Italian Commercial Coffee Machine Brand Recommendations - Introduction to Three Top Commercial Coffee Machine Brands

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Since Starbucks arrived, coffee has become an ever more important part of daily life. Whether reading and studying in spare time or meeting friends for a chat, a good cup of coffee always lifts the mood. As the saying goes, a workman must first sharpen his tools, and a good coffee machine is undoubtedly the foundation of a delicious cup. Today, FrontStreet Coffee walks you through some exceptional machines to help you explore cafes without getting lost.

Italian Semi-Automatic Coffee Machines

Brand Names and Origins

Semi-Automatic Coffee Machines - Brands and Origins (Partial List)

1. ASTORIA
   Origin: Italy
2. CARIMALI
   Origin: Italy
3. CMA
   Origin: Italy
4. CONTI
   Origin: France
5. ECM
   Origin: Italy
6. ELEKTRA
   Origin: Italy
7. FAEMA
   Origin: Italy
8. FIORENZATO
   Origin: Italy
9. GAGGIA
   Origin: Italy
10. KEES VAN DER WESTEN
    Origin: Netherlands
11. LA CIMBALI
    Origin: Italy
12. La Marzocco (jokingly called "LaMa" by enthusiasts)
    Origin: Italy
13. LA NUOVA ERA
    Origin: Italy
14. FUTURMAT
    Origin: Italy
15. LA PAVONI
    Origin: Italy
16. LA SAN MARCO
    Origin: Italy
17. LA SPAZIALE
    Origin: Italy
18. MAGISTER
    Origin: Italy
19. RANCILIO
    Origin: Italy
20. RENEKA
    Origin: France
21. SAECO
    Origin: Italy
22. VFA EXPRES
    Origin: Spain
23. WEGA
    Origin: Italy
24. IBERITAL
    Origin: Spain
25. EXPOBAR
    Origin: Spain
26. VISACREM
    Origin: Spain
27. Marcfi
    Origin: Spain
28. QUEEN
    Origin: Sweden
29. UNIC
    Origin: France
30. BRASILIA
    Origin: Italy
31. LA VIBIEMME (abbreviated as VBM)
    Origin: Italy
32. BEZZERA
    Origin: Italy
33. ITALCREM
    Origin: Spain
34. EURO
    Origin: Italy
35. SANREMO
    Origin: Italy
36. FIAMMA
    Origin: Italy
37. BFC
    Origin: Italy
38. DIADEMA
    Origin: Italy/Spain

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

It is fair to say that Ethiopia is Africa's largest coffee producer and the place the world recognizes as the birthplace of coffee. It grows a huge range of varieties, and its coffees are usually named after their region or cooperative, with the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions the most famous of all. In the 1970s, the government introduced the washed process to raise green bean quality, and Yirgacheffe coffees have leaned washed ever since, later breaking down further into individual cooperatives. A washed Yirgacheffe cooperative coffee is the classic Yirgacheffe representative, typically carrying jasmine, lemon acidity, and berry notes, while Sidamo is best known for its natural coffees, with louder tropical fruit and fermented aromas. FrontStreet Sidamo Huakui uses the traditional natural process, and its main flavors are berry, floral, jackfruit, melon, and honey.

For Brazil, the country is the world's largest coffee producer. Even though commodity beans dominate such a large crop, there is no shortage of high-quality Brazilian coffee. Because much of Brazil's coffee is grown in open sun, the cherries ripen quickly, so the beans are soft, the fruit acidity is gentle, the sweetness is good, and the cup is delicate, smooth, and balanced. FrontStreet's everyday Brazil single origin comes from the well-known Cerrado region and is built for being delicious without being expensive, with classic cream, peanut, and cocoa notes. FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate grows at a higher altitude and is a rare Yellow Bourbon, so beyond the buttery, seed, macadamia, and almond aroma typical of Brazilian beans, it also carries a fresh sugarcane sweetness, and whether brewed on its own or paired with milk it shows a thick, smooth texture.

Indonesia is known not only for wild-civet coffee but for Mandheling. FrontStreet Mandheling uses the wet-hulled process, a method invented for the local climate: because the weather in Indonesia is changeable and often rainy, and the local economy historically could not fund full washed processing, workers hit on removing the parchment while the beans were still half dry to speed drying, which gave rise to the distinctive wet-hulled method and the unique Mandheling flavor. The wet-hulled FrontStreet Indonesian Mandheling is even richer and smoother than FrontStreet Blue Mountain, with herbal and spice notes, and it suits people who dislike acidity. For a higher grade, PWN Golden Mandheling goes through three rounds of hand sorting and one machine sorting to push the defect rate to its lowest, so the cup is cleaner and smoother, with clearer wood and caramel notes.

Colombian coffee is one of the few single origins sold under a country name. Colombia has a mild climate and humid air, and its varied climates make it a year-round harvest, with different types and regions ripening in turn. Colombian coffee has a distinctive quality, a rich flavor, and a long finish, and most of it is specialty grade. FrontStreet's everyday Colombian comes from Huila Province, the country's most famous specialty coffee region, a land of hills ringed by mountains with cultivation above 1,500 meters and the country's most important rivers converging there, bringing rich moisture and water. Colombian coffee is mostly floral with soft fruit acidity; FrontStreet Colombia Sidra and FrontStreet Colombia Ombligon are both good picks.

Costa Rica grows coffee at high altitude with large day-night temperature swings and fertile volcanic soil all around, which makes it a source of very hard beans at the SHB grade with elegant aroma. Costa Rican coffee is best known for honey processing, in which the beans dry wrapped in mucilage, giving plenty of sweetness and a clear finish that especially appeals to many drinkers. Among Costa Rican specialty coffees, FrontStreet Blackberry uses black honey processing and FrontStreet Mozart uses raisin honey processing; brewed, they offer the sweetness of raisin and blueberry with the scent of osmanthus and rose, and whether as pour-over, cold brew, americano, or latte they bring out Costa Rica's clean sweetness.

China's Yunnan is a producing region that belongs on any specialty list. Yunnan coffee is a domestic product that has been coming into its own, and many people have fallen for its notes of nuts, brown sugar, and black tea. China has two coffee regions, Hainan and Yunnan, but Hainan's hot, low-lying coastal setting cannot support Arabica, so China's specialty coffee is concentrated in Yunnan. FrontStreet Yunnan small bean comes from Baoshan and is washed, offering the traditional nut and chocolate flavors with a soft, balanced cup. FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan Typica is an ancient Arabica variety grown at 1,300 meters, with a cleaner cup that suits a medium roast and delivers rich aromas of hazelnut, dried apricot, black tea, caramel, and ripe plum.

Panama is most famous for the Geisha variety, above all at La Esmeralda estate, whose citrus, berry, and floral flavors with a balanced, smooth body are like a completely unsweetened fruit-and-flower tea. La Esmeralda can feel extravagant for a beginner, though, so the more accessible Boquete Geisha is a good entry point. It comes from Panama's most representative specialty region, has pure varietal genetics, and is washed, so the orange-blossom honey character of Geisha comes through clearly, and its excellent value means you can explore the charm of Panamanian Geisha through many different brewing methods.