Get café-style coffee at home with coffee & espresso makers
What is the difference between coffee and espresso machines?
Coffee machines brew coffee by slowly filtering hot water through coffee grounds, while espresso machines force a small amount of boiling water, using pressure, through very finely grounded coffee. This results in a rich and creamy drink you can have on its own or use in a cappuccino, latte, or other hot coffee-based drink.
What types of coffee and espresso machines are available?
Espresso machines can be automatic, semi-automatic, or manual, allowing you to get a brew to your exact liking. Some come with attachments like a frother or even a grinder for making finely ground coffee from full coffee beans. They come in a variety of stylish designs and in sleek finishes like silver, chrome, black, red, blue, or white.
Coffee machines, on the other hand, come in a wide variety of types.
Standard coffee makers can be drip, single-serve, or multi-use that accepts both pods and coffee grounds. Drip coffee makers can make 10-14 cups per brew, while pod coffee makers have water reservoirs that can hold enough water for anywhere from a single to a dozen or more individual cups of coffee. Finished in colours like black, silver, white, rose gold, and charcoal, some have LED touch panels, others control knobs (some a mix of both) with features like programmable timers for setting the brew to be ready each morning, the option to choose serving size, from a small cup to a travel mug, and reusable or replaceable filters.
Built-in coffee makers represent a relatively new category. Similar to a built-in wall oven or microwave, they are installed right into the wall or cabinet of a kitchen to provide a seamless and blended look.
A French press or percolator comes in various sizes, able to make everything from three up to 10 cups through a pour-over method with a filtration system. They come in materials like glass and chrome with different levels of filtration. Grab elegant colours like black, brown, silver, or even transparent.
What accessories can you get for coffee and espresso machines?
Enhance the experience with your coffee or espresso machine with an accessory like a coffee grinder so you can get the freshest coffee from full beans. If the machine doesn't come with this feature, you can also buy a milk frother separately to add an attractive layer of foam to hot drinks that will impress guests and provide the café feel at home.
If you opt for a pod coffee maker, naturally, you'll need a nice selection of single serve coffee pods. Keep them all neatly organized with a storage drawer or tower. There are also reusable coffee filters, depending on the machine, that allow you to use your own ground coffee in a single serve machine.
Finally, it's important to keep your coffee or espresso machine clean at all times, which means descaling it regularly. This is made easy using descaling tablets or other solutions. You can also grab replacement water filters when they need to be changed.