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Why am I suddenly mentioning automatic home coffee machines?
When you’re at home and crave a delicious espresso or an Americano, you find yourself in a dilemma.
1. Drip?
2. Espresso-based Machine Extraction?
3. Or Capsules?
For Drip:
In the case of option 1, you need to go through a series of preparation steps, such as boiling water while grinding coffee beans, attaching a filter to the dripper, and so on.
For Espresso Machines:
Option 2 takes more time. Depending on the machine, if it requires preheating, you typically need to turn it on for at least 40 minutes before extraction.
Even for models like Breville 900, with a relatively fast preheating time, it usually takes around 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, you select and grind the beans, put them in the portafilter, tamp, and then go through the process of extracting and handling the coffee puck.
For making lattes, you need to steam milk using the steam feature, clean the steam wand after steaming, and clean the steam feature (dishwashing) to finish.
Of course, making a delicious coffee is not easy for beginners.
Depending on the grind size, the amount of coffee beans, the intensity of tamping, and many other variables, you need to consider various factors, making it quite challenging.
For Capsule Machines:
Option 3 is the most convenient among the three. The preheating time is only 1-2 minutes, press a button, add coffee to the capsule, and discard the coffee capsule when finished.
However, there are drawbacks. You have to drink coffee made from capsules with beans whose roasting time you cannot determine, and you can only use capsules made by companies, limiting your options.
Of course, tools are available for grinding your desired beans and putting them in DIY capsules for extraction, but if you can’t commit to such dedication, it’s wiser to go with an espresso machine.
So, let’s go back to the very first line.
At home, lying down, craving a cup of coffee.
However, I don’t want all these processes, and I want a quick cup of coffee, a delicious one! What is the most suitable option?
Advantages of Home Automatic Coffee Machines
Simplicity:
Most of the processes mentioned above are omitted.
Since the machine performs all the processes automatically, from preparing the beans, grinding, extracting, to cleaning, you can easily enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.
All you need to prepare is the beans that suit your taste.
Convenience:
You can adjust the concentration, quantity, temperature, etc., of the coffee to your liking.
Nowadays, with the integration of machines and smartphone apps, precise control is possible, allowing you to create your own recipes.
Having a coffee life that follows the routine is good, but sometimes it’s also good to have variations.
Diversity:
You can make various types of coffee, such as espresso, Americano, caffe latte, cappuccino, mocha, etc. Especially for lattes with milk, it may be a bit cumbersome to clean after use, but nowadays, products that improve even that aspect are available.
Disadvantages of Home Automatic Coffee Machines
Price:
The price is higher compared to regular coffee machines.
However, considering that the significant increase in price comes from the word ‘full-auto,’ replacing the cost of human labor with machines, it may not be a disadvantage.
In a busy modern society, being able to replace ‘our time and effort to make a cup of coffee’ without stress is perhaps the most significant advantage of a home automatic coffee machine.
Maintenance:
Frequent use may lead to the aging of parts, and replacement or repair costs may occur.
However, this is not a unique disadvantage of automatic machines; it applies to all products, whether automatic, semi-automatic, or manual.
Cleaning:
Actually, cleaning was the most troublesome issue for automatic machines.
In the case of popular Philips (Saeco) products, when the red light (cleaning alert) comes on, you must finish the cleaning process to use the machine.
However, the cleaning process is very inconvenient and cumbersome.
Nowadays, technology has advanced, and automatic cleaning is possible with automatic machines.
So, depending on the model, cleaning can be a disadvantage or an advantage.
Considerations When Buying a Home Automatic Coffee Machine
Number of Users:
Home automatic coffee machines come in various capacities, suitable for single-person households to households with four or more people.
It’s essential to choose a machine with the right capacity for the number of users.
Coffee Extraction Function:
Check if the product can make various types of coffee, such as espresso, Americano, caffe latte, cappuccino, etc.
Additional Features:
Check for additional features such as automatic cleaning, reservation function, etc.
So, What Should You Buy?
These days, considering design elements, choosing home appliances has become more challenging.
Also, it’s wise to buy products from companies that have been consistently making coffee machines.
Considering all these factors, the coffee machine I recommend is the Jura Automatic Coffee Machine ena8.
Jura is a well-known company from Switzerland that has been making and selling coffee machines consistently.
Moreover, the ena8 model has all the mentioned features and maintains a price of around $1397.
(This is relatively inexpensive, considering that the price of a beginner’s espresso machine and grinder is around $1500-3000).
ena8 has:
Pre-Brewing Function:
Similar to pre-infusion, it slightly moistens the beans with water before extracting coffee, a concept of pre-wetting.
Espresso machines with the ability to pre-infuse are often equipped with mid-range machines for intermediate users.
(Of course, similar methods can be implemented even for beginner-friendly machines)
Automatic Cleaning Function:
It includes not only device cleaning but also a limescale removal function (using dedicated tablets).
Various Menus:
It can make 10 different menus, including ristretto, espresso, americano, cappuccino, espresso doppio, espresso macchiato, latte macchiato, flat white, warm milk, and milk foam. You can adjust them to your taste.
App Integration:
By installing a dedicated app on your smartphone, you can have more detailed control.
Conclusion
Coffee is a closely related beverage in our daily lives. Not having to drink coffee stress-free is perhaps a blessing.
Although occasionally going to a coffee shop for a coffee served by a barista is happy,
even enjoying a cup of coffee at home from an automatic coffee machine without the hassle can be equally delightful.
Why should a coffee beginner buy the BES870XL? 3 important things.