Espresso Coffee Makers – Cut Through the Confusion for a Better Cup of Coffee
Espresso coffee makers abound. Go to any department store or kitchen supply shop and you’re met with a bewildering array of coffee machines. And all you wanted was a great cup of coffee! So how do you choose the best coffee maker for you? One of your first considerations will be your budget and you can produce a great cup of coffee from a reasonably priced machine. Let’s review some of the different types of coffee makers currently available.
Coffee at a slow drip.
The drip coffee maker is the most popular in the US today. Most homes use these on a daily basis and they are ever present in hotel rooms. They can range in style from a simple plastic funnel with a filter to produce 1 cup or a 6 cup pot, to large automatic machines that can be programmed to produce 12 cup pots or even vacuum pots for coffee on the go!
They all essentially work the same way, by passing hot water slowly through the coffee grounds which are held in a filter basket – usually lined with filter paper. There are some that have a fine re-usable mesh filter, but these can allow some of the grounds through into your coffee. However they are more eco-friendly and you’ll never run out of filter papers!
The simple machines are very cheap, with the cost scale moving up as you add more options, such as automatic timers, more the expensive pots, such as the vacuum pot or stainless steel pot. Some of the newer drip coffee makers now even come with grinders so you can get the freshest brew possible. The coffee these makers produce is not really espresso, but by using very good coffee beans and even grinding them yourself, a very good cup of coffee can be produced quickly and from an inexpensive coffee maker. Still have a hankering for an espresso on a budget?
Stove Top Coffee Makers and Percolators
This is the most popular coffee maker in Italy – home of the espresso. These machines are usually just pots that go onto a stove top and can produce an excellent cup of coffee, even with the crema effect of genuine espresso. Just fill the bottom half with water, the filter basket with coffee and heat on the stove at low heat until it gurgles. It takes between 5 and 10 minutes, so it’s about the same time as a drip machine.
For the more hi tech amongst you there are now also electric versions available that just plug in. The heated water percolates through the coffee grounds and produces a fantastic espresso like coffee. It also has no moving or electrical parts (on the stove top models) so taken care of it will last for years.
Need a Singe Cup?
Fairly new to the market are the one cup coffee makers. The majority of these (except the drip type mentioned above) use special coffee pods to produce the coffee. This is a great alternative for households that only have one coffee drinker, or for those that like different flavors of coffee (the pods come in a variety of flavors and styles). The down side is that the special pods can be expensive verses buying coffee at the store or at a coffee shop.
But I Really Want a Genuine Espresso!
For those of you who can’t live without an espresso we go to the most expensive of the coffee makers – the espresso machines. You can quite literally spend thousands on a top of the line machine, but will it make better coffee than one that costs a couple of hundred. Well not really. You’ll be paying for extra features and better build quality. These are fairly complex machines and don’t last for ever.
Pushing water through the packed coffee under pressure will take its toll so the best way to decide what machine to buy is to look at your coffee drinking habits and what you’ll be using it for. If you’re an occasional espresso drinker then an espresso machine will fit the bill.
If you’re a ritualistic espresso and coffee drinking look for a combination coffee and espresso maker in the middle of the range. Need a regular caffeine hit and want all the latest in grid and brew, pressing and milk steaming? Then a top of the line home coffee maker will fit the bill and you can produce the perfect espresso on demand.
Home | Store| About | Privacy | Terms Of Use | Contact| Sitemap