In addition to the well-known coffee machines that are available for purchase, many others are frequently used in the catering industry. Among these are the increasingly popular fully automatic coffee machines, which stand for simple yet elegant coffee preparation at the touch of a button. In addition to the bean container, the majority of these machines also have an integrated grinder that grinds the beans directly and thus freshly before the brewing process. The preferred grind can often be set with a simple rotary movement. The water tank of fully automatic coffee makers often has a capacity of more than 1.5 litres of water and thus allows many hot drinks to be prepared directly one after the other - without the need to fill up with fresh water. With a fully automatic machine, many great coffee specialities, such as espresso and caffè crema, but also coffee specialities with milk foam such as cappuccino or latte macchiato can be prepared quickly and easily.
Portion coffee machines such as capsule machines and E.S.E. (Easy Serving Espresso) pad machines are much less complicated to use and do not require much preparation. These machines are suitable for quick single or double portions of coffee while maintaining consistent quality. With these systems, too, you get your coffee served quickly and easily into your cup at the touch of a button - insert a pad or capsule and you're ready to go. What's more, cleaning these machines is correspondingly simple and quick. The E.S.E. coffee pods can also be used in traditional portafilter machines. It should be noted, however, that a modified portafilter or pad brewing chamber is required for preparation with the pods. Upgrading a traditional portafilter machine is no problem, as many machine manufacturers already offer the accessories in the form of a filter insert.
Coffee machines for capsule preparation are now available in a wide variety of designs. The main distinguishing features are the design of the machine, the shape and also the structure of the capsules. The capsules each contain coffee powder for one portion, are hermetically sealed and used coffee powder remains in the capsule. With the E.S.E. pad machines, the pads also contain the precisely measured amount of pressed espresso powder. Here, too, there is no grinding, dosing or tamping of the powder. The pads are inserted into the machine and the brewing process is started at the touch of a button.
