For coffee drinkers, coffee is not merely a refreshment or a beverage but an elixir that is irreplaceable. While unwinding in between hectic meetings or chilling out with friends during a lazy weekend, a sip of coffee makes it worth the while. It is an indispensable gift of nature to mankind, who has discovered ways to derive the usable bit from it, over the years. An ardent coffee drinker knows of a coffee machine to be the best investment of all. It is like a magical route to enliven one’s spirit.
Talking about coffee machines you should know which machine to go for, keeping in mind your budget. There are coffee machines available at various prices which range from tens of dollars and reach incerdible thousands of dollars. Basically there are four different kinds of coffee machines and listed below are the features and limitations:
Filter Coffee maker
This is the most economically reasonable coffee maker and the principle involved is quite simple. The ground coffee is put into a metal filter and hot water is passed over it. This water then collects all the flavors of the ground coffee beans and collects in a carafe or pot under the filter. There are different sizes of these coffee machines and you can choose as per your consumption levels.
A conventional Espresso machine
The technology used in this one is very different from the filter coffee machines. It involves passing pressurized water through ground coffee beans contained in a filter. The methodologies used have evolved over the last few decades. The first one of them was to use steam driven units which forced the boiling water by using steam pressure. Then came manual piston driven units which were replaced by the most modern pump driven machines. There are espresso machines available for home use as well as commercial use. Espresso is a thick, smooth and concentrated coffee and is also used as a base for a lot of Italian beverages.
Bean to cup Coffee Machine
A true connoisseur of coffee will not trade a cup of coffee from this machine for anything else in this world. You can savor the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans from different parts of the world with the help of this magical machine. The coffee beans are put in a separate container that has a grinder. Then the water is passed through it to absorb all the natural flavors and oils. This kind of coffee machine can get a little noisy and is towards the more expensive side.
Capsule coffee machines
These machines are best from the storage and the readiness point of view. If you are not going to be using your coffee maker every day, then the airtight packaging of your coffee in aluminum bags, would take care of its aroma. Also, the brewing of your coffee becomes a lot less messy with this kind of machine. The machine may not be very expensive however the capsules may cost you a lot.
In the end, coffee making and determining the concoction is an art. Having your own coffee machine would give you the liberty to explore the differences in coffee Arabica or Robusta in different parts of the world. A coffee aficionado knows exactly what he wants and how he wants it. The diversities in coffee flavor, caffeine content, acidity levels and smoothness can be attributed to the species they belong to.
So just go ahead and get creative with brewing a cup of coffee for yourself as well as your friends and family.