For the perfect coffee experience in your own home, a portafilter machine is the undisputed queen. It transforms your kitchen into a private coffee bar and takes aromatic coffee and intense espresso to a whole new level.
Who doesn’t dream of starting the day with a hot drink that tastes just like it’s been prepared by a barista, right in your own home? A portafilter machine gives you full control over all the key parameters: from the grind size of the coffee beans to the exact water temperature and the optimal brewing pressure. With a bit of practice in tamping and perfecting your milk frothing technique, you’ll be able to create velvety milk foam for a first-class cappuccino or latte art.
A portafilter machine isn’t just a kitchen appliance – it’s a statement of passionate coffee appreciation. However, compared to fully automatic machines or capsule machines, the traditional brewing method requires manual effort, time and a bit of practice.
In short: an espresso machine is ideal for connoisseurs, aesthetes and amateur baristas who view the process of making coffee as a ritual to be savoured. Anyone seeking the perfect espresso and willing to experiment with grind size, coffee quantity and brewing pressure will be rewarded with an unrivalled flavour.
A portafilter machine is an espresso machine in which a portafilter (which holds an espresso filter basket containing tamped coffee grounds, e.g. for a single shot of espresso) is secured in the brew group, and water heated to approximately 92°C is forced through the tamped coffee grounds under high pressure. This is known as espresso extraction. The end result is usually a single or double espresso (or alternatively a ristretto or lungo). GRAEF portafilter machines use so-called thermoblocks as their heating system to heat the water; compared to conventional boiler-based heating systems, they are ready for use much more quickly (3 to 5 minutes) and therefore operate significantly more efficiently.
A typical portafilter machine uses an espresso pump inside that can generate a maximum pressure of 15 to 16 bar. However, this pressure rating is not directly relevant to the actual preparation of the espresso. Much more important is what is known as the brewing pressure, which ultimately determines the quality of the finished espresso in the cup and should ideally be 9 bar (or slightly higher). The brewing pressure is generated when the brewing water in the brew head comes into contact with the ground coffee compacted in the portafilter, thereby building up counter-pressure.
If the brewing pressure is too low (known as under-extraction), the result in the cup is watery and flat. The pressure applied when compacting or ‘tamping’ the ground coffee should be increased, the grind size set finer, or the amount of ground coffee increased.
If the brewing pressure is too high (known as over-extraction), the espresso will only drip out of the spout in small drops and will taste bitter or even burnt. In this case, the result can be improved by reducing the tamping pressure, using a slightly coarser grind, or using a smaller amount of ground coffee.
When making coffee with a portafilter, there are a few things to bear in mind at the start, but with a bit of practice and some theory, you’ll soon be achieving success and a first-class result in your cup. The great thing about using a portafilter machine is that you’re in complete control of all the parameters at all times and can tailor the final result to your personal taste.
For a perfect espresso, a good portafilter machine should ideally generate a brewing pressure of 9 bar at the coffee filter (portafilter).
This is the ‘magic figure’ that professional baristas worldwide use to extract the optimal flavours and perfect crema from the ground coffee.
However, when buying a machine, there is one important technical detail that often causes confusion: the difference between pump pressure and brewing pressure.
Pump pressure (15+ bar): Most domestic machines use inexpensive vibration pumps. Due to their design, these pumps have to build up very high pressure to ensure that, by the time the water has travelled through the hoses and valves, there is still sufficient pressure reaching the ground coffee.
The brewing pressure (9 bar): This is the pressure that is actually applied directly to the ground coffee in the portafilter.
Many machines come with a basic set of accessories, but to ensure consistently good espresso, you should add the following essentials to your setup:
Descaling tablets, 6 pieces
For filter coffee- & espresso-machines or electric kettles
The aroma of freshly ground coffee, a perfect hazelnut-coloured crema and the thick milk foam of a cappuccino – having your own espresso bar in your own home is the ultimate dream for many coffee lovers. But anyone setting out to find the perfect portafilter machine will quickly find themselves overwhelmed by technical terms.
At the heart of every portafilter machine is its heating system. Depending on how the water for the espresso (approx. 90–94 °C) and the steam for the milk foam (over 110 °C) are generated, there are three categories:
A perfect espresso stands or falls on the grind size of the beans. Here, you’re faced with a decision: do you buy a combination machine (hybrid) or opt for two separate units?
When deciding whether a hybrid machine with a built-in grinder or a setup comprising separate components is the better choice, the main factors to weigh up are space-saving and flexibility. Combination machines impress with their compact, coordinated design, which fits easily into even smaller kitchens, and often offer an attractively priced entry point into the world of espresso. However, they do have some drawbacks in terms of quality: the heat emitted by the machine can have a negative effect on the aroma of the coffee beans in the hopper, and if the grinder malfunctions, the entire machine usually has to be sent in for repair.
Those who opt for separate machines, on the other hand, are choosing maximum flexibility and future-proofing. A separate coffee grinder grinds the beans without any disruptive heat, often delivers a more precise grind and can be upgraded completely independently of the portafilter machine as your requirements grow. Although this setup is more expensive to purchase and takes up more space on the worktop, in the long term it offers significantly higher quality and adaptability for coffee lovers.
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