History and functioning of a espresso machine

The idea and first patent application of a espresso machine dates from the 19th century. The Italian Angelo Moriondo is considered the inventor of espresso machine and portafilter. But initially, the first subjects were skeptical of the espresso. The high pump pressure creates a frothy light brown crema. Today, this foam is good espresso, at that time he was just a little strange and one suspected chemical additives. But espresso machines with portafilters quickly spread first in Italy and then around the world. Not least because of the numerous preparation variants with frothed milk. The most popular are cappuccino and latte macchiato.
The water is in one espresso machine heated by a boiler, which is heated by gas or electricity, to about 90 degrees Celsius. Under a pressure of about nine bar, the scalding water is passed through finely ground espresso flour in the filter holder. In simple espresso machines, the pressure is generated by a mechanical lever. More complex machines generate pressure with an electric pump.
The fine ground coffee is pressed with a coffee steamer, also known as a tamper or espresso steamer, to prevent the flour in the brewing chamber from being stirred up. That would mean that the espresso is weak. In fully automatic machines, the pressing of the ground coffee is automatically carried out by a punch, from which the brewed water comes at the same time.

The model of the portafilter machine

While in the catering sector mainly professional and fully automatic espresso machines are used, the use of a Siebträgermaschinefor home use. A portafilter machine has a removable portafilter, which is filled with coffee powder and with a bayonet in the espresso machine is fixed. Since the mill is not integrated in the machine, the coffee must be with an external coffee grinderbe ground. With a portafilter machine, the barista can influence many of the factors that determine the quality of the espresso. In addition to the grinding degree of the ground coffee and the amount or strength of the compression of this flour, the duration of the brewing time can be regulated as well. With a little practice, it is possible to achieve the perfect result on the coffee bean used. In general, the pressure is generated in a portafilter machine with a simple electric pump. Very simple hand lever machines instead have a lever for generating pressure.

The biggest technological breakthrough in the development of the portafilter machine

In 1961, the machine Faema E61 appeared on the market, which was developed with a at that time novel brewing group. Even today, this is used in many portafilter machines. It is characterized by the characteristic chrome-plated brewing head, which looks out of the device. For a gentler increase in pressure, also known as prefusion, the brewing head has a spring-loaded chamber, a valve controlled by an eccentric shaft and a thermosyphon. The thermosyphon keeps the brewing head hot even at standstill and also protects the brewing head heat exchangerscontained water from overheating.
The core of a portafilter machine is logically the portafilter, which serves as a filter holder for the brewing strainer. The second function of a portafilter is the derivation of the finished brewed coffee. Professional machines have a bottomless portafilter in which the espresso flows directly into the cup without a special spout.

Espresso machines and coffee machines

An easy-to-use automatic coffee or espresso machine is suitable for the preparation with the least possible effort. These machines produce high quality coffee, espresso or cappuccino without much effort. The biggest advantage is that fully automatic machines usually have an integrated coffee grinder. Furthermore, some espresso machines have a device for frothing milk. However, fully automatic machines only allow a limited influence on the course of the preparation and thus on the taste and quality of the espresso. When purchasing a fully automatic machine, particular care must be taken to ensure that the cleaning and descaling of the device either takes place automatically or cleaning by hand is facilitated by various mechanisms. Because only with a sufficient care and cleaning keep fully automatic machines long. Criticisms of fully automatic espresso machines are the high susceptibility to interference and the low durability, which are often in poor ratio to the high purchase price.