Many Hong Kong people like coffee, and it brings opportunity for more and more chain-typed and small-sized coffee shops. In addition to buying canned coffee or patronizing coffee shops, some coffee fans like making coffee by themselves at home. Self-making coffee needs either materials such as coffee beans or a proper coffee machine, which could help you to make a cup of coffee taste good. But, as to green hands, they always fall in trouble for diversified types of brands and models. People often ask how to select a good coffee machine, therefore, BBE would make some introductions.
義式咖啡機 vs 美式咖啡機
Coffee machine can be classified as Espresso coffee machine and American coffee machine. For Espresso coffee, hot water is pressured to about 15 atm for brewing coffee powder, so the coffee through high pressure and hot water is generally rich, and the oil of coffee beans can be emulsified into Crema. The American coffee is made following the principle of drip filter coffee. The coffee machine contains two parts, and the upper part is used to carry well grinded coffee powder and the lower part is used to collect coffee, so the coffee is relatively tasteless. American coffee machines have a simple structure, therefore Hong Kong people use fewer American coffee machine yet more Espresso coffee machine.
Automatic/ Semi-automatic/ Capsule coffee machine
In addition, Espresso coffee machine can be classified as automatic coffee machines, semi-automatic coffee machines and capsule coffee machines. However, manual coffee machines are seldom used by the busy Hong Kong people, because this kind of machine needs so many hand operations.
Automatic coffee machine
All steps of making coffee can be done using automatic coffee machines. Users need to put beans in the bean tank, add water and press the button, and then coffee machine grinds powder, measures weight, drops powder, tamps and makes foams. After about 1-2 minutes, we can enjoy a cup of coffee. The advantage of automatic coffee machines is that the user just needs to choose the favorite coffee beans, and then coffee at a professional level can be easily made. The user can use the most professional automatic coffee machine to make many kinds of coffee with different concentration, weight, temperature and milk ratio according to personal preferences, such as Eespresso, Latte and Cappuccino. However, automatic coffee machines are more expensive.
Semi-automatic coffee machine
Compared with automatic coffee machines, semi-automatic coffee machines provide us a larger space to perform ourselves. The user needs to prepare another machine to grind the coffee beans into powder, pour powder into the semi-automatic coffee machine to tamp, lock the filter grip, and finally extract coffee. The advantage of semi-automatic coffee machines is that the user can make coffee according to their own preferences. However, the disadvantage is that only the user with some knowledge and technology related to coffee-making can make proper coffee. All semi-automatic coffee machines are not the same, so if the professionals want to make satisfied coffee, they also need some time to understand how to operate the coffee machine. After we understand how to operate the coffee machine, we can make a cup of coffee within a few minutes.
Capsule coffee machine
Capsule coffee machine is a new-style coffee machine that has appeared in recent years. The user only needs to put coffee capsules into the machine to make coffee, but does not need to grind beans or use coffee powder. The coffee capsule is equipped with a vacuum packaging for long–time storage. And the user only needs to put coffee capsules and water into the machine to make coffee within one minute, so it is quick and convenient. However, the shortcoming is that the taste, temperature and weight are limited, and the cost is also higher (about 7 HK dollars per cup). So, the user who likes to try different coffee beans should choose automatic or semi-automatic coffee machines.
Should I buy a built-in coffee machine?
Many European brands have introduced built-in coffee machines, and they are automatic coffee machines. Built-in coffee machines are expensive but multi–functional. And they can be integrated into the kitchen cabinet, so the kitchen looks more simple and beautiful. If you want to buy or already have other embedded appliances and you like to make coffee yourself, a high-quality built-in coffee machine is absolutely suitable for you.
Brands recommendation
BOSCH CTL636ES1
Bosch (German engineering and electronic brand), as a huge company, is popular with its high–quality home appliances. By its CTL636ES1 built-in coffee machine, we can make two cups of coffee at the same time and set up 8 different kinds of coffee concentration, weight, temperature and milk ratio. Equipped with exclusive rapid-heating system, it can provide the first drink very quickly. With precise temperature-control technology, the quality of coffee can be ensured, so users can quickly and easily make specialized coffee.
Delonghi ESAM6700
Delonghi is an Italian brand of coffee machines with over a hundred years of history, and a lot of coffee machines and related products are very popular. For example, ESAM6700 Italian automatic coffee machine has four fully automatic buttons for cappuccino, coffee latte, latte macchiato and hot milk. By pressing “LONG COFFEE” button, the cooking time is extend, so we can make a cup of delicious American coffee. Coupled with its automatic cleaning function, it is more suitable for lazy coffee fans.
Breville BES810BSS
Breville, an Australian manufacturer with more than 90 R&D patents, is used to make delicious food and drinks. Its’ BES810BSS semi-automatic Italian coffee machine is equipped with the PID electronic water temperature control system to accurately regulate the water temperature. In addition, stainless steel pipe is installed in the Thermocoil composite heating system, so we can heat up quickly and steadily.
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