Anybody browsing for a coffee machine for home use will no doubt have been overwhelmed by the large number of coffee makers available to you. There are numerous types of coffee makers available from piston coffee machines, automatic coffee makers, bean to cup coffee machines and now even outdoor coffee machines

Anybody browsing for a coffee machine for home use will no doubt have been overwhelmed by the large number of coffee makers available to you.

There are numerous types of coffee makers available from piston coffee machines, automatic coffee makers, bean to cup coffee machines and now even outdoor coffee machines

The best method for selecting the right coffee maker for you is to examine your lifestyle, the type of coffee you want and be honest about how complicated you wish your coffee maker to be, some coffee makers can be hard to master!

It is also a good idea to understand what you want to spend, the cost of the various machines varies significantly from the small portable coffee machines - which make great gifts - to the impressive £500 plus fully automatic coffee makers offered by the likes of Gaggia espresso machines  which are suitable for use in busy coffee chains, an unlikely present even from the most flamboyant.

It is a good idea to read the reviews and try to understand the functionality of the coffee machine prior to purchasing. Here are a few pointers towards certain machines.

Steam-driven machines work by forcing water through the coffee grinds using steam or steam pressure. The first coffee makers were steam models, produced when a common boiler was connected to four group heads so that multiple types of coffee could be produced at the same time. The same design is still used today in the cheapest domestic coffee makers, as it does not need to contain moving parts. Many cheap steam-driven units are offered in combination with a drip-coffee machine.

Piston-driven coffee machines or lever coffee makers were developed in Italy in 1945 by Achille Gaggia, founder of Gaggia coffee machines. The design generically uses a lever, pumped by the user, to pressurize hot water and send it through the coffee. The act of producing a shot of espresso is generally called pulling a shot, because these lever-style espresso machines required pulling a long handle to produce a shot

There are two types of lever machines;  manual piston and spring piston. With the manual piston, the operator directly pushes the hot water through the grounds. In the spring piston design, the operator works to tension a spring, which then delivers the pressure for the coffee (usually 8 to 10 bar).

Pump-driven coffee machines are a refinement of the piston machine, which has become the most popular design in commercial espresso bars. Instead of using manual force, a motor-driven pump makes the force necessary for making espresso. DeLonghi coffee machines are themarket leaders for this type of espresso maker.

Commercial coffee machines or some high spec domestic coffee machines are often attached directly to the water supply on the site; lower spec domestic coffee machines have built-in water reservoirs.

Some home pump coffee makers typically use a single chamber both for heating water to brewing temperature, and to boil water for steamed milk. As the temperature for making espresso is sometimes less than the temperature for making steam, the espresso maker requires time to make the transition from one mode to the other. Water for brewing can pass through a heat exchanger (taking some heat from the steam, without rising to the same temperature). In some espresso machines, for commercial or domestic use, water for brewing is boiled in a separate chamber.

Espresso makers which contain the addition of pumps, sensors, valves, and grinders to automate the brewing process normally are called automatic.

Semi-automatic espresso makers are automatic in the sense water is delivered by a pump, opposed to manual force and the remaining pressure in the basket is used up with a three way valve.

Automatic coffee makers add a flowmeter inline with the grouphead. When the pre determined amount of water has passed through the flowmeter, the pump is automatically turned off and brew pressure let out through a three way solenoid valve.

Super-automatic machines operate by also automatically grinding the coffee beans, tamping it, and extracting; all any user needs to do is fill the bean hopper, and if the coffee machine is not plumbed in a water line, add water to a reservoir. Additionally, super automatic models contain an auto milk frothing and dispensing feature.

Recently air-pressure driven portable espresso machines have come onto the market. A Handpresso is a portable coffee machine. It works by pumping v.high pressure -16 bar- air into an intermediate chamber. Hot water is then poured into a small reservoir, which can contain boiling water for one cup of espresso coffee. Ground coffee is inserted on top of the water reservoir and a portafilter is attached on the top of the water reservoir. The machine is now turned around and the pressure from the storage chamber is released into the water container. The high pressure forces the water through the coffee pod and into the cup, which is positioned under the coffee machine. When the desired amount of espresso is brewed, the pressure is released from the water reservoir and the infusion process ends.

Event Supplies
15/17 Devonshire Street
Keighley
BD21 2BH

Tel: 0844 4995456
Fax: 0844 4995456

http://www.eventsupplies.co.uk/