Saeco Espresso Machine
Swiss Innovation Meets Italian Style
Anyone who is shopping for an espresso machine most likely hears the name Saeco. The company was began in Italy in 1981 and was founded by Sergio Zapella and Arthur Schmed. The goal of the company has always been innovation when it comes to building espresso makers. In 1985 they released the first fully automatic espresso machine to ever hit the market. The company now has 15 subsidiaries throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia and Latin America and sells espresso machines and accessories to over 60 countries throughout the world.
Saeco offers a range of different super automatic espresso machines. These machines do everything for you: grind the coffee, dose it, tamp it, brew it and discard the spent grounds into an internal dump box. Making espresso can't be more convenient than that. Well, let's have a look at what a typical Saeco espresso machine has to offer.
Features common to all models
All super automatic Saeco espresso machines come with the following features:
- Ceramic burr coffee beans grinder that can be adjusted to several different grind settings. Ceramic grinders offer several advantages over the traditional steel grinders. Ceramic burrs produce more consistent grind, they are quieter and they last longer than burrs made of steel. In addition, ceramic does not influence the coffee flavor in any way and is perfectly safe to use.
- Hot water dispenser. You are likely to find this feature more useful than you think. You can use it for making tea, soup etc.
- Pannarello frothing adapter which makes frothing the milk very easy and quick.
- 15 bar vibration pump. The actual pressure when brewing is 8-9 bars - exactly what it should be.
- The machine will alert you when you need to add more coffee beans, when you need to refill the water tank and when the dump box is full. All models except Spidem Villa will also alert you when you need to descale the machine and if there is a problem with the brew group.
- Removable brew group which makes cleaning the machine very easy. You just remove the brew group and rinse it with water under your tap.
- Adjustable cup volume you can choose how much espresso you want to brew.
- Swivel base: You can easily turn the machine around without lifting it. That makes refilling the water or cleaning the machine that much easier.
Other features
Most of the Saeco espresso machines come with:- Saeco Aroma System. The brewing includes a special step where the tamped coffee grounds are moistened with a bit of hot water for a short time just before the actual brewing starts. This is called pre-brewing (or pre-infusion) and helps to extract the best elements from the coffee grounds.
- Cup warmer
- Aqua Prima water filter
- Back pressure relief valve
- You can adjust the dose of coffee that is used to make your espresso. Note that on the lower end models the range is only between 6 and 9 grams.
- Bypass doser
- Cleaning cycle
- Self-cleaning brew group
Having some idea about the various available features will hopefully make it easier for you to choose the best Saeco espresso machine for your needs.
Here is a closer look at some of the individual models:
Saeco Villa and Saeco Odea - two entry level super automatic Saeco machines.