Best Machines to Make a Perfect Cappuccino

This is a guest post by Eric Filter. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee.

With a huge selection of makes and models and equally varying prices it can be daunting to choose your perfect Espresso Cappuccino Maker. If you are looking to buy the perfect kitchen appliance to help you make the perfect espresso cappuccino at home then read on.

A good cappuccino is made up of good coffee beans, proper grinding of the beans, well-made cappuccino and proper milk frothing. It is important to understand that to get a good cappuccino you need a good espresso which puts the emphasis on finding a good espresso maker.

To find the most appropriate espresso maker you need to look at the pros and cons of the steam-driven, pump-driven and bean to cup technologies. Below we take a look at various technologies, their pros and cons, best prices and places to shop for them.

Steam Driven Espresso Maker

There are many steam driven espresso makers at the low end of the price scale. Though very reasonably priced, you will not get the best coffee from steam driven machines due to several reasons.

Although they are called steam machines they do not really produce proper steam but rather very hot water in vaporous form. You can only get proper steam from water that is both vaporized and pressurised.

Why all the fuss with steam you may ask. Well, without proper pressure being used to push water through the coffee granules you will miss the rich espresso flavour and frothy head which is combined with foamed milk for a perfect cappuccino.

But you can still get an adequate espresso from some steam machines at the higher end of the price scale such as DeLonghi EC5 Steam-Driven 4-Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Maker.

Pump Driven Espresso Maker

The pump driven espresso machines have become the most popular for home and commercial use. Here the pressure is derived from an automatic pump instead of steam.

To get a good espresso you need three things:

• Adequate temperature of the water
• Adequate pressure of the water as it goes through the coffee grounds
• Proper grinding of the coffee beans

Pump driven espresso makers take care of two of care of the first two requirements leaving only proper coffee grinding.

This is fine if you don’t mind taking some time to master the craft of coffee grinding. If you grind too fine the result will be a poor tasting espresso.

Alternatively you can settle for pre-grind coffee which is never as good as freshly grind. Good pump espresso machines are priced between $75 and $200 so if this is your budget, check out the range at Amazon. A good buy is the Lello 1375 Ariete Cafe Prestige Coffee Maker with many positive customer reviews.

Automatic Bean to Cup Espresso Maker

The bean-to-cup machines do everything- grinding the coffee beans, brewing the espresso and frothing the milk. You just pop the coffee beans in one end and wait for the perfect espresso/cappuccino in the other end.

You can expect to pay a premium price for this kind of machine with prices ranging between $250 and $1,200 for a good bean to cup machine.

A good machine at the lower end of this price scale is the Krups XP7260 Compact Fully Automatic Espresso Machine with Auto Cappuccino Kit.

A good high end machine is the DeLonghi ESAM3500.N Magnifica Digital Super-Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine.

Are there any disadvantages? Well they are considered too perfect by some espresso purists who think they take the joy out of coffee making. But for the rest of us they are simply a stress free way to make a cafe style perfect espresso cappuccino at home.

Which is the right Cappuccino Espresso Maker?

Well the answer depends on many factors such as how much you love to make a prefect espresso/cappuccino at home, how much time you wish to devote to making it and of course your budget.

The automatic bean to cup machines are perfect for the person with a good budget and does not wish to devote too much time to the art and science of making perfect espresso each time.

Pump machines are also perfect for someone without a high budget and/or wishes to have more input in the end result in terms of grinding own coffee beans.

Pump machines are a suitable first purchase for someone on a tight budget and wants something better than a traditional stovetop coffee maker.

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Eric Filter is a freelance writer who loves coffee and writing to help readers choose the best burr coffee grinder and espresso maker. 

Photo by niallkennedy.