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Working from home drastically increased the number of purchased coffee making equipment for home. The main reasons are to spend less on coffee or to try new kinds of the favorite beverage. For many people it’s still confusing to choose the right coffee makers among the wide range of features and brands on the market.

For coffee lovers who don’t have enough time to spend on manual coffee making, buying a coffee machine for home is the best choice. Having a cup of coffee just by pushing one button is definitely an awesome thing in the morning.

There are three main kinds of coffee machines that the market offers:

• espresso machine: suits coffee needs of those who prefer espresso and allows them to do macchiatos and lattes;
• drip coffee machine: the best solution to brew up some coffee once and drink it for few hours, which makes it an excellent solution for the group of people;
• single-serve coffee maker: gives you a single cup of high-quality coffee, suits best the needs of a single person.

Espresso machine

Thinking about an Espresso machine is usually associated with the Italian style of coffee. It gives you a more bitter and intense taste than regular drip coffee or French press can make. It’s important to use dark roasted beans as they are the best choice in this case because the beans should be able to take the machine’s high pressure. You will have a less acidic and a brew with a richer taste and with aromatic crema. Best Italian espresso makers (https://papascoffee.org/best-italian-espresso-machines/) will give you the full espresso flavor that you are looking for.

You should decide if you want a coffee machine with the grinder or you prefer to grind the beans manually or in other ways because it requires the beans to be grinded right before brewing. Make sure to use fresh beans, otherwise you will end up with less crema, bad taste and poor aroma. Some dedicated espresso coffee lovers keep the beans in the vacuum-sealed canisters to prevent them from getting spoiled.

Such espresso machines normally serve a single or a double shot of espresso. The brew it makes contains around 40-75 mg of caffeine per ounce. Espresso is usually served in a smaller cup, so eventually you will get less caffeine consumed compared with other traditional methods. To make coffee beverages of a bigger volume, some espresso machines may offer you cappuccinos and lattes as well.

Drip coffee machine

Drip coffee machines are the standard in the coffee industry. The coffee they make gives you enough caffeine and as much volume as you want. It gives you the option to choose the kind of beans that you like. You can make decaf coffee, or mix some decaf coffee with caffeinated one to get a low-caffeine beverage. A drip coffee machine allows you to use store-bought ground coffee, so you won’t need to spend time grinding at home. Some drop coffee machines on the market offer integrated grinding, in that case it takes you only one touch of a button to start the full process of measuring and grinding the right amount of the beans, pouring and finally brewing a pot of coffee.

Most drip coffee machines offer an ordinary pot of the beverage. That makes it an excellent choice for a small group of people or colleagues. The coffee is served in a regular mug, and it provides 70-185 mg of caffeine per serving. Though the amount of caffeine depends on the type of the coffee beans that you use and the settings.

As an additional function, some drip coffee machines have a hot pad that keeps the coffee warm.

Single-serve coffee machine

This is the most simple and convenient kind of coffee machine on the market. A single-serve coffee machine gives you a quick portion of the beverage by using pre-prepared coffee pods. In this case you won’t need to do any measuring, grinding, pouring over, plunging or whatever you do to make a cup of coffee by yourself. The process is much more simple: pour some fresh water to the machine, add the pod, place your mug, and just press a button. That’s all. For the traditional taste of coffee you should buy the machine that uses K-cups. Most of such machines can also offer you lattes and cappuccinos. It takes the machine just a few minutes to fill your mug with a fresh and tasteful brew.

This might be the best choice for people who live alone because they can always quickly get fresh coffee without worrying about making too much of it. For some of the devices you can take reusable pods, which allow you to choose your favorite kind of beans.

Single-serve coffee machines are easy to use, convenient and give you the quick solution for your coffee needs.

What else to consider

After you have decided what type of the coffee machine you need, there are some other options and features to consider before buying.

Personalization

Most of the coffee machines allow you to choose and set the personalized setting for your brew. It saves you time and efforts, and you can always be sure to get exactly the results that you want.

Smart controls

For those who want even less effort for the process of coffee making, there are more expensive smart coffee machines that can be connected to your cellphone, so you can start the process while being away from the machine. The only things you have to be sure about are to have enough beans and water in the tank, and the mug to be placed right.

Automatic cleaning programmes

If you are not familiar with all the small and sophisticated parts that coffee machines are made of, you should consider the coffee makers with automatic cleaning programmes. It automatically flushes the entire system for few minutes, and there is nothing else required from you to do.

Milk frother

Mainly used for cappuccino. Some of the coffee machines come with milk frother. If not, your can buy this as an accessory separately.

Automatic fronthing

This option allows you to make cappuccino at the touch of a button with no additional actions. Machines with this option regularly have a detachable jug which makes it easy to be cleaned. Some jugs can even pour the heated milk right in your mug.

Frothing accessory

They are similar to the automatic ones, but are usually placed separately from the coffee machine. The only difference is that you will need to pour your coffee and then froth the milk manually to have a milky beverage. Several frothing accessories have the option to froth cold milk for the iced coffees.

Steam wand

Steam wand is commonly used for commercial machines. It uses the steam pressure to froth the milk. This is a somewhat tricky method, but it also gives you more possibilities to have total control over the texture of the milk. Best choice for latte art.

It’s complicated to choose the right coffee machine. You should learn about the features and advantages of each machine that seems appropriate for your coffee needs, but it is definitely worth it. You will thank yourself for this purchase every morning.

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