What comes to mind at the mention of a super-automatic espresso machine? These are appliances that guarantee the utmost convenience in your home. A super-automatic espresso machine is undoubtedly the ultimate multipurpose coffee maker: it can grind your beans, froth your milk and produce a variety of high-quality coffee drinks.
Something impressive about super automatics is that they are for the most part self-cleaning. Many of these babies can permit you to adjust your espresso- cappuccino, latte, or macchiato- to the temperature or strength of your choice. Superautomatics have proven to be an indispensable asset in every espresso gourmet’s kitchen.
Features that Make Super-Automatic Espresso Machines, the Best
With the main advantage of these kitchen companion taken care of, we can now discuss the distinct features that make the modern Super-Automatic Machine stand out from the rest:
The Bypass Doser
These days, nearly all Super-Automatic models possess a bypass doser. A bypass doser is a latch found on top of the machine where the pre-ground coffee can be inserted instead of using the coffee beans in the bean hopper. This feature comes in handy when you have a visitor who prefers decaffeinated coffee, or when you simply want to change things up a little bit.
Some models feature scoops to accurately measure the amount of coffee you can add to the Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. In most cases, these semi-intelligent appliances will warn you if you have not added enough pre-ground coffee.
Dual Heating Elements
You find 43 seconds too long a time to wait for your beloved cup of espresso? Don’t worry. The super-automatics eliminate the wait time with the dual heating element feature. The Super-Automatic Espresso Machines usually utilize thermoblock heating elements.
The thermoblock heating elements pull modest amounts of water through every single time. Thus, the single thermoblock systems experience some lag time when they want to switch between brewing and steaming temperatures. Fortunately, the dual heating elements make it easy to make cappuccinos and lattes quickly and get rid of the need to cool the boiler after steaming.
LED and Full-Color Digital Displays
Instead of the traditional indicator lights, the Super-Automatic Espresso Machines now increasingly feature LED and full-color digital displays. These digital displays help a great deal to simplify the process of brewing your espresso and maintaining the espresso machine because it can display its status to you in an understandable language as opposed to the traditional blinking light.
Programmability
Many super-automatic machines feature manifold programming options, but the number and type of the programmable settings vary from one model to the other. Below is a rundown of common programmable options:
Liquid volume control
Despite the fact that every Super-Automatic Espresso Machine permits you to control the amount of water to be dispensed, not every machine will provide this as a programmable option. With the liquid volume control feature, you can set the machine to dispense a certain amount of liquid automatically.
Among the uses of this feature is to set one of the buttons to dispense about 6 to 8oz of coffee so as to make the café crema. Similar to drip coffee, café crema benefits from the super-automatic espresso’s pressure brewing process.
Pre-grinding
This feature can help you to hasten things up if you are making multiple espresso drinks. While you are busy brewing your coffee, the super-automatic helps you to grind the next shot and have it wait for the brew group. This way, the next time you press the brew button, the brewing process begins automatically, and you won’t need to wait for the grinding of the beans to complete first.
Pre-brewing
If you are using the pre-brewing option, the ground coffee becomes moistened with water and steep for a second or under a second before the brewing process commences. This will help to ably and fully extract flavor from the ground coffee. But this is not necessary for the brewing process. Moreover, pre-moistening the coffee grounds is important as it can help to avoid channeling.
Channeling is when the espresso water gets one or two ways through the coffee instead of evenly or uniformly saturating it. When the pre-brewing process begins, the grind starts to run, then, during a brief pause, some dribbles of water emerge from the spouts. When this is done, brewing commences.
Temperature Control
The typical temperature for espresso upon outlet from the Super-Automatic Espresso Machine is usually 184 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature may drop to 165 ¼ degrees Fahrenheit after the espresso drops to your cup.
Pre-heating your espresso cup can reduce the sharp drop in the temperature. But if this does not suffice, you can opt for temperature control. If you set the temperature in the super-automatic machine to ‘high’ ensures that the in-cup temperature of your espresso is not anything below 171 degrees Fahrenheit.
Adjustable Dosing
A typical cup of espresso has about 7 grams of coffee. The Super-Automatic Espresso Machine provides for a wide option of dosage control- which is between 6 to 9 grams every single shot. Thus, you can opt to go stronger than that or go weaker.
Removable Brew Groups
A brew group is the part of the machine where the espresso brewing takes place. Super-Automatic Espresso Machines feature a removable brew group. The upside of having a removable brew group is that you can physically inspect the espresso machine and remove the brew group for cleaning and maintenance.
Cup Warmer
Many Super-Automatic Espresso Machines feature cup warmers. However, not every Super-Automatic Espresso Machine has the cup warmer feature. Using the cup warmer feature to preheat your cups will make your coffee better.
Water Filtration Systems
Filtering water to use to make espresso improves the flavor of the espresso as well as significantly improving the durability of the Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. Using water filtration systems reduces the need or the amount of decalcification required to be performed to clean the espresso machine.
Grinder Settings and Dosage Adjustment
Many super-automatic espressos can permit you to change the grind setting. If the shots of your espresso or café taste weak, too strong or the café crema tastes weak, this feature will come in handy.
For example, a finer grind brings out more flavor while making it too fine can make the coffee taste bitter. By regulating the amount of coffee that is ground can also adjust the coffee flavor. This control is very great for those wanting to tailor each coffee to individual tastes or preferences.
Automatic Milk Frothing
some Super-Automatic Espresso Machines feature a milk frothing function to ease the process of preparing frothed milk for cappuccinos. Some machines may utilize attachable carafes that connect to a pre-existing frothing system while others may utilize peripheral attachments which connect to the espresso machine’s steam arm.
