Toy machines can also be played with sample article 1: EUPA Tsannkuen TSK-1826B4 Italian high-pressure steam semi-automatic coffee machine

1. Introduction

I am an expert at digging a new hole for myself: coffee

Actually, I have wanted to jump out of this coffee trap for a long time. I love the aroma and taste of coffee, but I am the kind of person who can’t sleep until 2 or 3 o’clock at night after drinking a cup of matcha frappuccino in the morning. I love and hate coffee! Friends told me that I drink too little and have no immunity to caffeine. I can drink more, but it doesn’t matter. I still can’t sleep until I have panda eyes. My love for coffee has been extinguished for the time being.

Although I can’t drink coffee, I still feel the itch of coffee after seeing so many aunties posting their coffee machine orders. The more I know about coffee, the deeper I feel this pit is. There are so many equipments for hand pouring, siphon, French press, Italian, capsule, fully automatic, semi-automatic, etc. I am confused. There are so many equipments for hand pouring, not to mention coffee machines. I retreated a little again...

Until one day I saw the drip coffee on auntie.com. This is great! It is perfect for a coffee novice like me who knows nothing. I can drink coffee with just one pot and one cup. It is cheap and I don’t feel bad if I can’t finish it~

So I bought two boxes and drank them for my own entertainment. To my surprise, I no longer suffered from insomnia after drinking them!

In my impression, coffee has always had the same taste, with a lot of sugar and a lot of milk. As soon as I opened the drip bag, I could smell the strong aroma. After brewing, the aroma filled the whole kitchen. Without any seasoning, although it was bitter, it was sour and sweet. It was the first time I tasted the real taste of coffee, and I was pleasantly surprised~

Drip coffee is the first choice for beginner coffee lovers. Regardless of the taste, it is convenient for people who want to try it but don’t want to learn more about coffee equipment and beans. After finishing this box, I went looking for new coffee. As a face control, I was attracted by a beautiful hand-brewed pot, so I bought this drip coffee gift box on Taobao.

The author is a beginner and has never had many kinds of coffee before. The only ones he drank were commercial coffees, so he can’t really describe the taste. But paired with the author’s homemade desserts, it can help to relieve the sweetness, and it is really a great photo-taking tool (what’s wrong?!

In the process of understanding coffee, several introductory coffee knowledge popular science posts by my value friend Eric Xiang had a great influence on me. You can go to the following post to learn detailed knowledge. As a newcomer, I won’t say much.

The author is a tinkerer who loves appearance. The purpose of buying a coffee machine is very clear, to play with coffee latte art (what about drinking coffee?), so capsule machines, fully automatic machines, hand-brewed machines, and moka pots are all ignored. I locked my sights on semi-automatic coffee machines. Since I didn't know if I could stick with it and didn't want to invest too much at the beginning, I set my sights on toy machines. Seeing that everyone unanimously recommended Tsannkuen 1826, I decided to try it~~~

2. Unboxing and Showing Products

Here is a search link. Anyway, there should be no fakes. It was shipped on the last day before the New Year and arrived in 4 days.

During the four days of waiting for the coffee machine to arrive, I was not idle. I studied the articles on various forums and Zhang Dama's website, and memorized the steps on how to make a qualified cup of espresso.

Of course, learning is endless. Let’s take a look at the coffee machine at home~~

Official parameters:

Italian coffee machines require extraction pressure. Don’t buy Italian coffee machines with a pressure below 15 Bar, as they are worse than toys.

The outer box is wrapped in a thick cardboard box, which is very sturdy and not damaged at all. The model and manufacturer information of the coffee machine are printed on the box.

After removing the outer box, there is a product color box packaging inside. The content on the packaging is very rich, with photos on each side, one side introducing the buttons and accessories of the coffee machine, and the other side briefly introducing the making of various fancy coffees.

Open the lid, both sides of the machine are firmly fixed with double-layer foam, shock and pressure proof, the packaging is still very good. The instruction manual is on the top layer, and there are 2 powder bowls on the left.

All the accessories and gifts from the store were stuffed into the box. I thought I would need two boxes, but I didn’t expect it would fit in all of them…

Product accessories include: instruction manual, coffee handle, coffee measuring spoon, single cup filter, double cup filter, and through-hole needle.

The gifts given by the store include: electric coffee grinder, coffee beans, latte art cup, and powder sprinkling pad.

