Superautomatic espresso machines?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Anyone have experience with these? A “superautomatic” espresso machine is one that not only pumps water through your grounds, but also includes a built-in grinder, tamper, and sometimes a milk frother too (see one explanation).

I first experimented with these about a decade ago, with a Jura A1 or a close variant of it. The one I have makes perfectly adequate coffee (nothing extraordinary, but good enough) and has been very reliable, seeing daily use for the last half decade or more and not having any issues.

The one I have is just a basic model that can only make espresso and not do anything with milk. The fancier ones can make lattes, cappucinos, and even iced drinks all automatically. Still, it’s a pretty awesome piece of gear.

Compared to a regular automatic or manual espresso machine, it doesn’t have the same quality output (loses a lot of the oils in the process), but still tastes fine to me as a non-connoisseur. Compared to a regular drip coffee maker, I think it’s more flavorful (and better in an iced coffee or latte, especially, since it’s a concentrated shot rather than a full cup of hot liquid).

I got mine used, just as a trial, but it turned out way more useful than I expected and I don’t think I can live without one anymore… certainly it paid for itself within a few months, vs getting a store-bought coffee or latte every morning. It does some require some minimal maintenance (emptying and rinsing the tray after every 6 shots, a self-cleaning cycle every month or two) but otherwise it just keeps on going. We make 4-5 shots with it every morning, and in the past, it’s lived in offices where it made probably 20 shots a day.

Anyone have experiences with similar machines, positive or negative or otherwise? I’m not looking to replace mine anytime soon, but I always wonder what I’d replace it with if it went kaput. This is an older model and I wonder if the newer ones are better in some ways (uberautomatic?) but worse in others (the new touch screens seem like an easy failure point). Several other manufacturers also make similar machines.

Overall, I’m just really impressed that something with moving parts (grinders and pumps and and trap doors and such) can last so long, while laptops and such routinely break after a few years.

2

We’ve had a couple, but when the last one died about 5 years ago I replaced it with a Breville so that I had more control over the process.

My other issue with the super automatics was that the milk frothing needed too much work to keep clean. Now I just wipe the wand down with a damp cloth, run about 5 seconds of steam out of the wand, and throw the steaming jug in the dishwasher. Compare this to disassembling the milk container, washing out the container and flexible plastic hoses, and then refilling with milk and putting back in the fridge.

3

I’ve always feared that too, and it was one reason I chose an espresso-only model. It’s one thing to have some leftover coffee dust in the innards, which might get a little moldy over time. I definitely don’t want rotten milk in the pipes, though :face_vomiting:

As for control and flavor… was it worth the tradeoff in convenience for you?

4

I think so. I get better foam and much more precise dosing. Mine has an integrated grinder, my next upgrade would be a separate grinder. I’ve got this unit:

5

I have had 2 Breville’s over the past 15 years. These are semi-automatic I guess. I prefer these as I like to do my own milk frothing (and you can scramble an egg as well. Sure, a separate high quality grinder might give a better result, but I’ve never tried a side by side.

Fried the motherboard on my Breville during covid and the repairs would have been more than a replacement. And I replaced it with a Philips superautomatic with pre-set profiles as a replacement. Got it mainly so I could pre-set for my youngest the lowest coffee bean amount, maximum milk, and she could work it herself. It’s just ok. You want easy and ok, well, it’s not terrible. (I wouldn’t buy a replacement now as my youngest no longer needs it.)

6

That’s pretty cool, actually. What model do you have?

On my Jura, we have to do it like “three medium shots for me, one large one small for her” (not the technical terms, just what we remember the buttons as). Per user profiles would be a nice change.

7

These are the “Latte Go” line. I think I have this one: It only has 2 preset profiles in memory. At the time, the more expensive version had 4 or 5 presets.

My youngest was not able to operate a semi automatic espresso maker. And I wanted her caffeine intake to be minimal without the danger of burning. It did that just fine, and provided me with tolerable espresso drinks. It does what it is designed to do well, as long as it fits your profile.

One of the key items to a decent espresso drink is grinding the beans when you want to use them to avoid oxidation. The Latte Go has a ceramic grinder, but has held up well for probably 5,000 grinds so far. It does produce the spent grounds as pucks, and not some watery mess.

8

We have Eversys machines at work. They cost about $35,000 each and require a man to be flown in from Switzerland every few weeks to repair them. They seem to be built with the same design philosophy as a European car and are as densely packed with components as a pinball machine. The coffee isn’t as good as from a barista but it is pretty good.