How to Choose Home Coffee Machine

Looking for a coffee machine to make delicious coffee at home? Because of the low cost and convenience, many people are considering buying a coffee machine for their family. But what should you consider when it comes to choosing the right coffee machine?

 

Manual Coffee Machine Vs Automatic Coffee Machine

In general, home coffee machines can be divided into two categories, manual coffee machine and automatic coffee machine. Manual coffee machine we usually refer to that people need to make coffee and steam milk by themselves, whereas automatic coffee machine does not usually have that freedom to adjust every element in making coffee, but to make the coffee with just one button.

The commonly seeing popular electric manual coffee machine is brands like Breville or Delonghi, e.g. Breville Barista Express. You could grind coffee beans, adjust grinding size, changing the coffee dose, adjust extraction, and steam the milk to make latte art. It usually require higher level of coffee making knowledge, and experience in tasting the coffee so as to ensure coffee tastes are right. 

There are also some non electric manual coffee makers, like AeroPress, easy to carry and could make filter coffee on the go.

Automatic coffee machines on the other hand, is great for people who do not have much experiences of making coffee, or those who want to have a great cup of coffee out of the fresh coffee beans, with minimum adjustments.

 

 

What Factors Contribute to How Good A Coffee Machine Is?

We all know that a good commercial coffee machine could be super pricy, and when it comes to home coffee machine, things do not change. Why coffee machines are so expensive?

 

Coffee Beans Grinding

Higher end of coffee machines usually do not have grinders built in, and a separate coffee grinder is required. Because of the grinder complexity and higher requirement on durability and stability, a commercial grinder is usually separated from the coffee machine itself. From home usage perspective, however, we do not think it is really required. A general 5 people family would drink a maximum of 10-15 coffees a day, and a built in grinder inside the coffee machine could bring convenience and less maintenance.

 

How Many Boilers Inside Coffee Machine?

A boiler inside coffee machine refers to the capacity that coffee machine can hold hot water and keep that consistency. The more boilers a coffee machine have, the stronger the capacity it is to make espresso and steam at the same time. This is similar concept compared to how many cylinders inside a car engine, the more cylinders, the strong engine output it is. The price for more coffee boilers is higher electricity demand and higher pricing point.

Take Sanremo Café Racer for example, it is a professional high end commercial coffee machine. The 3 group head Café racer could have as many as 7 boilers inside, allowing the machine to continuously provide stable steam for two steamers, whereas the hot water unit, and 3 espresso unit could all work separately.

On the other hand, most home coffee machines under $2,000 would only have one boiler, and you will not see more than 2 boilers in home coffee machines.

The main reason is because the balance between cost and actual need. We do not need to make that much quantity of coffee at the same time at home, and home usage is usually of lower volume. Adding too many boilers inside the coffee machine is a waste of energy.

 

Installation & Maintenance

A professional coffee machine usually require professional installation, e.g. connect to a 3 phase power point, water filtration, pump installation, waste management, etc. A home coffee machine, however, usually have a built in cold water tank, and you could chuck the waste water easily.

 

 

Are Pod Coffee Machines worth it?

Pod coffee machines are known for how easy it is to handle. Those machines are usually of low pricing point, do not require too much professional knowledge of adjusting grinding setting, extraction, etc.

However there are many disadvantages for Pod Coffee Machines.

 

Coffee Dose

A coffee pod usually have about 5-6g of coffee, much less than a single shot required amount. (A standard single shot of coffee requires 10-12g of coffee). This would result in lighter taste in coffee, and not enough caffine.

 

Coffee Freshness

This is probably the most important part, as we all know that after coffee beans are grinded into powder, it is best to consume it right away instead of leaving it there, with the flavors and aroma disappear very quickly. If you are a coffee addict, it is highly recommended to invest in the proper coffee machine that would consume coffee beans.

 

The Bottom Line

It does not cost too much to invest in a proper coffee machine and start enjoying your coffee journey. At Breeze Valley, we offer our exclusive members the Coffee Beans & Machine Subscription, and you will have access to a coffee machine & get coffee beans delivered every month from just $29 per week, plus you will own the coffee machine for $1 at the end of the 12 months term.