The art of the espresso — Macchina

Calibrating my grinder — Double shot in progress

Coffee is a commodity that represents a lot of effort, from the agricultural process, trading, logistics, shipping, roasting, blending, grinding, brewing, and finally delivered to your very own cup.

Yet it is in a shot of espresso that coffee gets a sophistication level that involves The Four ‘M’s (as described in the Rocket Espresso manuals):

1. Macinatura. The correct grinding of a coffee blend
2. Miscela. The coffee blend
3. Macchina. The espresso machine
4. Mano. The skilled hand of the barista

Again, citing the Rocket Espresso manual:

Once each factor of the four M’s is precisely controlled, you will have prepared an espresso beverage that is the ultimate coffee experience.

Isn’t it amazing?

Don’t get me wrong, I do think that brewing in my beloved V60 can be sophisticated, but when we talk about a good shot of espresso several factors can contribute to a really bad shot.

Today I will focus on the Macchina specifically on describing those aspects that you should consider when you are looking to get an espresso machine. So let’s get started:

1. A quick overview of the external parts of an espresso machine
2. The boiler systems

A quick overview of the external parts of an espresso machine

If you are new to the espresso machines world, you will need some vocabulary

• Brew group head. This is one of the most essential parts of the machine, this is where the brewing happens, the water will flow from the boiler to the group head, and it will be concentrated for ~ 25/30 seconds for the coffee brewing process.
• Portafilter. It’s the basket where the coffee grounds will be collected, usually, you will have two portafilters, a single one for single-shots and a double, for double-shots of espresso.
• Steam wand. This is the little pipe located on one of the sides of the machine, it’s purpose is to steam milk.
• Tamper. This handy device will help you to gently group and press the coffee grounds into the portafilter, to create an even surface for the coffee extraction.
• Drip tray. After each extraction, the group head will throw hot water once the brewing process is done (backflushing), the drip tray is this container that will collect this hot water, avoiding a potential mess in your kitchen.

Espresso Machine — External parts

The boiler systems

The first thing I had to learn is that not all espresso machines are the same, some of the machines can brew coffee and still have the power or capacity to steam milk at the same time. While other machines can only do one thing at a time.

Which one is better for you? — Well it depends on what you are looking for, it depends on your budget and in your use case. Let’s dig in a bit more:

Single boiler

This literally means that the machine has one boiler internally, and it is used used to either brewing espresso or for frothing milk.

Pros

1. The espresso quality is not being comprised by having just one boiler (this is not a Nespresso of course), your machine should use around 9 bars of pressure to extract the juicy syrup from the coffee.
2. The majority of single boiler machines are quite compact and are more easily adaptable to almost any kitchen.
3. The milk steamer will have enough power to make that delicious micro-foam needed for your Latte or Cappuccino.
4. Usually, single boiler espresso machines are the most accessible machines in terms of price.

Cons

1. You will have to do one thing at a time (brew coffee or steam milk).
2. In some machines, you have to wait a couple of seconds or 1 minute, so the boiler can have time to recover from the pressure lost in the previous action.
3. Sometimes in the mid-low-end machines, the quality of the accessories (Portafilters, wands, drip tray) feels a bit cheap, this is not the case with high-end single boiler machines.
4. Not suitable for industrial use.

Hybrid boiler (Heat exchanger)

Here is where you can start brewing coffee and steaming at the same time.

A heat exchanger system will have a boiler with an additional unit which is designed to exchange the heat, so the dedicated unit for brewing is always ready with the desired temperature and at the same time the unit for the steam wand is ready to throw pressure for your milk. Without going too deep into technical details, these two units get water from the tank in two different pipes (sort of speak) and this is a key part of the process, to keep temperature and pressure on the point.

Pros

1. You guessed it, you can brew and steam milk simultaneously without compromising the pressure for coffee extraction and vice versa. This is fantastic when you have a big family or friends visiting you and you don’t want to spend a long time brewing espresso-based drinks.
2. Most of the time, the details and built-in functions in the machine are better than single boilers.

