Are you searching for a way to bring your baristas’ espresso-making skills into the twenty-first century? Do you need an office espresso machine that employees can use with little or even no training? Or are you a home user looking to add effortless espresso-making to your daily routine?
Then the end of your search is likely a super automatic espresso machine. If you’re not sure where to begin, we’re here to help you find your perfect match.
In this buyer’s guide, we’ve pulled together several of the best superautomatic espresso machines. We’ll also help you identify which is right for you by discussing the following points:
- An introduction to super automatic espresso machines and how they work
- Considerations to make before choosing a particular machine
- Our choices for the best superautomatic commercial espresso machines for a range of businesses
Let’s get started.
Quick Summary
Skip the read by checking out a summary of our favorite super automatic commercial espresso machines for every situation below. We’ll even give you a quick synopsis of why we chose each one.
COMMERCIAL OPTIONS
Best Overall #1 (dependant on volume) - La Cimbali S15 - This coffee machine from la Cimbali has a large touchscreen with an intuitive GUI that makes operating it a breeze. What's more, the WiFi system means that navigating the machine is easy for anyone who gets to use it.
Best Overall #2: Franke A1000 Flex - The Franke A1000 allows users to choose from over 5 different recipes using its automatic dosing Flavor Station. It has a large touchscreen and a ceramic coffee burr grinder that makes brewing the perfect cup of coffee a piece of cake.
First Pick for Coffee Shops or Cafes - Eversys Cameo - Looking for one of the best super automatic espresso machine options? Eveversys Cameo has you covered. This coffee machine's self-monitoring and self-calibrating grinding and dosing system mean you barely have to lift a finger. Let the machine do the work and enjoy your cup of Joe in the morning.
Second for Coffee Shops: Franke A1000 FM CM – It has a beautiful touchscreen that all employees will enjoy using, a high output capacity fit for a coffee-centric business, and three hoppers and grinders so you can offer customers three different blends of coffee.
Another Great Commercial Use Option: La Cimbali S30 – The machine has a wonderfully sleek design and customizable interface, making it one of the most user-friendly super automatic espresso machines we’ve ever seen.
Best Machine with a Water Line: La Cimbali S30 – This machine takes it again with its integrated plumbing system that connects to your water line. It’s an all-around convenient model.
Best for Offices: Franke A400 FM CM – It’s smaller in size than many other super automatic machines, which means it won’t take up space that could be used for other important office equipment. Plus, it has an incredibly easy-to-control touchscreen that office employees can learn to use in seconds.
HOME OPTIONS
Best for Homes:
Miele CM 6350 – Comes with everything a home coffee enthusiast needs to enjoy café-level espresso right at home. It will automatically clean its milk pipe out for you and can store two different blends of coffee inside itself.
Best Under $3,000:
Miele CM 6350 – It’s not suitable for a business, but it’s a fantastic home-friendly super automatic machine. It comes in two different colors and can brew two coffees at the same time.
Best Under $2,000:
Miele CM 6150 – Miele makes some of the best super automatic espresso machines for the home, and this is another one. It comes in two sleek colors, can brew two drinks at the same time, and can have its system settings locked in place to prevent tampering.
Best Under $1,500:
Kalerm Premium – The ultimate budget super automatic espresso machine. It’s compact enough for home counters, has a touchscreen display, and will notify you when it needs maintenance.
What are Super Automatic Espresso Machines?
Espresso machines can be broadly divided into a few different categories based on their basic type: semiautomatic, automatic, and super automatic. Let’s take a look at the difference between these categories.
Semiautomatic espresso machines are often the preference of experts. Baristas have more power over the development of each shot on these machines, choosing when to start and stop brewing. As a result, pulling consistently good shots on a semiautomatic machine can be tricky.
Automatic espresso machines sacrifice some of the barista’s control in exchange for increased consistency and user-friendliness. On an automatic espresso machine, the barista chooses when to start espresso extraction, but the machine itself will stop automatically at the appropriate time.
