Types of Espresso Machines
Just like cars, there are several types of espresso machines available: everything from the Yugo, a $49 big box special to the Aston-Martin, a $5000 super automatic with all the bells and whistles. For most people, the right choice will probably be the middle of the road machine. It’s a super automatic, which makes the process quick and easy, and cleanup is a snap. But it lacks some of the fancy, but often useless features of the more pricey models. You can expect to pay $400-600 for a good middle of the road machine that will have you sipping cappuccinos by the fire in no time.
For the sake of completeness, though, let’s go through several different models and categories so you make an informed decision.
“Not” Espresso Machines
This is not a slam on any of these machines, they have their purpose, but you should understand that they are not espresso machines regardless of what the marketing might say. More accurately, these are called “moka pots” (such as the Bialetti) or “steam powered espresso machines” (DeLonghi EC5) capable of producing a dark, concentrated coffee, but lacking the pressurized method and crema of true espresso. Prices range from $7 to $59 dollars. For our purposes, we’ll stay away.
Manual Espresso Machines
Harkening back to original piston-driven machines, these are not for the beginner. Piston driven, or manual lever espresso machines like this La Pavoni EPG-8 will produce very good quality espresso, but only if you really know what you’re doing. Priced upwards of $500.
Semi-Automatic Machines
Now we’re getting into units that can be suitable for beginning espresso enthusiasts. Units like the DeLonghi Pump Espresso Maker are an inexpensive way to start, and they deliver decent quality espresso, but there’s a wide range of quality depending on brand and model, so do your homework and read lots of user reviews before purchasing.
These types of machines are powered by an internal water pump that should be capable of producing at least 9 bars of pressure. Features generally include a single boiler, which means alternating between brewing your espresso and steaming the milk will require a short wait time. You will need a separate conical burr coffee grinder (these alone can run over $60), or buy your coffee pre-ground if using this type of machine. Tamping your coffee grounds is a manual process and can be an art form in itself. Manual pump control means you’re in control of turning the pump on and off to regulate the flow of water through your grounds. The brewing time has to be timed correctly to get good quality espresso. Cleanup is generally simple, but can be messy since you’ll have to remove the grounds every time you pull a shot.
The DeLonghi model was my first machine. It was ok, but setup and cleanup time made it a chore to use. It’s a great education in the process of creating espresso, though. My love affair with it lasted a few months, and then I moved on.
Price range is $100 to $300, plus a conical burr grinder.
Full Automatic Machines
Same as the semi-automatic machines, but the units contain programmable circuitry to automatically stop the flow of water after a certain amount of brewing time. This delivers more consistent results. Be careful in this category as the term “full automatic” is often incorrectly interchanged with the next category, “super automatic”. And “full” is not really accurate, as the machines still require you to manually add the proper amount of coffee, tamp it down, and clean-up after each shot.
Super Automatic Machines
The luxury car of the espresso machine market, the super automatic is everything it sounds like it would be. Majority of commercial coffee shops use heavy duty versions of these machines. Simply fill up the water reservoir, add your whole coffee beans to the bean hopper, power on, hit the button, and get a perfect shot every time.
They automatically grind a preset amount of beans to your exact grind specifications, tamp to the proper compactness, most will pre-infuse with a small amount of water to maximize the flavor extraction, then it will pump the specified amount of water through the grounds with high pressure, extracting your perfect cup of espresso with a thick layer of crema. But wait, there’s more! Following extraction, the grounds automatically dump into an internal dump box that you can empty at your leisure, then the machine smiles at you and joyfully awaits the next time it can serve you. Alright, it doesn’t actually smile, but you will.
Price Range
We mentioned that there’s a wide price range. Expect to pay $300 to $5,000 depending on the bells and whistles, and the brand name you want to get. Personally, my second espresso machine was a $379 Saeco Vienna deluxe, $799 retail that I purchased refurbished off eBay. It worked flawlessly for about 7 years until I sold it (for about $200) and bought a newer Delonghi super automatic unit, which I’ve had ever since.
In this category, they all should include double boilers (that means there are separate boilers for brewing espresso and steaming the milk… this makes the steaming process much faster), dosing and grind settings, and adjustable water dispensing settings. Some higher end models, like the Gaggia Titanium, offer fancier features. Examples include:
- A bypass doser, to let you add pre-ground coffee of a different type than you generally keep in the hopper.
- Options to directly connect to a plumbed water line, thus eliminating the need to refill the water reservoir.
- Multiple programmable buttons for one-touch creation of different drinks.
- An insulated milk container that will auto-froth and dispense milk directly into your drink.
- Warming plate so you can pre-warm your espresso shot glasses.
- Auto-on and auto-off timers so you avoid the dreaded need to push the power button.
The super automatic machines really are a wonderful value and if at all possible, spend the extra money for one… you won’t regret it.
Grinder
I’ve mentioned coffee grinders a few times so far, and I want to make sure to include ample coverage of the options available and why you may or may not need one. The type of machine you choose to buy will dictate whether or not you will also need to buy a grinder. If you choose anything less than the super automatic espresso machine, you’ll need a grinder. You could always choose to have the store grind your coffee beans for you, but you risk having the grind not be correct for your specific machine, which would produce very bitter tasting espresso. And you sacrifice freshness and shorten shelf life having it done ahead of time. So, for those reasons alone I strongly recommend you get your own grinder.
Types of Grinders
There are two basic types of grinders. One is a blade grinder, and the other is a conical burr grinder. Blade grinders are the cheap $20-40 machines on sale at big box retailers. They work fine for drip coffee makers, and are good for mincing fresh herbs. But they rely solely on a spinning blade, they cannot produce consistent enough coffee grounds to make top quality espresso.
So, that leaves you really with one option… the conical burr grinder. Burr grinders will run you $60 or more, but give very finely controlled and highly consistent results. They use cone shaped metal or ceramic burrs as opposed to blades, which let the coffee beans fall vertically into the chamber and then get progressively ground smaller and smaller as they reach the bottom of the burrs.
One main difference in price on these types of grinders is how the motor is geared. It’s easy to put an electric motor in, spin it really fast and grind up some beans. But speed creates friction which creates heat, which kills flavor. So, more expensive bur grinders add two features to reduce the heat: (1) ceramic burrs and (2) geared motors to produce high torque to crush, but keep speed low to prevent heat.
I use a conical burr grinder for other types of coffee besides espresso. And I decided to purchase a Capresso Infinity 565 based on hundreds of positive reviews and a relatively low price (about $90) compared to other highly rated models. This particular model fluctuates in price for some reason. But if you can find a good deal on it, I would highly recommend it. It is quiet, quick, and very consistent in its grinding.