Coffee Machines: the Features Explained

It should be so simple - all that I want to do is to buy myself a coffee machine. So why do I find myself standing in the shop looking baffled by what's on display? The answer lies in that one fateful word: jargon.

Entering the world of the coffee machine manufacturer is to enter the labyrinth of jargon. Why are there so many switches? Does it matter? How many of the features will I actually use?

To save you from going through the investigative work that I went through, here's a simple explanation of what features you'll find on coffee machines, what they mean and whether they're really likely to be important in your life.

Let's start with those switches. In general, the operation of a coffee machine should be simple, so be very suspicious of any mention that appears to have too many switches or dials. For basic operation, you'll just need a dial (possibly two maximum) to switch your machine on and to begin the coffee brewing process.

You'll then need a further switch or dial to enable you to operate steam pipe. The steam pipe is used if you want to make cappuccino, rather than espresso.

So that's it - a maximum of 3 required switches!

Some machines may also include indicators (lights) to show you various pieces of information. Again, I reckon these can be kept to a minimum - you just need to know whether the power is on. Anything above that could be helpful but is certainly not vital.

Another question that I found myself asking was whether I could use one machine to make both espresso and cappuccino. This seemed like a fairly standard question but is not something that is always made clear by manufacturers. The answer is that all of the espresso machines can be used to make cappuccino - read our article on making cappuccino with an espresso machine for details.