but provide greater control over shot. For those who enjoy the art of making espressos. Lever machines are still offered by the original manufacturer - La Pavoni. Design The traditional espresso machine is somewhat square and boxy. If this is OK - great - there's plenty from which to choose. If you would rather have a machine with a more modern design, you might consider the Espressione Cafe Retro, the La Pavoni Cellini or the La Pavoni Pisa. For an old world design, you could consider a La Pavoni Lever Machine. Boiler The boiler heats the water for the espresso. Usually, it's made of aluminum, brass, copper or stainless steel. Aluminum heats the fastest, but brass and stainless steel retain heat longer. If you just want one quick cup in the morning, aluminum may work best. If you brew repeated shots, consider brass, copper or stainless. Over the years, aluminum may tend to corrode more then brass, copper and stainless. Another consideration is boiler size. Smaller boilers (3-5 oz.) heat up faster and are great for 1 or 2 cups, but they generally require more recovery time and may not maintain temperature as consistently as a larger (7-12 oz.) boiler. As a general rule, the more expensive machine, the larger the boiler. Bar Pressure The amount of pressure the machine can produce for forcing the steam through the coffee grounds and making the espresso. Technically, only 9 bars are needed, so it doesn't make much difference if the machine produces 15, 16 or 18 bars. Housing Espresso machines are made with either ABS shock-resistant plastic or metal housing. If plastic bothers you, make sure you look for a machine with a metal housing. As expected, these cost more, and options in the lower prices ranges are limited. Size Remember to consider your counter space and how your espresso machine will fit on it and in your kitchen before buying. Don't buy a machine that's too big and unwieldy. Pods Coffee pods contain enough coffee for one shot and are pre-packaged inside of a filter membrane. The advantage of using pods is that they are easy to use - just open a pod package and put the pod into the pod filter holder. The clean-up is easy since the grounds are inside of the filter membrane, and the grind of the coffee is always correct. Pods are great for convenience and cleanliness. Disadvantages of using pods are the cost - they are more expensive than grinding your own coffee, and flexibility - you can only do single shots with pods. Some machines accept pods; some don't. If you want to have the option of using pods, make sure the machine you are interested in can accept them. Paul Ballenger has been selling coffee makers and espresso machines for over 5 years. Yes, he loves coffee. He has created an Espresso Machine Comparison Chart which separates many espresso machines according to the factors listed above.
MORE RESOURCES:
Coffee - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Coffee Culture in the USA It wasn't until I moved to the US that I started drinking coffee regularly and became what they call in the Netherlands a 'koffieleut', which translates literally into 'coffee socialite.' Although the average European drinks more coffee per year than the average American, the cultural importance and its effects on the average European seems to me smaller than that on the average American. Are Coffee Enemas The Real Thing? Coffee enemas detoxify the liver, as well as cleans the colon. Some people claim that they provide immediate relief to toxicity symptoms, such as congestion, indigestion, pain and headaches. Make the Switch! Coffee to Tea Having a hard time giving up your 4 cups of coffee each day? Evidence shows by switching to tea you can add some significant health benefits. The health benefit of drinking tea is chalked up to one explanation, antioxidants. Coffee Breaks - Do They Create Stress? The American custom of taking break during the working hours. Thus coffee breaks began in the early 20th century. Those Elusive Coffee Beans! With the spread of various coffee beans into our lives, it can be more and more difficult to discern what you're buying at the market. And that's not surprising given the sheer numbers game. Roast Your Own Coffee - Secrets Revealed For years, the idea of roasting your own coffee beans has been kept a mystery by the coffee roasting industry. It had been deemed "too hard" or "too complicated". Coffee is a commodity At Starbucks they obviously need coffee. To insure that they get the coffee at a good price, Starbucks has chosen to buy the coffee fields, rather than pay an advanced contract price for the coffee beans. Diabetes and the Preventive Power of Coffee! Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most rapidly accelerating diseases today in terms of number of people afflicted. Theories abound as to why this is the case; however, scientists are now looking at new ways to improve the overall health of those both at risk for and suffering from this disease. Coffee and Health From the year dot, my mother taught all her children that coffee was not bad for you. But of course it is. Coffee and Depression: Coffee as an Antidepressant? When you grab that morning cup of java, you're probably not thinking of it as an antidepressant. You're just trying to get that morning pick me up to get your day going. Creating the Perfect Foam Most places that serve cappuccinos in the United States have not trained their baristas in the art of properly frothing milk. The foam that they create is usually a dry, tasteless, large celled collection of bubbles that sit on top of the espresso like a meringue. Coffee Roasting De-mystified How many different names have you run across for different types of coffee roasts? Light, Medium, Dark? Espresso? Continental? Vienna, French, Italian, Spanish? City? Full-City? C'mon, who's thinking up these things?Well, the dark secret (pardon the pun) of the coffee industry is that, well, there really isn't full agreement on which roast is which. So basically, we all pretty much get to hunt around, try different coffees from different sources and pick the one(s) we like. La Minita Coffee - It's in the Green Beans La Minita; Spanish for "The Little Gold Mine" says it all. La Minita is arguably the best coffee in the world and is sipped by the who's who in the specialty coffee industry as well as by those of us who have access to it in our businesses. Which Coffees are Highest in Antioxidants? As researchers learn more about antioxidants with health and disease, they increasingly find themselves drawn to their influence on overall health. With them becoming an ever larger realm of study, people are looking for new ways to obtain high levels for them to be beneficial. Woman Dies from Caffeine Overdose and Expert Calls for Action in New Book and FDA Petition An autopsy released this week has found caffeine to be the cause of death for a woman from New Mexico. The incident took place in June 2004 after she was admitted to a hospital after a fight with her son. Caffeine - I Bet You Didnt Know This! Health and Nutrition! What exactly is caffeine? It is a colorless, somewhat bitter substance that is found in coffee, tea, chocolate and cola. It is also in many over- the-counter medicines and in many diet/weight loss supplements. Who is Juan Valdez? Juan Valdez is a fictitious character who was created in 1959 to represent the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Columbia, founded in 1926.He is one of the most familiar faces in the advertising world, with his moustache, sombrero, poncho and his faithful mule, Lana. Make Money In Your Own Coffee Business A 2001 survey by the National Coffee Association indicated that over 100 million people drink coffee on a daily basis and that nearly 60 million more occasionally consume coffee. Based on average drinking habits, the daily coffee drinker will consume multiple cups per day - totalling hundreds of millions cups of coffee being consumed every 24 hours. Heating Vegetable Oil to Frying Temps Forms Toxic Compound New research by a University of Minnesota professor and a graduate student shows that when highly unsaturated vegetable oils are heated at frying temperature (365 F) for extended periods-or even for half an hour-a highly toxic compound, HNE (4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal) forms in the oil.A. Coffee in America American coffee? Technically there is no such thing, at least none that is grown in North America. There is such a thing as the American coffee consumer which might as well be an institution all their own for it's their money that drives a substantial portion of the market.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
