Lever Espresso Machines

How to Choose a Manual Espresso Machine

Select a manual espresso machine or a lever espresso machine based on pressure, water tank capacity and wattage. You should also consider whether you want to only make espresso as you will need a lever espresso machine with a nozzle for frothing milk if you want to enjoy cappuccinos and lattes.

Lever Espresso Machine - Higher Pressure Is Better

To properly push water through ground coffee, you need a manual espresso machine that produces at least 9 bars of pressure. However, some lever coffee machines will not maintain this pressure throughout the coffee extraction process. Therefore, it is best to choose a manual coffee machine that is capable of exerting a higher pressure—ideally around 15 bars.

Manual Coffee Machine - Water Tank Capacity

Water tank volumes for manual coffee machines range from 0.5 to 2.5 litres, with the price and size of the machines increasing as the volume rises. A coffee machine with a 0.5 to 1-litre tank is normally sufficient for a two-person household.

Lever Espresso Machine - Power

A manual espresso machine comes with an input power ranging from 300 to 220W. Low power devices save energy and are usually compact in size. On the other hand, manual coffee machines with higher wattage are bigger, consume a lot of energy but offer better performance and a number of handy features.

Manual Espresso Machine — Advantages and Disadvantages

Manual Espresso Machine with Coffee Grinders

Some manual espresso machines have a built-in coffee grinder that grinds coffee beans to the coarseness you desire, so you can enjoy an even better and more balanced coffee taste. Lever coffee machines with grinders look like professional coffee shop machines and are comparable in price to automatic coffee machines.

Manual Espresso Machine Features