CoffeeForums Coffee Facts

Q: Hi, buying myself one of these to do them at home, between the gas savings and the cost at 'Starbucks' nowadays, this bad boy will pay for itself... :) What's a good quality machine for home use? Thanks in advance!

A: I used to work in a cookshop that sold lots of different Espresso machines, and I think as an ex Sales Assistant, I have information that you might find essential. There are lots of things to consider: First, do you want a manual/traditional machine (better quality usually) or an automatic machine (e.g. put a pod in the machine and press a button, usually not the best quality in coffee but really convenient). Second, are you seriously into coffee, or you just like a nice coffee drink? If you are into coffee a lot, you will find that the manual machines are better, because you get the coffee exactly how you like it but you have to make it yourself. You need an Espresso machine to make Capuccinos because Espresso is the base for all coffees; Cappuccino is 1/3 Espresso shot (usually about 50ml), 1/3 hot milk, and 1/3 froth. Manual machines should come with a milk steamer where you heat the milk and froth it. If you want a Latte for example, it's 1/3 Espresso shot, 2/3 hot milk. With an Espresso machine, you can make all the coffee drinks you want. You will have to learn how to do it, it isn't complicated once you get the practice and it might look tricky at the beginning, but it's a pleasure to do it propperly. You use your own favourite coffee and I would advise getting a shot glass as well. In the other hand if you want an automatic machine, you have plenty in the market like 'Tassimo', 'Kenko', 'Nescafe', etc., that make the coffee from a pod or capsule. They are good machines, but the quality of the coffee is not the best, which wouldn't matter that much if you are not a coffee nut. If you are though, and still want to use an automatic machine, I would recommend Nespresso, the quality of the coffee is superb and the machines are really good. My favourite, and easiest model to use is the Latissima. It is very practical, but you have to use their coffee pods and nothing else, so you are stuck to one brand. Make sure any machine you get has at least 9 bars of pressure, which ensures a good quality of coffee. Most decent brands will have at least 15 bars. In the manuals, I advise 'Gaggia', they are really reliable. 'DeLonghi' is also very good. Never buy a 'KitchenAid' they are huge, too heavy, break all the time and are terribly expensive. We used to get lots of those returned or sent to be fixed all the time. I hope this helped if you need any advice, you can contact me. I'm sorry i don't know a good brand of Cappuccino machine, but I did remember seeing a story on TV where they tested all these different brands, and they said that a $200 machine will be just as good a $1200 machine. So, you don't need to spend a fortune. I think 'Cuisinart', or 'Rancilio' are the top two BEST Cappuccino and Expresso machines. I'm after using many different types.