Thanks to the commercialized coffee industry espresso has become of of the worlds most popular coffee based drinks. Espresso machines can be found in coffee houses as well as the average persons home these days and there are many options available.
In 1901 people saw their first glimpse of the espresso coffee maker. There have been several different variations since then. Most, however, include a few of the same basic parts. The portafilter, for example, which uses a small metal basket to hold the grounds. A steam wand on these makers is pretty common as well. The steam wand steams the milk and then froths it for certain espresso based drinks.
There are four common styles of the espresso coffee machine. Each of these will be briefly discussed in the text following. Each one has it’s own unique aspects.
Piston: Achille Gaggia, the founder of the manufacturer Gaggia, created the piston driven espresso coffee machine in 1945. This type of coffee machine is easy to use by way of a lever being pumped by the user to force hot water through the grounds. The term “pulling a shot” derived from the usage of this coffee machine since it requires pulling the lever multiple times to get the outcome that you want. There are two main types of the piston style machine, manual and spring driven. Manual requires the user to push the hot water through the grounds by simply pulling on the lever while spring driven requires the user to tension a spring which in turn builds the pressure needed to make the drink.
Pump: Pump style espresso coffee makers work off of a motorized pump. This pumps builds the force needed to brew the drink properly. This is the type of coffee maker you will see most often in coffee shops because it gets the job done quickly. Commercial styles are hooked in to the buildings plumbing making them ideal for business use while cheaper versions that are normally used at home come with a built in water reservoir.
Steam: Steam driven espresso coffee machines are just as simple as they sound. Steam pressure builds to push the water through the coffee grounds and it is about as simple as that. The first espresso coffee machines created employed this type of functioning and because they require no moving parts are still used today because of the cheap manufacturing process.
Air Pressure: Air pressure espresso coffee makers are hand held and pump highly pressurized air into a chamber to get the result that you want. These only make one cup of coffee at a time however. The commonly known name for this style of coffee machine is Handpresso, created by Nielsen Innovation in 2006. The product hit stores shelves soon after in 2007 and has gained much popularity.
If you are looking to add an espresso maker to your home or business you can see that you have a lot of options. The setting and frequency in which you will be using the coffee machine should be a big factor in your purchase decision. The price range on espresso machines are vast and brand and ability play a huge role in the sticker price. All will give you the same result in the end, great espresso drinks.
