Selection and purchase of Italian Coffee Machine

(By: professor Kafa)

Of course, the selection and purchase of Italian coffee machine should be divided into two categories: family and professional. Because they are completely different.

First, household espresso machine:

In principle, it is "impossible" for families to make espresso. That's why mocha pots are almost always used in Italian families. Maybe Italians have reached a consensus that they don't learn to make coffee themselves, because it's too difficult. So everyone went to the street for coffee. This is the commercial significance of espresso.

Nowadays, Americans may be willing to spend money and money on it because it is too difficult to find good coffee, or because they have spare money and time.

There is also a type of coffee maker in Italy, which is mainly used by baristas at home. Commonly known as semi-professional coffee machine; prosumer machines. For example, ECM's Giotto coffee machine (http://www.ecm-espresso.it/product/GIOTTOPR.htm). Although this is more suitable for small coffee shops, it cannot be imported now because of the restrictions of the domestic certification system. Or a better home coffee machine, such as Miss Silvia of Rancilio (note that Americans use this machine at home with a PID thermostat; otherwise it is difficult to guarantee a good coffee). Such machines usually use professional handles, but the boilers are very small and the pumps are mainly vibrating pumps. But semi-professional E61 bubble head is often used, so it is good to use.

But who can afford that kung fu? Mainly baristas are best used at home.

Professional Italian coffee machine:

Generally speaking, professional machines are good, mainly made in Italy. Of course, some of them are leather and solid, while others are not very useful and easy to break. Especially automatic ones. Because of the electronic control board, the quality of this kind of products is not very good and it is easy to break down. In comparison, manual (of course, not "real" lever type, but "small" lever type) and semi-automatic ones are less prone to failure. The manual one is a mechanical switch, which can hardly be broken. The semi-automatic power switch is very large, the wire is very thick, and it is difficult to damage. Especially if there is no local dealer to provide maintenance and warranty, it is best to use this kind of machine.

Some people attach importance to the appearance, but don't forget that usually only the good machine business is good and the profit is good, so you have the money to make the machine look better. So appearance is not entirely meaningless. The simplest thing is not to have plastic parts.

E61 bubble head, this is a special part. This is the best way to use professional machines. Because it has two advantages, one is to use the hot water in the boiler to constantly heat the bubble head to avoid the temperature of the bubble head being too low. The most important thing is that this brewing head has an automatic "pre-soaking" function, which is very convenient for production. Otherwise, manual "pre-immersion" is not easy to grasp, easy to forget, and may be operated improperly. Machines with this function are slightly more expensive than ordinary machines, but the price difference is not very large. Generally speaking, the price of a professional coffee machine is not obvious.

Then there is the double pressure gauge, which, of course, refers to the vibrating pump. The pressure gauges used by some machines are not accurate enough, which is not convenient to adjust the pressure.

Now many people emphasize the control of temperature, including David schomer. So there are some newly developed coffee machines with direct temperature display and temperature adjustment functions. But although this kind of machine is easy to use, because many parts are electronic products, it is best to find a local dealer to provide warranty and maintenance services. Otherwise, the operation of the coffee shop may be affected.

Last but not least, you'd better buy a new machine. Second mobile phones are often used for a long time, if there is no fault, it is time to break down. So it is likely to encounter maintenance problems when using it. Or if you do not understand the fault of the machine, it may affect the production of coffee without knowing it. This is even worse.