You’re probably wondering what a super-automatic coffee machine is and what it can do. If you are, you’re not alone. Super-automatic coffee makers can stir up quite a bit of confusion, especially since there’s such a thing as semi-automatic and fully automatic coffee makers.
So, what is a super-automatic coffee machine, how do they work, and, most importantly, are they worth the money? Read on to find out!
What Is a Super-Automatic Coffee Machine?
First, allow us to explain what an automatic coffee machine is, which is pretty simple. An automatic coffee machine is a countertop appliance that brews coffee using the filter-drip brewing method. This basically means that boiling water passes through coffee grounds, where a filter catches the grounds and allows nothing but pure, delicious coffee to pass.
Now, it’s what we didn’t explain that really sets super-automatic coffee machines apart. The brewing process is a lot more complicated than just passing water through grounds. You have to consider the texture of the grounds, how much pressure you apply to them when forming a puck, the temperature of the water, how quickly water passes through the grounds and filter, and so on.
A super-automatic coffee machine takes away all of the confusing variables. It essentially does all of the calculations for you to produce the perfect cup of coffee.
Complicated measurements and calculations are crucial when making any homemade brew, but super-automatic coffee makers go beyond just drip coffee. If you want an espresso, a macchiato latte, or even just a frothy cup of milk to top hot cocoa, you can do it all using this simple-yet-highly-tech-heavy appliance.
How Does a Super-Automatic Coffee Machine Work?
There are three important components built into a fully automatic coffee machine—namely, the whole-bean grinder, the boiling unit, and the brewing group.
In a fully automatic coffee machine, you can make your coffee from scratch. The grinder lets you adjust the fineness or coarseness of the beans, which gives you full control over the flavor and strength of your coffee. After the beans are grinded down to the selected consistency, they fall into an internal group head, where the machine automatically applies the perfect amount of pressure for optimal dosing.
An internal boiling unit heats water to the perfect temperature based on your settings before passing the pressurized water through the group head, past the grounds, and into an awaiting vessel underneath the brewing unit.
What’s So Great About Super-Automatic Coffee Makers?
The difference between manual or semi-automatic coffee makers and super-automatic coffee makers is like night and day. Manual and semi-automatic coffee makers require some manual labor. Super-automatic coffee machines take nearly all of the manual labor away (you still have to wipe the machine down and refill the water tank).
In addition, these machines come with a vast library of specialty drinks, ranging from drip-brew coffee all the way to espressos and even milk-based coffee drinks, such as lattes. They either have a built-in milk system or are compatible with one, allowing you to froth your milk from the same appliance that you use to make coffee.
In short, the precision and convenience of super-automatic coffee machines make them so great. To the coffee-making newbies who don’t want to go through long lessons about the different theories behind a golden cup of coffee, any machine that takes over the complicated calculations and measurements in the brewing process is worth looking at.
Are Super-Automatic Coffee Machines Worth the Cost?
Well, that’s not for us to decide. Since super-automatic coffee machines make the entire brewing process so easy (you can literally prepare a cup of latte with a single push of a button), these appliances don’t come cheap. Only you, the shopper, can decide whether spending up to half the cost of a round-way trip to the Summer Olympics is worth it.
However, we will say this: if you want to feel like an actual barista, then a super-automatic coffee maker is overkill. Most baristas can get by with semi-automatic and fully automatic coffee machines. In fact, the bit of manual labor that goes into using these machines allows professional baristas a bit of flexibility to fine-tune their drinks.
Final Thoughts
In the end, it boils to this: how much experimenting do you want to do to make the perfect cup of coffee? A little, a lot, or none at all? If you’re crazy about milk-based drinks and don’t want to bother learning how to make one from scratch, then a super-automatic coffee maker can be worth the steep cost.