19 November 2007 by Scott Stadler
Home Espresso: The Complete Buyer’s Guide (part 3)
Fickle Palate presents the Home Espresso Complete Buyer’s Guide.
Chapter 1 - Intro, Vocabulary, and Awesome Reasons
Chapter 2 - Essential Components of Café-Quality Home Espresso
Chapter 3 - Getting More Familiar with Espresso Machines
Chapter 4 - Recommended Grinders
Chapter 5 - Recommended Espresso Machines
Chapter 6 - Accessories & Troubleshooting
Tips for Making Superb Espresso
Most experienced espresso fanatics unanimously agree that the grind of the coffee beans is the most important aspect of the entire espresso process – focus first on achieving the perfect grind.
Use an espresso machine that is comfortable and easy to understand. This varies for the barista, but it could be an artful (but finicky) manual lever machine or it could be a totally automated device.
Ultimately, superb espresso comes down to consistency.
While learning the ropes, try keeping all things the equal all the time. For example, a tried and true formula for success would be: 9 bars of pressure; a temperature of 195 degrees; a 20-to-25 second pull; and 30 pounds of pressure to tamp down the coffee grounds. This leaves only one element for adjustment – how finely the beans are ground.
Getting More Familiar with Espresso Machines
The easiest way to get familiar with espresso machines is to understand the different terminology unique to them. As espresso-based coffee drinks are quite a bit different than the drip or percolated coffee that we’ve grown to know so well, it helps to forget all about regular coffee for awhile and instead to think of espresso as a totally different drink with a very unique set of equipment. Let’s get a little more familiar with espresso machines by looking at the components.
Steam Powered “Espresso” Machines – While they might make good strong coffee, steam powered “espresso” makers are not the real thing. They just don’t produce the pressure needed to make real espresso and they’re not capable of creating the ever-desirable crema.
Lever Espresso Machines – This is the earliest form of the espresso machine and they are still popular today amongst those who appreciate the art of good coffee. The lever, sometimes aided by spring power, hydraulically forces heated water through the coffee to create espresso. Although they can make a really great shot of espresso, the learning curve is steep – therefore, they’re not the best option for the faint of heart or for novice home use. We’ll be focusing on automatic pump powered machines here.
Automatic Espresso Machines – Automatic espresso machines are usually the type best suited for home and professional use. They’re powered by an electric pump instead of manual lever action, allowing for powerful pressure capabilities and ultra reliable consistency. Semi-auto machines simply use an on and off switch to activate the pump – the barista still has full control over timing. Fully automatic machines add some extra features such as programmable pull times, taking some of the feel and touch ability away from the user. Semi-autos are generally the most accepted by fanatics for their balance of power, control, and tweakablity.
Ultra-Automatic Espresso Machines – These modern marvels of espresso machines literally do it all, from grinding the coffee beans to pumping out the finished product with just the right amount of crema. They’re pretty fancy, but they do take some of the control and artfulness out of the extraction process. And the price is another factor altogether.
Portafilter – If you picture the handle sticking out of the front of an espresso maker, that’s the handle of the portafilter. The portafilter is the metal basket that actually holds the tamped ground coffee.
Boiler – An espresso machine’s boiler is where the water is heated and the steam for the steamer attachment gets created. Brass is traditionally considered an excellent material for the boiler because of its superb heat retention properties, but it’s also quite common to find aluminum or stainless steel.
Pump – All automatic espresso machines derive their pressure from an electrically powered pump. The quality varies by manufacturer and the price of the machine. Some pumps make quite a racket as they operate, but that’s just how they’re designed to work.
Brew Group – In a nutshell, the brew group is just a fancy way to describe the internal plumbing the carries the heated water from the boiler to its final destination of the coffee in the portafilter’s basket. Good thermal retention qualities are important here.
Steam Wand – An attachment on the espresso machine that uses steam produced by the boiler to steam heat and froth milk or other liquids used in espresso-based drinks.
Do’s and Don’ts of Buying Espresso Machines
- Don’t pay for extras that you won’t use. Simple is probably better.
- Do look for clear, easy-to-read gauges and indicator lights.
- Don’t worry too much about the cup warming feature. It’s a nice addition, but it will probably still be necessary to preheat the cups via other methods.
- Do aim for switches that feel solid.
- Don’t buy a machine that has a one push on and off button instead of a variable knob control for the steam wand. Precise control is important here.
- Do consider the ease of cleaning a machine.