Espresso machines

Espresso machines

These are coffee machines and espresso machines for the home or office for passionate coffee fans and baristas. At Galaxus, you'll find a wide selection of the top brands of portafilter machines such as Bezzera, De'Longhi, ECM, Lelit, Quick Mill, Sage and many more.

Espresso machines, also called portafilter machines, are used to brew espresso and other coffee drinks. Compared to many other coffee machines, espresso machines are mostly made of metal inside and some models even have a stainless steel housing, which guarantees a very long life. Portafilter coffee machines basically work in a similar way to other coffee machines. The main difference is that they have a removable filter holder that is filled with coffee powder. In addition, when preparing coffee using a portafilter machine, it is possible to manually regulate and optimise various factors such as the degree of grinding of the coffee beans, the quantity and strength of the coffee powder, the brewing time, water temperature or brewing pressure.

When preparing coffee with an espresso machine, the ground coffee is placed in the filter holder before the brewing process and then pressed in with a so-called tamper. As the grind of purchased coffee is often too coarse, it is worth buying a coffee grinder. Good espresso machines ensure a constant temperature and pressure. Dual-boiler espresso machines are particularly good at this, as this type of portafilter machine has two separate boilers: one for making coffee and one for producing steam. Thanks to these two separate boilers, dual-boiler espresso machines can ensure a constant water temperature (approx. 94 degrees) and steam temperature (approx. 120 degrees).

Single-circuit espresso machines, on the other hand, feature only one unit for coffee and steam. Here, the boiler feeds the portafilter directly and produces steam. The temperature varies depending on whether steam or espresso is supplied. For those who drink only espresso, single-circuit portafilter machines are perfectly suitable and usually a little cheaper. They're also somewhat faster to reach operating temperature than dual-circuit machines.

Dual-circuit portafilter machines usually have a slightly larger boiler, which is used for direct steam extraction and for heating the water for the heat exchanger. In this way, fresh water from the tank (not the boiler) goes directly to the portafilter. The water heats up to 93 to 95 degrees in a copper pipe that runs through the boiler. In this way, dual-circuit portafilter machines can extract coffee and froth milk at the same time. Dual-circuit machines are therefore slightly more expensive than single-circuit espresso machines, but they are faster to prepare and always use fresh water for espresso preparation, which is fed into the brewing unit.
So if you mainly drink espresso and rarely want to make a cappuccino, a single-circuit machine is probably perfectly sufficient. If milk drinks are to be prepared regularly, a dual-circuit machine is the right choice. For true coffee perfectionists, a dual-boiler portafilter machine is recommended.

The brewing unit also has a major influence on the quality of the coffee. Faema has been setting the standard for espresso machines since 1961 with its E61 brewing unit. A high-quality coffee grinder is just as important as the portafilter itself, as a perfect espresso can only be made with evenly ground coffee. At Galaxus, you'll also find quality coffee grinders from high-end brands such as Eureka and Baratza.