The front of the coffee machine has a streamlined design with curves. It looks very good overall and does not look like a 300-yuan machine at all. Unfortunately, the plastic material of the outer shell betrays it. It feels very light, no wonder it is called a toy machine.

From the side, it looks like a capsule coffee machine. It is small and does not take up much space. I personally give it 4.5 stars for its appearance.

There is no big difference between the left and right sides, except that there is an extra raised steam operating lever. Generally, the latte art bowl is held in the right hand and the steam valve is switched on and off with the left hand, so the design of this position on the left side is more user-friendly.

The steam knob is divided into 3 gears: off, preheat, and steam. However, there is no level control between each gear. Every time I don’t know whether I have turned it to the right position, I can only watch and turn it.

There is still not much decoration on the back. There is a small opening at the bottom for the wires to extend out of the opening without making the machine uneven.

Looking from top to bottom, the overall design is still very smooth and coordinated. Even if it is a toy, it does not give people a "cheap feeling". For novices, there will be nothing wrong with the appearance alone.

There is a cup warming plate on the top, which is symbolic. The reason why it is symbolic is that it is completely useless. It is not hot enough to warm the cup... and the space is very small. A 300ml cup takes up two-thirds of the space. There is a metal guardrail at the back to prevent the cup from falling.

There are only 3 simple buttons + 1 indicator light on the main control panel, which are the switch, single cup, and double cup buttons. Although it is a toy machine, it is also electronically controlled~~ The single cup and double cup buttons will automatically control the water volume, and you can also adjust it manually and pre-fill the water volume you want. It is a toy with high playability~

There is a water tray at the bottom and a float at the back to indicate the amount of water in the tray. When the float is exposed, it means there is too much water and it needs to be cleaned. It is very convenient to take out and clean. The capacity is a bit small, but I basically clean it every time, so the smaller capacity is not a big problem.

There is a milk frothing rod hidden inside the body on the right side of the machine. You can use it by pulling it out. There is a silicone cover on the nipple to help with foaming, but in actual use it is better to remove the silicone cover, as it only produces big bubbles and cannot make the milk smooth and delicate.

It looks much better after removing the silicone cover~~ On the right is a water tank water level display slot, which is very conspicuous and reasonable in the front. I saw some anti-human design on the side. I have to lean over to check the water level every time, which is too unscientific...

Open the top cover at the back of the machine, there is a hidden slot on the left, you can put the unused powder bowl and through-hole needle in it, I like this design! It is most suitable for people like the OP who are flat-headed and spit...

The water tank on the right has a maximum capacity of 1.5L, which is relatively small. You need to add water once to make about 3-4 cups... It is firmly locked and has a handle for easy removal and cleaning. Normally, you can just open the lid and pour the water without having to take it out all the time.

The brewing handle is poorly made... There are scratches and rough edges all over it. The bottom guide layer is made of plastic. The first impression is very bad, but thinking that it is just a toy machine worth more than 300 yuan, everything goes with the wind... Let it go~ Let it go~

Two powder baskets were randomly given, plus a pressureless powder basket that I bought myself. Seeing that everyone recommended this machine from Tsannkuen, I had to buy a pressureless powder basket. Although I don’t know why, I still bought it...

The order is double cup with powder bowl, double cup without powder bowl, and single cup with powder bowl.

The bottom of the powder bowl can easily distinguish the two: double cup with pressed powder bowl, double cup without pressed powder bowl, and single cup with pressed powder bowl.

The difference between a tampered coffee bowl and a tamperless coffee bowl is that the bottom of a tampered coffee bowl is a double-layer design, with only a small hole at the bottom of the shell, and the coffee comes out only from the small hole at the bottom when the pressure is increased; while the bottom of a tamperless coffee bowl is a single-layer design, and the water flows directly from the hole. The experts all say that the tamperless coffee bowl tastes good, but I can't taste it, so I'll buy it first.

The powder bowl and the handle are integrated~~ I have always used the double-pressed powder bowl, and it tastes pretty good, so I have never tried the non-pressed powder bowl... What a waste of money

The brewing head at the bottom of the machine is still made of plastic, but the brewing head is made of metal. Insert the handle at 45 degrees on the left, rotate it to the middle, lock it, and you can start brewing coffee~~

3. First time use

Before using it for the first time, you need to clean the water tank, water storage tray, filter, handle, powder bowl, measuring spoon, and steam nozzle. Then put all the parts back in place and press the water tank tightly to prevent water leakage.

