Coffee & Espresso Makers Tips

Isomac Zaffiro Stainless Steel Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsISOZAFFIRO Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation Sour...

Isomac HEXAGON Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsHEXAGON Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation SourceE...

This is perhaps the ultimate affordable machine for espresso purists. That means infrequent cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, etc. Those drinks can still be made with this machine, but the single boiler design means that you will have a substantial wait after making your shots, as the boiler heats up to steaming temp for the milk frothing. If you plan to make lots of milk drinks, you’re better off with a heat exchange type machine, rather than the single boiler design in the Zaffiro.

I like straight espresso so this is the machine for me. To get a better shot you’d have to spend a bundle on a dual boiler La Marzocco Linea machine, which last I read was going for $7,000. My Zaffiro cost me $650 at Chris’ Coffee.

Now, making espresso with any machine, no matter how sophisticated, is highly dependent on the quality of beans, the freshness of the beans, the quality of the grinder (if you want to use preground coffee, don’t buy this machine)and the skill of the person brewing. And tweaking this machine to optimal brew temperatures and pump pressure setting is fairly laborious. But once you’ve set it, you won’t have to reset it often (unless you do a lot of switching between lighter and darker roasted coffees.)

I could go into more detail, but I’d be doing a better service to direct serious espresso shoppers to the extensive online reviews of this machine and its clones, the Isomac Amica and the Quikmill Alexia at coffeegeek.com . These reviews are exhaustive and better written than I can do here.

Were I to make my purchase today, I think I might opt for the Alexia for reasons too complex to go into here. But any of the three, Zaffiro, Amica, and Alexia, are strong performers that a skilled barista can use to achieve something very close to espresso nirvana.

Isomac Tea Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsTea Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation SourceElect...

Isomac Gran Maccinino Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsGRANMACINO Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation Sour...

Isomac Venus Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsVenus Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation SourceEle...

Isomac Mondiale Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsMondiale Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation Source...

ViceVersa EM6060 Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsEM6060 Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation SourceEl...

Chrome EM6061 Espresso Machine Product Technical DetailsEM6061 Key FeaturesTypeEspresso MachineOperation SourceEl...

Briel ES160ECTB Stainless Steel Espresso Machine

Bodum 10616-16 Stainless Steel Espresso Machine