Espresso Machine india Coffee | Review, buying tips, prices
Espresso machine india. With Starbucks just opening its first outlet in Mumbai,16 years after the first espresso bar “Barista” came here. So why did it take so long for the biggest coffee brand to arrive? The espresso coffee business is gradually becoming a booming industry in the hospitality sector, this can be seen with the emergence of many coffee chains.
For those who dont know, Espresso coffee is totally different from “nescafe” and the likes,for two primary differences. One- it is PURE coffee,not a mixture of chicory that changes the flavour,taste and cheapens the quality, and two- it is brewed under pressure in an electric boiler.In order to get an espresso machine India,you have to buy it off an importer who has sourced it from an Italian company. There are machines produced from al over the world,but the best are Made in Italy,that is where the espresso was invented.
Choosing a Machine can be tricky,becuase most of them are way over a lac of rupees and even the cheapest domestic machines cost about Rs.25,000.I did come across two machines in the sub 25,000 range, and here is my experience with them:
Morphy Richards Roma- espresso machine india
(in pic- Caraffe with single and double shot steel baskets, coffee scooper)
Purchased this in 2009, and is/was the only “professional” espresso machine from Morphy Richards that retailed just above Rs.10,000.Its supposed to be a British brand,but the casing box clearly mentioned “made in China” written on it.Morphy Richards products are imported and distributed in India by Bajaj Electricals.
There is a dial that lets you get an espresso shot if set on the right and lets you froth milk if set on the left.Its a simple operation that uses a single boiler for both.
Pros-This is the cheapest espresso machine that gives you an espresso shot at 15 bars of pressure.There are some other Morphy Richards coffee makers below 10K,but those are more like plastic toys. The Roma is the closest you can come to an “espresso bar” type of coffee.
Cons-After sing it for 3 months,the espresso shot began to leak from the sides of the caraffe (coffee holder with handle) and few all over the place.Once while taking out a shot, the metal caraffe even slipped off the harness and flew 5 feet away like a missile, glad i wasnt close enough. Also most parts of the body are only painted silver and is not stainless steel all over.
I lost the single shot steel basket coffee holder and called Bajaj Electrical customer care for a replacement.It took them 3 months to send it to me, everytime i called they said it wasnt in stock and had to be imported seperately. Bad service it was.
Gaggia Evolution – espresso machine india
(in pic- coffee scooper,caraffe with single and double shot baskets,coffee presser)
In 2011 i purchased the Gaggia Evolution from a company that imported it called ID Gourmet. They seemed like a reliable lot, so i went ahead placed the order at Rs.16,500. Gaggia is one of the biggest and most popular Italian espresso maker brands in the world.
Pros– Excellent espresso shots, good sturdy machine and strong caraffe.Gaggia definietly stand sup to its name as far as the quality of the product is concerned
Cons-The cap of the milk frother had been misplaced.So i called ID Gourmet for a replacement,just 6 months after purchasing it. They sent the engineer over and charged me Rs. 1300 for it!! On top of that the engineer was vying for a Rs.500 service/visit fee too- which i did not pay!!. I was so furious at being fleeced. The cap of the frother is just a small black plastic piece,that can be seen from the picture, its about 2 inches long. They said it was imported and gave me some nonsense about costing that much in Euros (ya right!!). I told them i would have never bought the product if the after sales was so expensive, it was like daylight robbery.(In spite of being in warranty period of 2 years).