Espresso: What you need and need to know. Part Three:Espresso Machine

    Third is the espresso machine. Why is the machine third and not first? Because, it is only if the first and second are fulfilled that the espresso machine even matters. But the first and second are fulfilled. Ok then lets talk machines. The first thing you need to do is set a budget. Then you should only look at semiautomatic espresso machines. Disregard automatic ones; they are big, pricey and for the money, well they suck. With an automatic you have no control over anything. They don’t even make great espresso and the ones that make good espresso are just to expensive in my opinion to be justified. As for manual machines, well they are not for beginners. They offer to much control and it can be really hard to get a good shot of espresso. So we are left with the semi-automatic ones, which offer the perfect amount of control for the beginner and the pro alike.
    Now there are three main types of semi-automatic espresso machines out there. Here they are: Single Boiler, Heat Exchanger and Dual Boiler. Now I am going to assume that you’re new to espresso and your budget is not that much. Therefore, Heat Exchanger and Dual Boiler are out of the picture, unless you have over $1000.
       I will focus on Single Boiler, but most of the upcoming recommendations could apply to both Heat Exchanger and Dual Boiler just the same. What should I look for in a good espresso machine? First off you don’t want one that is steam driven, these are not espresso machines. Just avoid them, they are easy to spot, usually sub $60. They are all plastic and very small, no good for espresso. What you want is a pump driven machine, which is the vast majority of the machines available. The next thing you want to see is a brass group head, this is important because brass holds heat very well. Also, try for a machine that uses a 58mm basket in its portafilter, this is the standard size for most machines, especially home ones. As for the portafilter itself, look for a heavy one, most portafilter’s are made of brass with chrome-plaiting        and it should have a comfortable handle, that is what you want .
     Next is the steam, that is, steam for frothing the milk. One thing you don’t want is a machine that doesn’t have a steam knob. Without a steam knob you will not be able to control the amount of steam that is put out. Secondly, you want a non-plastic steam wand. If the wand is plastic that usually means that it has some type of so called “froth-aider”, avoid these “froth-aiders”. A simple chrome-plated brass or chrome-plated copper or even a stainless steal one with a removable tip will do just fine. The learning curve for steaming milk is not to steep, just do it a few times and you will get the hang of it.
    The next thing is build quality. The less plastic the better. Look for aluminum or stainless steel, preferably 18-10 or 18-8, the first of the two being the best. Try finding a machine with heavy duty switches/ buttons with bright indicator lights. As for the number of buttons, switches or knobs, you will need four; one for power, one for brew, one for steam ,and a steam control knob, that is a minimum, you could have many more. What about those gauges? Not completely necessary, nice but they will not improve your coffee. Weight and stability also matter, because when you’re securing the portafilter in place, with coffee in the basket it will be a tight fit, even after the tamp(the tamp will be explained in next section). So, if your machine is to light or not stable or both, it will slide or tip as your trying to secure the portafilter. Another thing to consider is the water reservoir, the bigger the better. You could use as much as 18oz of water per shot, between temp surfing, brew and cleanup. Also, a reservoir that is easy to fill and one that can be removed is best, especially for cleaning. Another thing to look at is the drip tray, both the capacity and the ease of access and removal.
    One thing that is often over looked is the ease of getting spare parts, especially gaskets as they WILL go bad, so being able to find them is important. So before you decide on your machine take a look around for some basic parts like: the group head gasket, steam valve O-ring, Steam Wand O-ring and boiler gasket, of coarse other things could fail but these are the most common part failures.
    Is there anything else I should look at? Yah, there is a lot more to an espresso machine that I did not talk about, however, if you use the recommendations you should be good to go. Also, before you buy do some research, find out if the machine your looking at has any endemic problems. Try to find someone on a forum that has the machine you like. Ask some questions but remember that people tend to like what they bought. I guess it is a pride thing, few people will admit that they bought a piece of junk, or made a bad decision, especially if they cannot return it. Ask for the downsides or problems, as no machine has no problems. Take all things with a grain of salt(remain a skeptic, yes, even with what I write).


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Espresso: What you need and need to know. Part Three: Espresso Machine by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.