At Mondo del Caffè's roastery shop, you'll find a selection of fully automatic coffee machines in various sizes to suit all needs. Whether for a single household, a family, or an office, these machines offer an optional fresh milk system, cleaning programs, and automatic functions, and above all, they all deliver one thing: truly excellent coffee and espresso.
What exactly is a fully automatic coffee machine?
By definition, a fully automatic coffee machine is exactly what its name suggests: an automatic coffee machine that can prepare coffee, espresso, latte macchiato, milk coffee, cappuccino – in other words, various coffee variations – at the touch of a button.
The fully automatic coffee machine for private households is essentially a development from the commercial sector. The first fully automatic machines for self-service by staff were developed there. Back then, they offered a wide range of products, including soups and sweet drinks. Over time, however, the focus has increasingly shifted towards coffee and coffee variations.
The first fully automatic coffee machines were launched by the company Solis in the 1970s. They were developed by the Swiss engineer Arthur Schmed. The operating principle of the espresso machine was adopted (short contact time of the coffee grounds with the hot water). However, the machine operates automatically. At the time, this was an absolute world first.
The function
The operating principle of fully automatic coffee machines is essentially always the same. Whole coffee beans are placed in the grinder, where they are ground. The grind size is often adjustable. The pump then delivers fresh water through the flow heater, where it is heated to the desired temperature and flows into the brewing chamber. In the brewing chamber, the ground coffee is compressed, and the hot water passes through it. Pre-infusion and brewing time are adjustable. Many machines now also allow you to individually adjust the amount of coffee grounds per drink, the amount of water, and the brewing pressure.
Disadvantages
The biggest weakness of fully automatic coffee machines lies in brewing proper espresso. They simply can't match the quality of a traditional espresso machine (with a portafilter). The pressure can't be built up to the same level as with a portafilter machine. And the parameters aren't as customizable. While fully automatic machines can sometimes produce very good espressos, they always remain just that – a short coffee. Another disadvantage is the sometimes somewhat cumbersome cleaning process – many manufacturers have improved this aspect and now describe it better in their user manuals. Increasingly modern displays are also being incorporated, guiding the user through the programs step by step with images and text.
Advantages
The pressure built up in the brewing unit and the comparatively short contact time often result in a harmonious, balanced, yet robust coffee. This, of course, depends heavily on the type of coffee or espresso beans used. Tannins, bitter substances, and acids also end up in the finished beverage to a lesser extent, especially compared to classic filter coffee. This is the major advantage of today's fully automatic coffee machines. As mentioned above, milk-based drinks and coffee specialties can now also be prepared automatically. However, this is also one of the biggest problems with fully automatic coffee machines: cleaning can be complicated and should never be neglected. Therefore, it was important to us at our coffee machine exhibition that all machines have a removable brewing unit and that the fully automatic machines have an automatic cleaning and descaling program. The milk frother should also be separate and removable for cleaning.
Conclusion
If you take care to clean the brewing unit and coffee spout regularly with degreaser tablets and hot water, and if you also clean the milk system, nothing stands in the way of enjoying coffee from your fully automatic machine. They are a great addition to our product range, and we really enjoy selling them now. Many of our customers appreciate their durability, ease of use, and the quality of the drinks. If they are cleaned properly, we consider these fully automatic coffee machines to be completely safe from a food hygiene perspective. But this cleaning is essential.