Cons

1. If you are totally into coffee and you do care about temperature control, most of the time heat exchangers don’t come with a way to change the temperature settings. But this will not be a problem for the majority of home baristas.
2. The price increases a bit compared to single-boiler machines.
3. The size of the machines increases a little bit, you may need more space in your kitchen.

Dual boilers

Consistency, consistency, consistency

Dual boilers machines come with separate boilers for brewing and for steaming, this is useful to achieve the next level of consistency in every shot of espresso.

Forget about waiting a couple of seconds/minutes so the machine can prepare for the next brew or milk steaming, dual boilers machines will be ready to be heavily used during the whole day. This makes them perfect for a high-end espresso machine for home use or a solid started for a small coffee shop.

Pros

1. Ignoring the coffee and grinding variables, these machines aim to be consistent on every single shot of espresso.
2. Expect to have several useful features on the machine such as temperature control, pre-infusion modes, and heat settings, just to mention a few.
3. Commercial ready. Most of the commercial espresso machines are multi-boilers.

Cons

1. Cost. Multi-boiler machines are not cheap.
2. Multiple functions = Multiple reasons to do maintenance.

So which one is better for you?

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the purpose of this machine?
2. Your budget
3. The space available in the kitchen

Portafilter — Single shot

Here is a basic scenario that may be helpful:

Bob and Sandy

Say Bob works from home and is looking for an espresso machine. He knows that the only two persons who will use it are his wife Sandy and himself.

Based on their usual coffee consumption, they think they will be brewing 3 to 4 espresso-based drinks per day, and they don’t mind waiting a few secs so the machine can recover pressure for milk steaming.

Their budget is 800 EUR for the whole set (machine, grinder, and accessories).

Suggestion: Based on the conversation with Bob and Sandy, I would suggest them a single boiler machine, it’s a good start in the espresso world and for 800 EUR they could get something like:

• Gaggia classic + grinder (~ 700 EUR)
• Rancilio Silvia (Miss Silvia) + grinder (~800 EUR)
• A QuickMill Orione + grinder (~ 790 EUR)

Notice I didn’t mention anything about grinders, and it was intentionally, there is a lot to talk about grinders as well and it would better to have a separate post for this (The art of the espresso — Macinatura)

But as a rule of thumb, stay away from the “good looking” machines that come with a grinder embedded in the machine, those are not worth the money

Not all single boilers are created equal, some brands are distinguished by their super top-quality on everything that they do, here are a couple of single boilers from some of the most respected brands in the espresso world

1. Rocket Espresso (Milano)
2. ECM (Germany)

You bought a machine already … now what?

Here are some useful tips in case you already bought a machine, regardless of the brand and boilers

1. Espresso machines need to pre-heat, usually, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to heat the machine after you turn it on in the morning. This is also necessary to reach the correct pressure to start brewing.
2. Flush the group head before putting the portafilter in the machine, this will help the group head to eliminate any excess pressure accumulated in the head, and as a side effect, this will help clean any residues left behind in the previous extraction
3. Flush the group head after each shot, once the brewing process is done, remove the portafilter and flush the group head.
4. Make sure to use “soft water”, if you live in an area where the water is heavy in minerals, try using a water filtering system or buy bottles of water for your coffee. Good water is an essential variable in a good cup of coffee
5. Do not descale your machine, you could cause damage to the components, stick to the instructions on your machine, usually they recommend to send it to service every 2 years.
6. Keep clean, dry, and organized the area where you operate the machine. I bought a special set of towels only for cleaning and for wiping the wands.
7. Clean the group head by backflushing with hot water and/or with the cleaning tablets suggested by the manufacturer. You should do this every 2 weeks.

Espresso machines are beautiful, useful, and complex at the same time, but hopefully, this post leaves you with a better idea of what you should be looking for before buying a machine.