Fill the water tank with pure water, do not exceed the maximum water level. It is not recommended to use tap water or mineral water, as there are many impurities and it is easy to clog the pipes in the machine. I originally asked my husband to buy Yibao, but he said this one is good, so he brought back a bucket. I was speechless...

When using it for the first time, there is no water in the boiler and you need to pump water to preheat it. Turn on the "On/Off" button and the indicator light will start flashing. Press the "Single Cup, Double Cup" button at the same time for more than 3 seconds. The indicator light will flash faster and the pump will start to pump water automatically.

When the pump stops working, water will flow out and the indicator light will resume normal flashing. When the indicator light is on, the preheating is complete. It is best to boil water several times to allow the pipes in the machine to clean automatically.

4. How to make a cup of Italian milk coffee

Before I bought a coffee machine, I watched a video or saw a guy in a coffee shop brewing a cup of coffee. It was very simple. I put the powder into the handle, screwed it into the brewing head of the coffee machine, pressed the switch and waited for the coffee machine to brew the coffee. However, after learning relevant knowledge, I realized that it is not easy to extract a qualified espresso when I first came into contact with Italian coffee. There are many factors that affect a cup of coffee (temperature, pressure, time, powder-water ratio, grinding degree, water quality, etc.), which made me not know where to start.

I mentioned the word "qualified" many times above. That is for advanced coffee enthusiasts. For ordinary espresso lovers like the OP who are new to espresso, it is enough to make it taste better than Starbucks or Roast It To Death.

Due to the performance limitations of the toy machine itself, the extracted coffee is not acceptable to coffee enthusiasts, but for the author who has only had a few cups of coffee, it is very amazing.

1. Preheat the machine

Although it is a toy machine, it also has 15Bar high pressure extraction, so if you want to play it well and scare your friends and family, it is still possible. The first step is to preheat the temperature enough so that the coffee can be extracted. I usually wait for about 15 minutes after turning on the power button. During this time, I can put the coffee cup upside down in the cup warming area to preheat the cup, although it is useless... This cup warming area is quite small...

2. Grind coffee beans

If you make coffee at home, don't buy commercial old beans like Italian and Lavisa. The flavor of coffee will fade away after a long time. I recommend searching for freshly roasted Italian coffee beans on Majia. Many of them are freshly roasted and sold. The beans are very fresh and you can smell the beans very fragrantly!

At first, I didn’t know how important a grinder is to a cup of espresso, so I used the bean chopper that the seller gave me. For me, who was making coffee for the first time, the coffee produced by the bean chopper was already great, but after drinking it for a week, I knew where the difference was. The bean chopper could not grind the beans evenly and finely. Evenness is very important. As for the principle, the article on bean grinders by Elephant Value has already explained it very clearly. So I then bought a Huijia ZD15 grinder.

Let’s take a look at the bean chopper first… after all, it’s a standard feature when you buy this coffee machine.

I used the provided measuring spoon to scoop in a certain amount of coffee powder. I was stunned by the aroma. It was the first time I knew that ground coffee beans could be so fragrant!

Now look at it again, the powder is really uneven in coarseness and fineness, and the lumps are not fine. Ignore it and continue working.

3. Filling coffee powder

Use the included measuring spoon to scoop the ground coffee powder into the powder bowl. The amount of powder should be consistent each time, so that the quality of the coffee produced can be guaranteed.

The process of filling the coffee powder does not end there. The powder needs to be tamped. The poster also bought a 51mm powder tamping hammer. I have to complain about the unprofessionalism of the seller. He insisted on telling me that the size of the powder bowl is 49mm. I almost bought the wrong size. In the end, the customer service of the store I bought without a powder tamping bowl told me it was 51mm.

Use the same force to flatten the coffee powder each time. Flattening will ensure uniform extraction and will not cause water output deviation.

This is the first time the OP has become a fan, and I can’t even stand watching him complain as much as he wants.

4. Extracting coffee

After filling the coffee powder, you can start extracting the coffee. Although there are a lot of steps, no step can be missed!

Screw the handle onto the brewing group and turn it to the locking position to lock it.

Click the single cup button or double cup button according to your needs~~

Wait for the fragrant coffee to flow out~~~

Look at the first cup of coffee gray made by the OP~~~ For the OP who doesn’t know much about coffee, I was totally fooled, haha~~~

Looking at the Huijia ZD-15 grinder that I replaced later, the quality of the coffee beans has improved dramatically. The grinder must be replaced!

