Coffee machine | The difference between the principle, structure and function of American coffee machine and Italian coffee machine

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There are many equipment for brewing coffee, including French press, siphon, hand brewing pot, and various coffee machines. Mechanical coffee machines are mainly divided into two categories, one is American coffee machine and the other is Italian coffee machine.

The price of American coffee machines is relatively low because of their simple functions. Most of the coffee pots given away when you sign up for a credit card or coffee machines priced around 1,000 yuan given away at store promotions are American coffee machines. American coffee machines use a filter method to brew the original coffee, so the taste is relatively light.

The structure of the Italian coffee machine is more complicated, and it is slightly better in terms of functionality. It can make milk foam and even various types of coffee such as cappuccino.

The difference between the principles of domestic American coffee machines and domestic Italian coffee machines

Espresso Machine: High Pressure Extraction

An espresso machine usually has a boiler that pressurizes hot water and extracts coffee through a coffee powder tank, so it is also called a pump coffee machine. The coffee brewed with this high-pressure hot water is thicker and has emulsified oils, usually called espresso or espresso.

American coffee machine: normal pressure extraction

Usually divided into two layers, the upper layer is a funnel-shaped container with filter paper or metal filter, and the lower layer is a glass or ceramic coffee pot. The American coffee machine also allows hot water to flow through coffee powder into the lower coffee pot to extract coffee, but the difference is that the hot water is at normal pressure. In addition to making coffee, you can also make tea.

contrast

1. American coffee machine, no pressure, only brews black coffee, that is, American coffee. Can't make other fancy coffee.

2. Italian coffee machines have a certain amount of pressure, and can use pressure to make espresso coffee with a fairly thick amount of coffee oil. Some original espresso can be made with milk to make latte, with milk foam to make cappuccino, and other fancy coffees.

3. Price: American coffee is generally less than 1,000 yuan. The price of an Italian coffee machine ranges from a few hundred to more than 100,000 yuan.

The price of an espresso machine can easily reach tens of thousands of yuan, and even in the market, professional equipment from coffee chains can cost hundreds of thousands of yuan. This is one of the main reasons why ordinary small families rarely buy one. An espresso machine uses high temperature and high pressure extraction to brew the original coffee, which has a stronger taste.

American coffee machine

Advantages: easy to operate and large supply.

Disadvantages: long extraction time, easy to over-extract, high caffeine content, and easy to oxidize if stored for too long after brewing.

Brewing method: put in filter paper - put in ground coffee powder - set the required amount of water - drip

The fineness of the American coffee machine powder needs to be adjusted so that the coffee drips out slightly slower than the speed at which the hot water flows down the machine.

Italian coffee machine

Advantages: stable, steam supply, fast and continuous supply of coffee, low caffeine, and ability to brew coffee oil.

Disadvantages: large size, need for a dedicated grinder, need for professional water softening equipment, and need for professional training.

Brewing method: Remove the filter cup handle -- grind the coffee beans into the filter cup -- fill the powder in the filter cup -- press hot water to brew

There are also manual, fully automatic and semi-automatic espresso machines. Actually, I am a little confused about the classification because when I bought it, the merchant said that the model I bought was semi-automatic, but I found that it still needs manual control… (In fact, for fully manual machines, even the water pressure and temperature are manually controlled…).

In addition to buying a coffee grinder, you also need to fill the coffee powder and press it yourself. After locking the filter handle, you can set the amount of coffee to be extracted and stop it manually. If you are a lazy person and don’t want to learn the principles of brewing coffee, I suggest you buy a fully automatic machine. A fully automatic machine means that you only need to throw coffee beans in and coffee will come out... There are even so-called capsule machines. As long as you buy the dedicated coffee capsules, you can drink coffee conveniently.

The above diagram can simply describe the structure of a home espresso machine. However, there are differences between brands and machine grades, such as the type of pump, boiler, temperature, pressure control system, etc. When the early espresso machine was first invented, the reason why the coffee tasted bad was that the water temperature was too high. The reason is that because the pressure source comes from steam, the water temperature must reach 100 degrees Celsius, which makes the brewed coffee have the so-called burnt taste.

The main function of the boiler is to heat hot water. Most home machines have a single boiler. Advanced versions have dual boilers (one boiler is dedicated to making steam). Because the temperature of hot water for brewing coffee is somewhat different from the temperature of steam, when using a home espresso machine, you must wait for the hot water boiler to boil steam or for the steam to cool down to the hot water temperature for brewing coffee.

Because the purpose of commercial machines is to meet the production quantity within a certain period of time, the compromise of time for home machines is also a consideration of time cost! The picture below shows the structure of the back of the machine. The red object connected to the pipe is the pump for pumping water. The hose on the right is connected to the water tank, and the hose on the left is connected to the boiler.

The difference between espresso and Americano

1. American coffee machine The coffee brewed by an American coffee machine is originally quite light. Because its principle is to pour water on the coffee powder and then flow to the lower pot. The appearance of an American coffee machine is usually divided into two layers, the lower layer is a glass or ceramic coffee pot. But American coffee machines are very cheap, and the quality is quite good for about 200 yuan. A new use of American coffee has been discovered, which is to make tea. It is usually brewed through an American drip pot. It is similar to an Italian coffee machine in that the American drip pot also allows hot water to pass through the coffee powder tank to extract coffee. But the difference is that the hot water is at normal pressure. The American coffee machine has no pressure, and only black coffee, that is, American coffee, is brewed.

The coffee brewed by an American coffee machine is quite weak. This is because the principle is to pour water on the coffee powder and then flow into the lower pot.

The appearance of an American coffee machine is usually divided into two layers, the lower layer is a glass or ceramic coffee pot. However, American coffee machines are very cheap, and the quality is quite good for about 200 yuan. A new use of American coffee machines has been discovered, which is to make tea. Generally, it is brewed through an American drip pot, which is similar to an Italian coffee machine. The American drip pot also allows hot water to pass through the coffee powder tank to extract coffee. But the difference is that the hot water is at normal pressure. The American coffee machine has no pressure, and it only brews black coffee, that is, American coffee. The coffee made by the American coffee machine is relatively light, without soybean oil, and everyone has different tastes, so it cannot make other fancy coffees.

2. Italian coffee machine Italian coffee machine usually has a boiler to produce hot water, and then pressurizes the hot water to a certain pressure to brew coffee. The coffee brewed with pressurized hot water is thicker than usual and has emulsified oil. When drinking coffee, people like to drink the top layer of oil, just like they like to eat the top layer of skin when drinking soy milk.

There are many types of espresso machines. The most common one is the single boiler, followed by the double boiler and the multi-boiler. The price is also getting more expensive. In addition to the general electronic control switch, there are also pull-out espresso machines. Espresso machines use high-pressure hot water to extract coffee. Because the current espresso machines use air pumps to increase the pressure in the boiler to reach the pressure required to extract the cream, they are also called pump coffee machines.

Some original espresso can be made with milk to make latte, with milk foam to make cappuccino, and other fancy coffees. The price of Italian coffee machines ranges from 700 to more than 100,000 yuan. The following are coffees pressed under different pressures. The taste of a cup of coffee is not only determined by the pressure of the coffee machine, but also by the quality and stability of the coffee.

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