In the Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Coffee Machine, we introduced you to the many different kinds of coffee machine. Yet, each has its own advantages and disadvantages and so hich one would suit you? Click on each tab to find out more about the different coffee machines.
When you have decided which one would suit you best, have a look at our coffee machine range to select yours.
Description: The coffee plunger or French Press, is a popular way to make small batches of coffee. Just add ground coffee to the bottom of the glass jar, add hot water and place the sieve mechanism into the head of the jar and wait. After 5 minutes, push down on the plunger mechanism to push the ground coffee out of suspension and to the bottom of the jar, leaving only coffee and water above the sieve.
Coffee Type Required: Ground coffee
Coffee Made: Filter coffee
Advantages: Inexpensive; various sizes from 1 cup to 10 cups; fast and simple
Disadvantages: Uses ground coffee that can go stale if not stored well; cleaning out the grounds can be messy; manual process.
Best Suited For: Low cost coffee making
Typical Price Range: R200 to R500
Description: The drip coffee maker is a gravity system that relies on ground coffee being placed in a filter basket that allows water to be poured onto the coffee and then through the coffee and filter into a collecting jug below.
They come in two forms: water pouring controlled by hand and water pouring controlled by a pump in a machine.
Hand poured water allows you to control the temperature of the water and the flow rate and thus the way the coffee is extracted. A machine version adds water at a fairly constant temperature and flow rate and requires no input after placing coffee and water in the machine and turning it on.
Coffee Type Required: Ground coffee
Coffee Made: Filter coffee
Advantages of Hand Pour Models: Inexpensive; allows better control of extraction by allowing you to change water temperature and the flow rate of your water through the ground coffee.
Disadvantages of hand pour models: Comletely manual process that takes time and can lead to very variable coffee outcomes.
Advantages of machine pour models: Inexpensive; simple and consistent extraction.
Disadvantages of machine pour models: No control over the rate of extraction or water temperature, leaving the outcome of all coffee brewed in the hands of the manufacturer of each machine. It is therefore a hit and miss affair when buying a model.
Best Suited For: Low cost coffee making.
Typical Price Range: R400 to R800.
Description: The manual espresso coffee machine, also called a traditional espresso coffee machine, is most commonly seen in cafe’s and restaurants. They come in 1, 2 and 3 group models (a group is a coffee making port that accepts a portafilter that can be filled with ground coffee from the grinder. It requires a barista to operate but offers various automation options to make operation easier.
Coffee Type Required: Coffee beans or Ground coffee (espresso grind)
Coffee Made: Espresso coffee
Advantages: Full control over the coffee making experience; ideal for commercial operations. You can certainly make the various coffee drinks we list in our articles on black coffee and white coffee.
Disadvantages: Requires training to operate correctly; trained barista is needed for proper operation; a grinder is an added requirement.
Best Suited For: While the 2-group and 3-group machines are best suited to commercial coffee operations, the single group models can be used in domestic and commercial operations. Enthusiasts often buy a high quality single group espresso machine for home use because this allows full control over the coffee making experience.
Typical Price Range: Small domestic models range from R2000 to R20 000 and commercial models range from R25 000 to R150 000.
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Description: The automatic coffee machine is typically a machine that uses coffee beans that are ground on demand and automatically transferred into a brewer unit for brewing espresso coffee. Most now are also called “one-touch cappuccino” coffee machines because they integrate a fresh milk frother into the coffee making process. As such, they can make coffee drinks like espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte and more.
Coffee Type Required: Coffee beans
Coffee Made: Espresso coffee
Advantages: One touch operation; simple to make a range of great coffee; no barista experience needed.
Disadvantages: More expensive than a drip coffee or coffee capsule machine; typically only uses one blend of coffee at a time (unlike a coffee capsule machine that can use a single capsule of any blend).
Best Suited For: While the 2-group and 3-group machines are best suited to commercial coffee operations, the single group models can be used in domestic and commercial operations. Enthusiasts often buy a high quality single group espresso machine for home use because this allows full control over the coffee making experience.
Typical Price Range: Small domestic models range from R5000 to R20 000 and commercial models range from R20 000 to R100 000.
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Description: The coffee capsule machine has been a rising star in the coffee market because they are simple to use, require minimal cleaning and offer the opportunity for great espresso based coffee. Coffee capsule machines use small plastic or aluminium capsules filled with about 5-10 g of coffee. You can pick from a variety of blends and insert that capsule into the coffee machine to make a coffee in about 30 seconds.
Coffee Type Required: Coffee capsules
Coffee Delivery: Espresso coffee
Advantages: Simple use with no waste to clean (just the capsule); can select a different coffee blend each time without having to empty the bean container in an automatic coffee machine or manual espresso coffee machine; coffee capsule machines are relatively inexpensive.
Disadvantages: The capsules are about 3-5 times more expensive than coffee beans used in an automatic coffee machine; the coffee grammage is only 5 to 10g so a 300ml mug needs two capsules; the environmental impact of plastic capsules is enormous; only some integrate a fresh milk frothing option.
Best Suited For: Home use, but there are coffee capsule machines that are suitable for office coffee situations.
Typical Price Range: R1 000 to about R3 500 for home coffee machines and R14 000 to R35 000 for office coffee machines.
Description: The coffee vending machine is primarily an office coffee machine used in commercial settings. The machine may use instant coffee or coffee beans and on selecting a drink the machine will grind the beans, fill a brew chamber with ground coffee and hot water will be pumped throufg the grounds. The machine will also have mixing bowls where soluble powders such as milk powder, hot chocolate powder and others are mixed with water to create drinks such as cappuccino, latte amd hot chocolate.
Coffee Type Required: Coffee beans
Soluble Powders Required: Milk powder, topping powder, hot choolate powder, flavoured cappuccino powders (hazelniut, caramel or vanilla), sugar.
Coffee Delivery: Espresso coffee
Advantages: Cost saving through portion control and lockable ingredients; always on for anytime drink making; payment systems can be added; wide range of drink choices; suitable for locations with 20 to 100 staff per machine.
Disadvantages: Purchase may be more costly (although rental options make it affordable); daily cleaning more intensive due to soluble drink mixing bowls needing cleaning.
Best Suited For: Offices, factories, warehouses and any other commercial situation.
Typical Price Range: R25 000 to R50 000 (for table top models) and R120 000 to R250 000 for free standing models.
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