Blaupunkt CMP312 Black Coffee Maker

Product Information

The operation of the CMP312 coffee machine is very intuitive thanks to the three buttons and the steam control knob on the front panel. If you want to brew coffee, turn on the device, pour the ground coffee into the filter and place it together with the portafilter in the coffee machine’s mounting head. Then simply press the “coffee preparation” button, wait until the right amount of infusion fills the cups and press the “coffee preparation” button again. Your aromatic coffee is ready.

They have a 15 bar or sometimes even a 19 bar pump, as do most home espresso machines, but while more premium home espresso machines will have an overpressure valve (OPV) set to limit the pressure in the basket to 9 bars, the very cheap machines will either have no OPV, or they'll have the OPV set to something like 12, 13 or 14 bars – simply because this is the maximum pressure in the basket that works with pressurised baskets. If you want not just good, but perfect milk texture for better potential latte art and more velvety milkies, then you can steam your milk manually, and this machine is brilliant when it comes to learning to properly texture milk, a skill which is deceptively difficult to master.My original classic is a 2003 model, which to an old fart like me seems like yesterday, but was of course 18 years ago at the time of writing – and there's nowt wrong with it, it'll still churn out lovely espresso and great textured milk. This kind of espresso machine is made to be more accessible both in terms of affordability and usability, as using a pressurised basket is easier, you don't need to “dial in”, and you don't need to grind as finely, in fact, you don't need to grind at all, you can use pre-ground coffee with these kinds of machines, if you really want to. What kind of boilers do cheap espresso machines have?

If you just use the machine as it is out of the box, what I've found is that you get fairly inconsistent shots from one to the next, and some shots can be really, really poor. If you've started to develop your palate to any degree above the “normal” mainstream UK coffee drinker, then you may find that you're not consistently happy with the cup quality. We've already crowned this as our favourite coffee machine overall in our all-encompassing guide, but it would be remiss not to call it the best bean-to-cup coffee machine on the market too.When I say “cheap”, of course, not everyone has the same idea of what is or isn't cheap, and it really depends on what kind of espresso machine you're looking at.

The Bar is a metric unit of measuring and representing pressure that’s equal to 100,000 Pa (pascal) and 100 kPa (kilopascal). 1 bar of pressure is also barometrically defined to be almost equal to the earth’s present atmospheric pressure, as would be found at an elevation of 111 meters (59°F). Whenever you hear or read about a 9, 20, or 15 bar machines, that’s exactly what the bar number on it indicates. As with the EC685, I can't help but feel that this is a bit overpriced at the full RRP. Also, while the Skultura has a brew boiler and a bigger water tank, the EC685 looks and feels like a slightly better-built machine to me, and it has a smaller footprint and the variable Panarello. Preheat your cup: If you want to keep your coffee at the optimum temperature for longer (and preserve all those delicious espresso flavours), warm your mug beforehand. Simply fill it with hot water, leave it for few minutes, then throw the water away. To answer this question, we need to understand exactly how coffee machines use their capacity of producing the bars of pressure first. A coffee machine’s bar number denotes the maximum atmospheric pressure multiplier that the machine can generate as it forces hot water (194°F - 203°F) through the coffee beans. Therefore:I quite like the look of the machine, and I like how streamlined it is, if you're short on worktop space, this machine won't take up much of it. This turned out to be a very good choice, by the way. Both machines are still going strong, which is really something given that the classic was manufactured in 2003! The boiler is still Aluminium, but instead of being Anodized, it's coated, with a highly durable food-safe coating called Exelia 3010-B242. As with the EC785, this also comes with the proper tamper (the same tamper that is bundled with the La Specialista Arte), but it doesn't come with the milk jug, so you're paying the difference mainly for the pro steam wand, in addition to the tamper. During our testers months of use, she was consistently impressed by how well this machine steamed milk in particular, with a steam wand that is unbelievably clever and compatible with plant milks too. It also turned out some seriously tasty espresso.

If you're tossing up between a pod/capsule coffee machine and a manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic espresso machine, there are a few factors to consider.

We found that the machine needed adjusting before we got that perfect espresso. It required grind adjustments, which can be done at the top of the machine where you keep your coffee beans. The milk wand can be inserted into the side container via a rubber tube, and this makes fully adjustable lattes or cappuccinos completely hands-free. You can even choose your froth level and the temperature of your drink.