At the beginning of the twentieth century came the first espresso machines and now-a-days there are many coffee machines meant for home use that are easy to operate and which also cost a lot less than the commercial varieties. If you choose to purchase a home espresso coffee machine you will be faced with the choice of using the lever espresso machines, or those that are operated by steam.

Mechanical Advantages

In the beginning, the earlier espresso coffee machines used steam which soon gave way to the lever espresso machines because these enjoyed some mechanical advantages. Even the lever espresso machines have since been replaced by electronic mechanical pumps that do the same job but more efficiently.

The idea behind using lever espresso machines is to be able to produce a vacuum and to draw water from a reservoir which causes build up of pressure when the water is forced from the end of the vacuum and the pressure helps in dumping water through a boiler. Once the water goes through the coffee beans you can then expect to get your espresso coffee.

It was quite common to use lever espresso machines during the time of the Second World War, and these machines used to filter water through coffee grinds with the help of manually operated pistons and they did not require steam in the water. They mostly had manually operated levers and were without any electric pumps. These lever espresso machines were the forerunners to making espresso as we have come to know it in these present times.

Even the lever espresso machines are of two types with one having spring operation, and the other not having spring operations. If there is no spring operation, it is up to the operator/Barista to lift the lever from its down position to the up position so that water can enter the brewhead, and to create the espresso coffee, it is then necessary to move the lever, with the help of regular pressure, downward. Such non-spring type of lever espresso machines is especially useful for the real coffee enthusiasts who know how to find the right amount of pressure to extract espresso coffee.

The spring operated lever espresso machines are quite the opposite of the non-spring lever operated machines with the operator/Barista having the lever in the up position and pushing down the lever against resistance of the spring so that the water is pushed up into the grouphead, and when there is adequate amount of espresso coffee at the bottom of the cup, the spring is allowed up once more by the operator/Barista. Most of the present modern commercial lever-operated espresso machines have similar features such as those found in the Elektra home model espresso machines.

So, you will find that manual lever espresso machines are ideally suited for persons, baristas as well as hobbyists and they are generally faced with the challenge of being able to find the perfect grind to extract the best espresso coffee.

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