How to choose the right coffee machine for you-the difference between fully automatic and semi-automatic espresso machines

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When you want to buy a coffee machine, the so-called penny is worth the goods, the price reflects the quality, in addition to the appearance of the shell you see, the focus is on the brewing principle of the grinding beans inside the machine, the manufacturing materials of important parts, the overall quality, and whether there is a perfect after-sales service. Actually go to the scene to see the coffee machine, ask the professionals, and observe the coffee making process on the spot, after thinking and comparing, it is the best way to buy.

Before buying a coffee machine, a few questions can be stopped, watched and listened to:

Where will coffee machines be placed in the future? At home, or in the office, or in restaurants, cafes, and other places of business?

How many cups per month is expected? 30 to 80 cups or more than 100 cups?

What is the point of hoping for this coffee machine? Is it simply black coffee or automatic foam latte? Is it necessary to be able to make coffee quickly and continuously and in large quantities? Or a variety of drinks?

How many people will operate coffee machines in the future? Is manpower sufficient? Is the staff stable?

These questions suggest that you think about them. The biggest use, you can take the preliminary idea, ask the relevant store, seller, any coffee manufacturer, whether you can answer the answer to your satisfaction. This is the quickest way to find the right coffee maker and prove that the other party is a good, professional manufacturer.

The difference between automatic and semi-automatic espresso machines

The biggest difference between a fully automatic espresso machine and a semi-automatic espresso machine lies in the action and difficulty required to make coffee. Semi-automatic coffee machine, if operated by a skilled barista, brewed coffee will indeed be better than automatic coffee, if considering the limited space for operation and placement, it is recommended to choose automatic coffee machine.

Fully automatic espresso machines-usually compact in size and small in space. As long as the water tank and coffee beans pour the appropriate amount, as long as one finger (one touch), the fully automatic coffee machine officially grinds, fills, until a cup of coffee is brewed, completely relying on the equipment to brew a cup of coffee, very easy.

Semi-automatic espresso machines-first of all, if commercial, usually larger volume. It needs half of the manpower to operate, first use the bean grinder to grind coffee powder, put it into the holder powder cup groove, apply equal force to fill the pressure, right above the brewing head of the semi-automatic coffee machine, lock the upper handle to position it, and press the button to get coffee liquid. Semi-automatic coffee machine, only responsible for pressure extraction brewing, so the operator needs to know more skills. Whether this cup of coffee tastes good or not depends on the coffee technology of the bar hand, and manpower is the biggest key.

Choose a fully automatic espresso machine or semi-automatic coffee machine, preferably to see the actual machine on site, and can actually brew coffee, observe whether the brewing process meets the needs.

Automatic espresso machine selection focus:

Stable quality control-a good automatic coffee machine is to adjust to a satisfactory taste, can set this taste fixed as a parameter, that is, the standard SOP for making coffee is recorded in the coffee machine in a parametric manner, and there is no problem in continuously making several cups. During daily operation, even if different personnel operate the fully automatic coffee machine, it can still maintain stable and consistent coffee production quality.

Easy to operate, easy to learn, fast to make-in response to different sales/provide coffee environment, should choose easy to operate and learn coffee machine, the excellent benefits of coffee machine can reach the maximum value; for example, in breakfast shops, restaurants and other business businesses, can quickly make a cup of delicious ground coffee in a short time.

Taste adjustment can be controlled-select good professional coffee machine, recommended to have the function of adjusting coffee taste. It can adjust the grinding thickness, the amount of coffee beans, the temperature of coffee making, etc., all of which determine the flavor of a cup of coffee. You can actually taste the difference.

Lightweight size does not take up space-also according to the environment in which the coffee machine is used, there is a need for flexible use of space and scheduling. The automatic coffee machine combines the bean grinder with the coffee boiler in the same body, from grinding, brewing extraction, making coffee, One Touch one step, but also greatly increases space usage.

Semi-automatic espresso machine selection focus:

Semi-automatic coffee machine, only responsible for pressure extraction brewing Espresso, if you have high specifications for Espresso extraction brewing, creamy taste, need to provide a variety of coffee drinks, there are also dedicated bar hands responsible for making drinks, you can choose semi-automatic coffee machine. In the market, there are many semi-automatic coffee machines with bright appearance and standard. It is recommended to choose European imported products, brand awareness, commercial models, and the most important thing is that there are specialized service manufacturers in nearby cities who can handle the follow-up teaching (complete teaching knowledge of making coffee series related drinks), maintenance, maintenance and various service needs.

If you plan to use a semi-automatic coffee machine, you will also need a bean grinder, which is an important basis for making a good cup of espresso. It is an indispensable tool for coffee machines, which determines the quality of grinding. It is recommended to choose the original import, brand awareness, commercial models, excellent professional grinding machine grinding coffee powder, to be fine and average, grinding speed should not be too slow, if the funds permit, choose quantitative grinding machine, powder amount can be fixed, easier to achieve Espresso excellent extraction standards.

Traditional Espresso is defined as 7~9 grams of Italian coffee beans, ground into very fine coffee powder, after 8~9 atmospheric pressure (bar) high pressure and about 90~95 degrees Celsius high temperature, in a short period of 25~ 30 seconds, fast extraction of 30-45cc of espresso liquid.

Therefore, whether the quality of the machine is excellent, several key points to consider: boiler design, pressure and temperature can be stable; continuous production of coffee, hot milk foam, hot water, etc. can maintain the standard temperature; can make more than 200 cups of coffee per hour; brewing extraction is complete; with fresh and excellent coffee beans, brewed Espresso surface whether there is coffee crema (Crema); steam bubble tube steam strength, hot water and stability.

Generally speaking, European original imports, brand awareness, commercial models can basically meet the above high requirements, the next step needs to consider whether to provide derivative changes in drinks, such as flavor latte, mocha, cocoa ole, black tea latte, matcha latte, each different drink, according to different raw material sources to adjust the proportion of raw materials, and to consider the maximum possible number of visitors at the peak time of consumption of the place of sale.

After-sales service is very important

Then there is the bar line planning design, and all drinks with the fluency of the use of water and electricity pipeline configuration, etc., so absolutely need experienced, professional manufacturers as consulting objects. After the formal start of operation, when faced with any difficult problems, manufacturers should be able to provide complete use of teaching, after-sales warranty, timely maintenance services, to solve problems for you. These are key points to consider when choosing a coffee machine.