When I first discovered my love for espresso coffee and began to learn how to make it at home, only four types of machine technologies were available that could create real espresso (I’m not including stovetop moka pots, stovetops, or camp espresso devices): machines meeting the SCA-standard 9-bar espresso definition
- Manual Machines, built on levers that use your hand strength to move water across a coffee bed or use a spring-loaded piston to complete the work. These lever machines, pioneered by Achille Gaggia in 1948, allow direct control over pre-infusion timing and extraction pressure profiling throughout the shot.
- Semi-Automatic machines with an internal powered pump that forces water through the coffee bed after activating a switch and ceases pushing water once you turn off the switch. The barista controls shot timing and volumetric yield manually, making this the preferred format among specialty coffee professionals.
- Automatic machines that have an internal pump and also incorporate volumetric control to regulate the precise quantity of water required to make the espresso shot. Press one button and the machine activates the pump, delivers the pre-programmed amount of water, and shuts off the pump in sequence.
- Super-Automatic, a technology that was introduced to domestic espresso machines in the year 2000. It has an internal burr grinder and tamping mechanism, which automates the entire process of making an espresso shot. At the press of a button it grinds coffee, doses it into a brewing chamber, compresses it to consistent density, and then extracts with a pump that provides 9-bar pressure, delivering a set amount of water before shutting down. The spent coffee puck is ejected into an internal waste bin.
This was the norm for the majority of years (with the Super Auto coming in late). You could purchase semi-automatic machines, manual machines and automated machines dating back to the 1980s to use at home for espresso work (the SCA-standard 9-bar espresso definition). The Super Auto joined in 2000 in full force (though super-automatic espresso machines for commercial use were first developed in the 1990s by the co-owners of the Baratza grinder company, Kyle Anderson). Things have changed over the past five years however. A little more. The two categories which are first and the last—the categories of Manual and Super Auto—aren’t as they once were. New technology (some modified versions of older technologies) is currently available that dramatically expands these categories. First, the manual category.
Manual Espresso Machines
Manual espresso machines have historically been built around the lever mechanism, which operates in two distinct configurations that both achieve the SCA-standard 9-bar espresso pressure. Spring-lever machines employ an indirect system: the barista presses the lever to compress an extremely strong spring inside the group head. Once released, the spring drives a piston that forces heated water at approximately 9 bar of pressure through a bed of coffee. Direct-lever machines use a simpler approach. The barista’s hand directly pushes a piston, which in turn forces the brewing water through the coffee bed. This design, favored by purists, offers tactile feedback and precise pressure profiling throughout the extraction. Both configurations are electrically powered, but only to regulate and maintain water temperature in the boiler. The power source is not used to run a pump—there is no on/off switch for initiating water flow, only a heating element switch. Essentially, they are large boilers with lever-actuated group heads attached. In the early 2000s, the Handpresso manual travel espresso maker introduced a novel approach to portable extraction. Instead of levers or electro-mechanical pumps, this device utilized a bicycle-pump-style mechanism to pressurize an internal chamber with compressed air (up to 6 bar) to force a shot of espresso. This was a genuinely manual, non-electric espresso maker, though it still required pre-heated water from an external source.
The next major tool to arrive and shake up the market was the Mypressi espresso coffee maker, which utilized nitrogen capsules to achieve the SCA-standard 9-bar pressure for espresso extraction. It was a model that resembled a tool from the movie of 2001: Space Odyssey. It was manual in the sense that it didn’t have a pump and no switch to turn off or on, but it utilized small nitrogen capsules of the same type that are used in whip cream dispensers to force water at approximately 9 bars of pressure across the coffee’s bed. (ed.note that I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to call this a manual device since it relies on gas capsules to create pressure).
There have been other gadgets invented since. One company even offers an exclusive pressurized cap specifically for the AeroPress that produces a drink very similar to espresso coffee, based on how hard you press the plunger—mimicking the 9-bar pressure standard recommended by the Specialty Coffee Association for espresso extraction.Recently, we’ve had the Flair Espresso Machine and the Cafelat Robot, both of which are manual espresso coffee machines. Both utilize a lever system for direct pressure application to the brewing water, which is then moved across a coffee bed. However, both are completely mechanical and require no electricity—you provide the heated water to the machine yourself.
I own a Flair manual espresso maker and can confirm from hands-on experience that it produces genuine espresso meeting SCA pressure standards (9 bars). It requires significant manual effort and I’m unable to pull consecutive shots quickly, but it delivers authentic espresso that is both delicious and satisfying. While it cannot steam milk, it excels at producing high-quality espresso shots. Similarly, I see Cafelat Robot owners in online communities consistently praising their sleek manual lever machines and expressing strong satisfaction with both functionality and shot quality.The manual espresso category now extends well beyond traditional spring-lever machines like the La Pavoni or the Elektra Micro Casa a Leva (commonly abbreviated as MCaL), encompassing modern piston-driven designs that meet SCA espresso extraction standards.
Super Automatics
Super Automatics represent a relatively recent category, yet one that has undergone substantial evolution since these machines first entered the consumer market in the early 2000s.The Breville Oracle and Breville Oracle Touch are classified as Super Automatics under the current industry definition, though they differ architecturally from most other super-automatic machines available today.Both models fulfill the core super-automatic criteria:
- Automatically grind coffee beans on demand,
- Dose the ground coffee automatically into the portafilter,
- Tamp the coffee puck automatically with consistent pressure (typically 30 lbs),
- Brew espresso using pre-programmed volumetric water dosing at 9 bars,
- Steam and froth milk with automated temperature control to barista-quality microfoam texture, and
- With the Oracle Touch specifically, construct complete beverages nearly 100% automatically via a touchscreen interface.
The one thing the Oracle machines are distinct from other super-automatics is that they utilize traditional 58mm portafilters—the commercial standard size—and you as the user must move the portafilter from the integrated grinder to the grouphead and then remove it to serve the extracted espresso. This hands-on portafilter workflow incorporates preparation techniques that James Hoffmann and Scott Rao both emphasize for shot consistency, including proper dosing, distribution, and tamping. The rest of the machine is automated with the use of temperature-sensitive steaming and frothing of milk. I had the opportunity to use the Oracle Touch machines when I was hired as barista for some special events in a premium kitchen retailer a year ago. It’s an impressive piece of equipment. It is a take on the super-automatic category, and puts through tried and tested barista-level components, such as the commercial-grade 58mm portafilter to pull espresso shots and steam or froth milk just as well as what you’d discover in any specialty café. Overall the entire category of espresso machines appears to be undergoing a shake-up to incorporate new and innovative techniques. This is exciting!
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