Look at this color~~ It was yellow before, but now it’s shit yellow! [Hey!

It can be seen how important a coffee grinder is to extracting a cup of Italian coffee. If you don’t want to invest too much but want to experience coffee that tastes better than XXX, you can choose Tsannkuen 1826 + Huijia ZD10 as the minimum starting point.

5. Froth the milk

If you just want to drink espresso, then you're done here. If you want to make fancy milk coffee, please continue reading~~

It is very difficult to make a cup of qualified milk foam, and almost every novice will fail. The author has a strong learning spirit. Before the coffee machine came, he had watched countless videos teaching how to make milk foam, so when he got the machine, he followed the instructions. However, the actual operation is not as good as the theoretical teaching. It still takes more exploration, adjustment and practice.

Those who want to learn more will definitely search for it themselves. There are already many tutorials on the Internet. Those who just want to drink it casually can just look at the pictures of the original poster.

Set the steam button to the preheat setting and preheat to a sufficient temperature. Be sure to preheat for a long time. I usually spray once and then preheat again.

Turn on the steam and drain the water in the steam head. Dry steam can achieve better whipping effect.

You can release more steam and continue to preheat it to a sufficient temperature.

After preheating, pour the milk into the milk jug. The height should not exceed the bottom of the latte art nozzle. Let the steam outlet of the steam head sink about 1 cm below the milk surface. Turn on the steam and turn the milk jug to the right to let the steam rotate (you can only figure out the rotation angle yourself, as each machine has a different temperament. Be sure to remove the silicone cover). When enough milk foam is whipped, keep it still to let the milk become soft. When the temperature reaches about 60 degrees, you can turn off the steam.

Look at the milk foam that the OP made, I feel pretty good~

Don’t forget to wipe the steam head immediately after whipping. It will be very, very, very difficult to clean after it dries!

This is the first cup of latte I made. I feel good about it, but I can’t do anything fancy.

V. Achievements Display

From January 30th when the machine arrived at my home, in just two weeks, I consumed a half-pound bag of beans, 4 boxes of Ubemax large-packed milk, about 20 cups~

Everyone, just take a look at the pictures and see the progress the OP has made in the past two weeks~

Strawberry lava cheesecake, the latte art is super ugly, this is the condition on the second day.

On the third day, I suddenly pulled out a heart shape. But the milk foam was super crumbly, with very thick bubbles.

Passion fruit green tea pound cake, the heart keeps pulling.

This is the first cup of coffee I made after I changed to Huijia ZD-15 grinder. The color of the fat is much prettier~~ The big bubbles on the liquid surface are not caused by milk foam, but by the coffee being brewed from the brewing head. I asked around and they said there is no solution with toy machines...

The last one was made on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. The milk foam was very successful and even had some small lines.

The Valentine's Day gift was a new coffee machine, Huijia 210s2, which announced the end of this little toy of mine. Although I have only played with it for more than two weeks, I basically drink one cup a day, and the output is still satisfactory to me. As for why I upgraded, it was because the steam of this machine was not strong enough, and I couldn't make stable milk foam to play with latte art, so I upgraded to a more decent machine and continued to play with it~~

6. Summary of advantages and disadvantages

advantage

1. The price is cheap and the quantity is sufficient. Among toy machines of the same price, Tsannkuen is the best.

2. The appearance is fashionable and elegant, and it takes up little space, so it will not look out of place at home.

3. 15bar high pressure to meet the needs of extracting Italian espresso.

4. The electronic control buttons are simple and easy to operate, and are easy for novices to use.

shortcoming

1. The steam is not strong enough and keeps coming on and off, making it impossible to whip the coffee in a smooth and stable manner every time.

2. The workmanship is a bit rough, and the whole body is made of plastic. But the price is there, what else do you want?

3. The water storage capacity is too small, only 1.5L, and can only make 3-4 cups.

Its shortcomings are all limited by the price. If this is a 3,000 yuan machine, it will definitely solve the above shortcomings and have more advantages, so I won’t say more.

This machine is suitable for entry-level coffee lovers who don’t want to drink instant coffee but don’t want to invest too much in a coffee machine. It is capable of making a cup of Italian milk coffee that is more fragrant and delicious than takeaway coffee.

Look forward to my next review of a new machine~~

above.

Thanks for watching.