So, what makes the best Super-Automatic Espresso Machine?
The best Super-Automatic Espresso Machines pack nice extras such as milk frothing, dispenser, cup warming, and dual heating systems. They are the ones that give you bang for your buck: in other words, machines that bring you value for your money.
DeLonghi ESAM3300 Vs. DeLonghi ECAM22110SB: Super-Automatic Espresso Machine Champions
It is tricky when choosing whether to buy DeLonghi ESAM3300 or DeLonghi ECAM22110SB Espresso machine. Below is a detailed exploration of how the two Super-Automatic Espresso Machines champs compare.
The Similarities
They both feature the patented cappuccino system frother. You can, therefore, easily prepare cappuccinos and lattes because the cappuccino system frother stirs steam and milk to prepare a creamy froth that is ideal for drinking all the time. This patented cappuccino system rotates at 180 degrees to allow for any milk container size.
The two super-automatic machines feature a double boiler system. The super-automatics eliminate the wait time with the dual heating element feature. The Super-Automatic Espresso Machines usually utilize Thermoblock heating elements.
The thermoblock heating elements pull modest amounts of water through every single time. Thus, the single thermoblock systems experience some lag time when they want to switch between brewing and steaming temperature. Fortunately, the dual heating elements make it easy to make cappuccinos and lattes quickly and get rid of the need to cool the boiler after steaming.
The two machines make it easier for you to know when to clean because they feature the rinse and decalcification indicators. And with the removable brew groups, you can easily clean the removable water tanks, drip trays and used coffee containers.
Both super-automatic machines feature adjustable coffee spouts for cups of different heights.
They all have an automatic shut off feature.
Both machines produce consistent, fresh and aromatic finely ground coffee distinguished with a professional quality low-pitch burr grinder.
They have different grinder settings that allow you to adjust different levels of fineness for all kinds of beans.
Unique Features and Functionality of the DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300
It is compact and therefore, highly efficient- because the Magnifica 3300’s new exclusive brew group is compact, it thus guarantees excellent heat distribution which ensures a potent espresso at the right temperatures all the time.
Instant Reheat- the core of the magnifica can be heat well due to the machine’s special reheat function. It ensures the machine is at the right temperature for espresso all the time- regardless of the interval between cups.
Front Panel- the Magnifica permits you to tailor your coffee according to your tastes or preferences because it allows you to adjust the quantity of water and the quantity of coffee to use. Thus, you can prepare long, short, weak, or strong espressos without a fuss.
Bypass Doser- this espresso machine is one of the only Super-Automatic Espresso Machines under $1000 that features a bypass doser.
Cup Warmer- This Super-Automatic Espresso Machine allows you to pre-warm warms so that you may take your coffee when it is hot according to your desire.
Its Downsides
- Magnifica ESAM 3300’s grinder is not oily-bean friendly. Therefore, for optimal results, you might need to try a medium coffee roast first.
- This Magnifica ESAM 3300 is also a touch louder than its counterparts such as the Magnifica ECAM 22110SB.
Unique Features and Functionality of the Magnifica ECAM 22110SB
Probably the biggest gripe that most customers have about Super-Automatic Espresso Machines is that most of these appliances are space hogs- they take up tons of real estate on the kitchen counter.
But that is not the case with the DeLonghi ECAM22110SB. This super-automatic espresso maker is compact in size while at the same time it maintains all the wonderful features of its siblings in the Super-Automatic Espresso Machine category. The DeLonghi ECAM22110 also boasts of the following features:
Water filtration system: This espresso machine features a water filtration system, and this allows you to use water from your tap for an awesome cup of latte or cappuccino.
An Aroma Button: The aroma button time-releases water to aid in the saturation of the coffee grounds, thus, resulting in a fuller, more potent aroma and flavor.
Small Profile: As mentioned before, this machine’s small profile makes it ideal for a kitchen of any size.
- The Downsides of this Super-Automatic Espresso Machine
- Being small in size, this espresso machine features a smaller water reservoir and a small room for coffee beans.
- Users report that oily beans often have a hard time getting to the grinder from the hopper.
However, anybody should expect the drawback owing to the compact size of this Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. The benefit of its compact size outweighs or makes up for the small water reservoir and bean hopper.
Advantages of the Super-Automatic Espresso Machines
They remove the human error factor
For an espresso aficionado, it goes beyond just imbibing any coffee: you need potent coffee. Making an espresso needs skills, experience and sometimes knowledge so as to prepare great cup/cups of coffee. With completely automatic machines, the guessing is taken off of your shoulders.
The machine performs all of the operations automatically and flawlessly to deliver a mouth-savoring espresso that will leave a punch of potency lingering in your palate.
This is what the super-automatic machines does:
- It measures the coffee beans quantity,
- It grinds the coffee,
- It places the coffee beans on the portafilter,
- It tamps the coffee beans,
- It pulls the shot to perfection, and
- It dumps the grounds in a container
Your only job is to put beans in the machine and position the cup for the espresso under the coffee stream. The most sophisticated of these super-automatics will feature digital adjustments for the temperature, the size of the beverage, brew time, coffee quantity and grind, etc.
Unfortunately, the most sophisticated of these super-automatics, being high-end, can cost an arm and a leg: but you will, of course, get value for the money if you can afford to buy it.
My Final Thoughts
Clearly, the two Super-Automatic Espresso Machines should rule the espresso aficionado’s world. They possess so many features, and consequently, guarantee so many benefits. Every home deserves to procure one of these kitchen favorites. Buy a super-automatic espresso machine for your home for a great coffee-making experience.