The difference between a fully automatic coffee machine and a semi-automatic coffee machine

For friends who love coffee and want to make coffee at home, especially milk coffee, a coffee machine that can make espresso is a good choice. However, there are many different types of coffee machines on the market. How to choose? Among them, what is a fully automatic coffee machine? What is a semi-automatic coffee machine? How to distinguish them? How is "automatic" reflected?

There is no doubt that "automatic" is relative to "manual", so we must first understand what necessary links are included in the production of espresso. To make a cup of espresso, you need to ① grind coffee beans into coffee powder (you can also use coffee powder directly), ② evenly distribute the coffee powder and fill it into a dense powder cake, ③ heat the water to the appropriate brewing temperature, ④ Generate a high enough pressure to push the hot water out and pass through the powder cake. If you want to make milk coffee, you also need to ⑤use the steam generated by the hot water to send the milk.

Semi-automatic principle /

semi-automatic coffee machine uses a pump to generate pressure for extraction in addition to a boiler (or a simple heating block) for boiling water. Grinding coffee powder requires a separate bean grinder, distributing powder and pressing powder also requires manual (or additional equipment) operation, and using steam to froth milk also requires manual operation. In these steps, if not done properly, the coffee may not taste good, or even the extraction can not be completed properly. However, for skilled baristas, coffee flavor and milk density can be adjusted by adjusting the coffee grinding degree, tamping pressure, water temperature, extraction time, steam volume, etc., so it has become the choice of most cafes.

A skilled barista can use a semi-automatic coffee machine to make coffee like the one pictured above

Fully automatic principle/

Fully automatic coffee machines can generally complete all the links without manual labor. You only need to put coffee beans or coffee powder in the bean bin, add water to the water tank, press the start or cup size selection button, and the coffee machine can automatically complete all the steps and extract the espresso. There are even some that can automatically froth and blend milk to achieve "one-click" making fancy coffee, no need to set up a separate steam wand.

The fully automatic coffee machine WS-203 is paired with the coffee latte art machine WS-V2, even beginners can make your own coffee

WS-V2 applied to coffee:  https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oaySyAaiYd4

Applied on slices of bread and biscuits：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmZmMSbLxgg

applied to beer：https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GNBu1QbO0qg

Applied to macarons：https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_KXaxqJjxgU