Coffee Academy

The Perfect Cup

The Espresso machine was originated in Italy, and was originally produced by a large machine run by a person called a barista. But, nowadays, you can purchase your very own espresso maker for your home or office. They come in a variety of styles, but all of them essentially do the same thing - produce a delicious cup of espresso. The stove top espresso maker is most commonly used in Italy. This espresso maker is used without electricity, which makes it more portable for those who like to travel. It produces a dark coffee, compared to some of the electrical espresso makers that produce a much lighter smoother coffee.

Espresso Machine Models

The original pump driven machine is quite popular when it comes to espresso bars. It has special chambers for heating and steaming. It provides a motor pump that powers the machine. The automatic espresso maker is designed to automatically make the perfect cup of coffee. It has a programmed timer that only allows a certain amount of water to pass through the tubes for boiling, making it a fast and efficient way to make a quick cup of espresso. And that leads us to the mother of all espresso makers, the super automatic espresso machine.  This machine does everything for you including grinding the coffee, all you have to do is fill it with coffee beans and plenty of water and the work is done for you. A cup of espresso is more than just a cup of Joe! It is a smooth creamy cup that makes the day for you. 

The espresso originated in Milan Italy, at the beginning of the 20^th century, and has been popular in and out of Italy ever since.  Starbucks and Caribou Coffee are just a few of the places that sell espressos around the world, including places like France, Spain, and Australia. Espressos are popular in European countries and even in Asian countries. It can be said that all different cultures and all different parts of the world enjoy the same taste of the espresso.

The History of that Perfect Cup

The first espresso maker was designed in 1901, by Luigi Bezzera, the owner of a manufacturing company. This coffee maker was designed to reduce the amount of time it took to have a coffee break. It did brew faster Luigi’s machine produced coffee that was bitter and did not taste as well as some of the slower machines. After many tests, he came up with the theory that the steam had caused the bitterness, and that brewing at exactly 190 degrees produced the best coffee.

Though the more modern day machines were based on the invention “The Gaggia Crema Caffe Machine” built in 1947 that brewed even faster then Luigi’s model; his machine was still the first big step made toward a faster cup of coffee.  After these models, many followed and the popularity grew more.

Since then espresso makers have become a part of the office culture. Espresso makers can be easily bought online, or at your local appliance store.  Prices range from two thousand dollars to one hundred dollars, depending on make, model, and grade. But any way you go, the espresso machine is sure to satisfy your need for that perfect cup of espresso.

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If you’re currently wondering how to select a coffee bean grinder to suit you and your kitchen then you probably already know that there are various options open to you. In simple terms most coffee grinders will be spilt into two camps – blade grinders and burr grinders. So how do you choose between the two?

First, it’s worth noting that you can buy both types of grinder as both electric and manual options if you wish. It’s becoming more popular for people to buy electric machines on the whole as there is a big added convenience here so, for the purposes of this guide, we’ll be focusing on electrical options rather than manual ones.

In simple terms the final decision you make when it comes to working out how to select a coffee bean grinder will, in most cases, come down to budget and to how seriously you think about coffee so this is worth bearing in mind as you read through this article.

So, let’s take a look some of the pros and cons of the two types of grinder. If you want, you can learn more about coffee gridners here: http://www.coffee-n-beans.com/grinders.html
Blade Grinders

Blade grinders – as the name suggests – use a blade to chop up your coffee beans until they are ground. Most of these machines work on a simple principle – the longer the machine grinds, the finer the grind will be.

Pros

- Generally cheaper than burr grinders.

- Do an effective job of grinding your coffee beans.

Cons

-Can’t give a completely consistent or even grind (this can have an adverse effect on the taste and quality of the coffee you drink).

-The blades on some models may overheat – especially if they are left on longer for a finer grind – which can again alter the actual taste of your coffee.
Burr Grinders

A burr grinder – often also referred to in some circles as a mill – works on a different principle to a blade grinder. Here the beans are crushed between the machine’s moving wheel and its static surface. You decide on the level of grind by using pre-specified settings on the burr. Models vary between doser and doserless for coffee bean storage in the actual grinder.

Pros

- A burr grinder will give you a consistently even grind with no problems.

- These grinders and their grinding pres-sets are easy to use.

Cons

- A burr grinder will generally cost you more than a blade grinder.

- Some models clog easily and can be harder to clean.
So, when you’re deciding how to select a coffee grinder – as you can see – you need to consider how important the quality of your grind and the resulting taste of your coffee is to you as an individual to a certain extent. This is what will dictate whether you opt for a blade grinder or a burr grinder at the end of the day.

Most blade grinders users will simply like a regular cup of coffee that has been ground at home for optimum freshness. If you simply like grinding your own beans for basic coffee drinking use then there’s no real reason why you should waste money on a burr grinder when a blade grinder will suit your needs just as well.

It’s very important to remember here that a blade grinder may give a more uneven grind but it still does an effective job. But you may not get the best grind – and therefore the best tasting cup of coffee – from the beans you buy in this case. One good tip that many blade grinder fans give is to give the grinding machine a little gentle shake every now and then as this will help distribute the bits of cut beans more evenly which may help your grind’s consistency.

If, however, your cup of coffee is real important to you and you want consistent brewing results each and every time you grind your beans, then you will probably be better off looking at buying some sort of burr grinder to meet your needs. These grinders are adored by coffee aficionados simply because they treat your coffee beans and the grinding process consistently and will therefore bring out the best taste for every cup by making sure that each grind is even across every single coffee bean.

It’s real simple to source and buy each kind of grinder – both in stores or over the Internet. Major coffee maker manufacturers such as Braun, Capresso, Alpina, Mr. Coffee, DeLonghi, Russell Hobbs, KitchenAid, Krups and Solis will all have a grinder line of some sort to choose from.

You may find – if you shop around a little – that you may be able to afford to buy a more expensive grinder for your budget as there are often great bargains and discounts to be had all year round. For this reason it’s certainly worth while not rushing out and buying the first grinder you see but doing some price comparisons first to see what savings can be made.

It’s equally important to read reviews to find out how specific models have worked for other people in the past. The Internet is a great source for these kinds of user reviews so once you’ve identified a few models you can log on and see how these machines have worked for others in their homes rather than just relying on manufacturer’s ‘blurb’. This will give you a real useful idea of how well a model/models may actually work in your own home rather than having to wait to find out once you’ve purchased a grinder.

There are certain things to look out for in these kinds of user reviews. For example, you should be looking to discover if other grinder users have found that their grinder:

- Gets clogged or blocked easily.
- Gets beans stuck in its mechanism.
- Overheats and leaves a bitter taste on the coffee.
- Is easy to clean and maintain.
- Gives a really even grind consistently.
- Is excessively noisy.
- Has a problem with static electricity.
- Gives you an easy way to pour out your ground coffee.
- Is well made and won’t fall apart after a couple of uses.

If you can get the right kinds of answers to these questions then the chances are you’ll find the kind of grinder – either burr or blade – that’s right for you.

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