Coffee machines

Coffee maker and coffee machine. What is the difference?

    When choosing a device for brewing coffee, you are faced with a wide selection. Coffee has been brewed in Turks for centuries, and since the first half of the 20th century, when the first espresso coffee makers began to rapidly capture the market, the history of the preparation of the drink underwent a real revolution. Coffee went through the so-called “three waves”. The first wave is the period when coffee was made in cezves or Turks, and sometimes it was simply poured with hot water, about the same as we make tea today. A characteristic feature of this period is that people ordered and simply bought “coffee”, without dividing it into different types of drinks and tastes. The main task was to create an affordable product, familiar, “expected” taste.

    The invention of the espresso machine has revolutionized the way we consume coffee today. Espresso-based drinks arose. Now people had a choice between cappuccino and macchiato, longo and ristretto. In addition, coffee sellers began to focus on the country of origin of the product, the nuances of its taste. The third wave of coffee, which is also called “alternative” coffee, is designed to maximize the taste of grain, to do it in a new way. Here are atypical methods of roasting coffee, and new methods of brewing, including pourovers, siphons, etc.

    What to choose for the house? Depends on how you like to make your coffee. The choice is between the two main castes of devices: coffee machines and coffee makers. Consider their types and differences. The coffee maker assumes human participation in the cooking process. As a rule, coffee needs to be ground, properly placed in the device and control the cooking process. The coffee maker can be electric or “analog”, but in any case it involves the work of a person. In addition, the coffee maker is usually designed for one type of drink. You won’t be able to make a cappuccino or another complicated recipe in it.

Here are the main types of coffee makers:

Mokka coffee maker

    This type of coffee makers has been with us for decades. Mokka pot, was created in 1933 by the Italian engineer Alfonso Bialetti, and quickly came into use. The principle of operation is simple: a moka coffee maker is essentially a jug of two parts - lower and upper. Water is poured into the bottom, coffee is added to the top. When heated on a fire or from the mains, water boils, and steam passes through the ground coffee, brewing a drink. The essence of the work has not changed over the past 90 years, while the volumes of such coffee makers vary. You can buy a very compact, designed for one cup, or volumetric option for the whole family.

Cezva

    Turk or cezve is one of the most ancient devices for making coffee. Moreover, today it is as popular as hundreds of years ago. This is a small metal bucket, usually copper, with a long handle. This method of brewing makes it possible to experiment with the recipe. For example, add ground cardamom or other spices directly to the container.

Drip coffee maker

    This term means a number of similar devices. The point is simple. Ground coffee is poured into a paper or reusable filter, and a container for the finished drink is placed below. Then hot water is poured from above, passing through the coffee powder immediately or gradually. The average brewing time is 5-8 minutes. Some new methods of brewing include drip coffee makers, including Kemex (a glass bulb in the form of an hourglass for brewing coffee through a filter). It is believed that this method is especially good for light roasted coffee, as it smoothes bitterness and gives a rich, aromatic drink.

French press

    The only device on our list that is suitable not only for coffee. French presses also often brew tea and herbal drinks. The brewing method is one of the simplest. Coffee is poured into a glass flask and poured with hot water. The drink is covered with a lid, in which a special piston is integrated. During brewing, the piston remains in the raised position, allowing the coffee to be extracted, and as soon as the drink is ready, the piston is lowered, thereby filtering the thick. The advantages of the French press include its relatively low cost, as well as the simplicity of the design. The disadvantages are not such an intense extraction of aroma as in some other types of brewing.

Purover

    Most often, this term refers to the process when ground coffee is poured into a special paper funnel and then poured with a thin stream of very hot, almost boiling water. The principle itself resembles drip brewing. At the same time, electric coffee makers also exist. In them, the entire process is electronically controlled: water supply, its intensity, and even washing the filter. Everything is automated. The disadvantages of this method include the high cost of such devices and their relative unpopularity.

    Among other devices for alternative brewing, there is often an aero press - a cylindrical device where water is pushed by a piston into the lower tank, and the already mentioned Kemex - a drip brewer with a wooden holder and a wide neck.

    And what is a coffee machine? Its essence is that all processes - grinding of grain, its brewing, and even spilling of coffee are automated and do not require human intervention. It is enough to press the button, and after a few seconds you will get the finished drink. We mentioned the time for a reason. The fact is that coffee machines make a drink quickly enough. Unlike the same drip brewing, the coffee machine needs up to half a minute to make your cup of coffee. At the same time, the choice of drinks is great.

Most coffee machines can cook not only espresso, but also longo, and many will also cope with latte, cappuccino, and other variations of milk drinks.

Here are the main types of modern coffee machines.

Traditional coffeemachines

    Technically, it’s still a coffee maker, because in a professional coffee machines you need to correctly “lay” a portion of ground coffee. It is poured into a special container and rammed tightly, and then inserted into the apparatus. Then everything is based on the principle of making espresso: water under pressure passes through the coffee powder, giving an aromatic drink at the exit. Plus such a machine in a huge number of settings. A competent barista will create a real masterpiece by changing the settings for temperature, steam supply, the amount of coffee to be laid, etc. Among the minuses is the high price, and, oddly enough, the same variability. Without the proper knowledge, making a quality drink can be difficult.

Automatic coffeemachine

    Such machines are designed to prepare a drink at the touch of a button. However, it also has a number of limitations. As a rule, you will not be able to adjust the temperature of the water and other parameters of the preparation, so you will not always be able to influence the brewing process to get exactly the kind of drink you would like.

Supereutomatic coffeemachine

    This is a new generation after automatic machines. Such a machine has a built-in unit for grinding coffee, many of them allow you to precisely adjust the brewing parameters, which can be especially important for coffee houses and catering establishments. Another important advantage is the ability to prepare milk drinks. Cappuccino, latte and macchiato are now available with a single tap. Such a machine usually has an automated self-cleaning cycle, but it is important to remember that even it needs to be cleaned manually from time to time.

Will cars ever replace real barista? Now many argue about this. But at the moment, such a machine is closest to the level of coffee preparation by a real professional.

Capsule's coffeemachine

    Such coffee machines are a real find for home and office. Essentially, you get great espresso without having to keep track of a serving of coffee, pre-grind the grain, etc. A ready-made coffee capsule with precisely calculated volume of the product is laid in the machine, and in just a few seconds you get the finished drink. A nice bonus is that the capsules are hermetically sealed immediately after grinding, so that all the aroma is preserved, while the grain for automatic and super-automatic machines is stored in open packages, and the aroma is weathered. Another plus is the ability to choose capsules of different tastes. For standard machines, as a rule, a large package of grain of one type is purchased, and with capsules you can try new tastes at least every day. In addition, automatic machines of the middle price range make coffee “average” in taste. Due to the presence of a flowing boiler, the water temperature in them is lower, which leads to insufficient extraction of coffee. So if you are a connoisseur - it is better to pay attention to a super-automatic machine or capsule machine. It is important to understand that the cost of the latter is lower than that of the machine, as a rule several times.

    According to a similar principle work and pod coffee machines. The only difference is that instead of sealed capsules, they put a coffee tablet in thin paper packaging. And then the brewing process goes on the same principle as in the capsule coffee machine.

Conclusion

    Coffee makers are compact devices that require your participation in brewing coffee. As a rule, they offer one version of the drink, but some allow you to experiment with the recipe.

Coffee machines are automatic devices where you can brew different espresso-based drinks with the click of a button. However, they may have a higher price and require care.

What is nice, now the issue of price is not a problem. Indeed, when ordering from 50 servings of coffee per month, you get a capsule coffee machine for free use.