Topic: Espresso Machines At-Home.
Guest: Chris O’Brien
Title: Founder & Head Roaster at Coffee Cycle Roasting
Connect: www.coffeecycleroasting.com • @coffeecycleroasting
A reminder before we get too far into this edition of the newsletter: if you are making espressos at home, you NEED a coffee grinder good enough to generate finely ground coffee from whole beans. I capitalized and put that in bold for a reason. No blade grinders! Check out this older episode of Coffee Smarter (formerly the Roast! West Coast podcast) for more on that:
If you’re in the market for an at-home espresso machine, you’ll run into a few terms you need to know. They mostly refer to how water is heated during the brewing (coffee extraction) or steaming process if you’re buying an all-in-one or multi-use machine with a steam wand.
Single Boiler/Double boiler - This is just what it sounds like, and references the number of heating elements and water locations inside the machine. A single boiler will be more affordable but require longer periods of time to heat up in between shots. If the machine also has a steam wand there will be temperature control issues because the water will be brought to a higher temp to steam than to pull a shot.
A double boiler speeds up the reheating process and/or splits the heating responsibility for sending hot water to the grouphead for pulling a shot from the water being sent to the steam wand. You’ll see a major change in the price-point of a single versus double boiler machine.
Heat exchanger - An espresso machine with a heat exchanger splits the difference. It has a single boiler that keeps the water at steam temps, but when a shot is pulled the water travels down a tube allowing the water to cool to the right temperature to pull a shot (roughly 190-205 degrees, depending on who you ask).
PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) - I know what those words mean separately, but together? No idea. I turned to a blog written by Tim Lee Hopfinger of Tim’s Coffee (September 2023). The way I understand it a PID is an electronic device in the espresso machine that tracks the water temperature and makes adjustments as needed to keep the water at the right temp for pulling shots or sending to the steam wand. They offer precision to the at-home barista wanting to really experiment during their espresso-pulling efforts. As you would imagine, if you see the term PID, you’re probably going up a level in cost.
Read more about PIDs on timscoffee.com. A huge shout-out to Tim. He really breaks down the advantages and disadvantages of PID espresso machines in a way that is easy to understand. He also includes a list of various machines that have PIDS.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Speaking of shout-outs…Chris O’Brien has been appearing on Roast! West Coast podcasts as a coffee expert for three years. That’s wild. His advice included:
Consider what you’ll be using the machine for! Do you need that PID or double boiler?
Look for machines that can be repaired or modified. Your machine will last longer and is likely designed to last–meaning higher quality components.
If purchasing an all-in-one, research the various components to make sure the machine will excel at each component of the espresso or coffee drink-making process.
After you buy a machine, use good water i.e. filtered at a minimum. It will help you produce a better tasting shot and extend the lifespan of the machine. Take some time to learn basic maintenance and the cleaning needs of the machine to prevent scaling/mineral build-up.
FROM THE SHOW: MORE ABOUT BARATZA
It came up during the podcast that Baratza was owned by the Australian company Breville Group, which is news that I must have missed in 2020. Baratza Co-Founders Kyra Kennedy and Kyle Anderson sold the company to Breville for $60,000,000(43m cash/17m stock).
Acorto focused on selling commercial automatic espresso machines, and part of Anderson’s non-compete allowed him to stay in the coffee industry as long as it was on the consumer side. Baratza was born as a retail reseller in 1999. Along with home espresso machines, Baratza sold the Solis 166 grinder* which became a machine exclusively made for Starbucks after a few Anderson-inspired modifications.
With the Solis grinders no longer available to sell, Kennedy and Anderson began developing their own high-quality grinder for the at-home consumer based on the modifications Kyle had made to the Solis machines. They introduced their first grinder—the Virtuoso—to the market in 2006.
*The Solis company is based in Switzerland and has been since the founder developed the electric heating pad (1908) to help him manage his back pain. I’m sitting on a heating pad right now. I’m pretty lucky to have gotten this spot on the couch. The dog usually claims it as his own.
Solis was big into heating pads and hairdryers for nearly eight decades before they introduced the first fully automatic home espresso machine in 1985. That could have been a mic drop, but they’ve continued to innovate in and out of the coffee industry. Their current line-up includes espresso machines, grinders, milk frothers, and coffee machine cleaning products.
ESPRESSO MACHINES FOR AT HOME: A LIST (BUT NOT REALLY)
I planned on sharing a curated list of espresso machines in this newsletter, but that will have to wait. It is going to be a much bigger project than anticipated. There are so many options that fall into so many different categories. I don’t want to lead anyone astray!
There are plenty of “Best-of” lists out there, although went through the first few pages on Google Search without finding a list curated by an actual coffee company or reviewer in the industry. Be curious about the source if you do seek out a list.
In the meantime, use the tools above and information from the podcast to guide you on your quest.
R!WC SONG OF THE WEEK
I almost always have headphones on while I’m drinking my morning coffee. If not, the speakers are blaring, or I’m in the coffee shop being serenaded by the sound of grinders grinding and steam wands tearing paper and my fellow coffee denizens communing for brief moments. I thought I’d share a song or two with you each week. Perhaps we’ll be listening and drinking a cup of coffee at the same time.
This week the algorithms recommended a Seth Avett cover of an old song. It fits thematically. I thought I’d share the original with you to kick off this new segment.
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References:
More about Baratza:
https://www.oncoffeemakers.com/solis-grinder.html
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2020/10/02/breville-acquires-us-grinder-maker-baratza-for-60-million/
https://dailycoffeenews.com/2019/08/09/baratza-founders-reflect-on-20-years-of-redefining-the-grind/
https://solis.com/int_en/history-solis-of-switzerland
Espresso Machines At Home