If an early morning coffee is your mantra to a good day, or if you only like coffee on special occasions, either way, your coffee adventures are not complete without making your own coffee with a beautiful manual coffee machine!
Steps to use a manual coffee machine
These are the traditional machines that have been used over the decades for making coffee. These have been popular because of the diversity they provide and the precision you can employ to every cup of coffee you ever make. All coffee machines, throughout the ages, have used the same technology. They have a method of creating water pressure, after the water pressure is elevated, the water is forced through a tight package of coffee in the handle. Because the water pressure is heightened, it extracts more flavor from every granule of coffee, making the coffee richer in taste and stronger in action. So, if you are craving for an original Italian coffee at home without compromising on the quality, then manual coffee machine is a great option.
Advantages of manual coffee machines over automatic ones
The manual coffee machine helps you to precisely control the amount of water that is to be used in the overall shot output. The advantage that manual coffee makers have over other automatic or semi-automatic coffee makers is that, in the case of automatic coffee makers, even though they have the above-mentioned facility, but once the water unit has been programmed, they cannot be changed unless the entire process is altered.
In case of the manual variant of the coffee machine, you are at power in deciding how much water you want to use for it to flow on the bed of the coffee, besides, you can also control the time when you want to introduce more or extra water into the machine.
Basic Components of a Manual Coffee Machine
- Any Manual Coffee Machine always comes with the following basic components. It is important to understand the usage of all of these components, because lack of knowledge can make it impossible for you to run the machine. Water Reservoir: The water reservoir is the place where freshwater is poured before heating.
- Heating Element: There exists a heating element inside the water reservoir, to heat the water in the reservoir.
- Portafilter: Portafilter is the place where you need to pour the ground coffee.
- A Lever: The large lever on the outer side of the machine is brought down by the user after the. coffee ground and the water has been filled into the machine. Pressing the lever forces the water through the ground which extracts espresso which is dispensed into the cup below.
Types of a Manual Coffee Machine
Manual coffee machine is of two types
- Strong Piston Lever Machines.
- Direct Lever Machines
Pros of Strong Piston Lever Machine
- Machines that come with a strong piston level, requires less manual effort and comparatively less skill for those who want to master the art of coffee making.
- The pressure achieved through the strong piston lever machine is way more consistent and uniformly distributed.
- Such levers provide you with a higher bar pressure than a direct level machine.
Cons of Strong Piston Lever Machine
- They are costlier, they may even cost double the amount of a direct lever machine.
- There is very little ability that lets you adjust the speed of the shots.
- You have less control over the espresso and hence over the product.
Pros of Direct Lever Machine
- They are far cheaper.
- It gives better control over the brewing process and hence over the end product.
Cons of Direct Lever Machine
- It is very hard to learn the skill of making coffee using this machine.
Now, that you know the basics of a manual coffee machine, go forth and make yourself a rich cup of amazing coffee!