On either of these machine types, baristas must still manually grind espresso beans, tamp the grounds, and froth milk. Super automatic machines take over all these steps for you. With a super automatic model, just choose the drink you want, and the machine will grind, tamp, brew, and steam milk for you.
How Do I Choose the Right One?
Picking the best super automatic espresso machine for your particular home or business is a detailed process. There are several aspects you should consider, such as the following topics:
- Your budget
- Your employees’ experience
- Your drink menu
- Your drink volume
Your Budget
The more high-tech an espresso machine is, the higher its price tends to be. This means that super automatic espresso machines, which use some of the most cutting-edge espresso tech out there, can be a major investment.
However, if you’re worried that all super automatic espresso machines must be far out of reach as a result, don’t despair. Because they’re made with a wide range of various specifications, super automatic machines are also available in an equally wide range of prices.
You’ll get an idea of what the low and high prices are like as you look for your ideal machine. Determine for yourself what your price point is to narrow the options and make your final choice easier.
Your Employees’ Experience Level
Don’t forget that the people who are probably going to be using the espresso machine most are your employees. Keep them in mind while you consider various options, as well.
The major thing to think about in this regard is the skill level and knowledge of your employees. If yours is a coffee-centric business and employees build up both skill and knowledge with espresso, it would be reasonable to get a two-step super automatic machine. Your employees would likely be able to handle frothing milk.
On the other hand, employees who are not as familiar with brewing espresso would get more out of a one-step machine. This may be the case if you often have new hires to train or if your business requires employees to handle much more than making coffee every day.
Your Drink Menu
Make sure you factor in your business’s drink menu as a consideration. Some super automatic espresso machines can make more espresso-based drinks than others.
If espresso drinks are a major part of your business, you probably offer a wide variety of them, including coffee shop classics like lattes. In that case, make sure you choose a machine that supports such drinks. The drink menu for each super automatic machine is often included on the product page.
Your Drink Volume
Aside from the size of your menu, you should also think about how many espresso drinks you sell a day on average. Just as they have different drink menus, super automatic machines have different levels of output.
There are some super automatic espresso machines that can produce around a few hundred drinks a day. These models are perfect for large coffee shops or restaurants that often have lines of customers ordering espresso-based beverages.
We always recommend thinking about the future, as well. Although your number of espresso orders might not warrant the purchase of a machine with a high output, think about what you may need as your business grows. Espresso machines are an investment, and the right one can continue to be a good fit as your customers’ demand for espresso grows.
Top Super Automatic Espresso Machines
Imagine enjoying authentic Italia espresso in the morning or during coffee breaks in the office.
Italian coffee machine giant, the Cimbali Group, brings coffee enthusiasts the latest entry in their line of fully automatic coffee machines, the La Cimbali S15.
Designed with a technopolymer reinforced with steel, the Cimbali S15 comes in 4 different models and offers dozens of optional add-ons.
The embedded wifi system with bidirectional telemetry means you won't have to spend time learning how to navigate the machine.
The capacity to operate an advanced espresso machine with so much ease makes Cimbali S15 one of the best options for hotels and small shops.
If that isn't enough, it also uses Milk and Chocolate technology, Milk HQ, and Turbomilk technology, allowing you to optimize hot and cold milk.
The Cimbali S15 bares all options on a large touchscreen display with intuitive graphic interfaces with more recipes than you can count on your fingertips.
With its compact design ad abundance of features, the intuitive and high-tech Cimbali S15 is one of the best super automatic espresso machines!
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Recommended Environment: Medium-low daily performance locations, including smart office spaces, hotels, bakeries, convenience stores, and quick service restaurants.
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Espresso Output: 150 per day
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One-Step or Two-Step: Both one-step and two-step options
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Number of Hoppers: 2
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Majesty Coffee Price: $8608 for the CP10 base model
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Bi-directional Telemetry Technology: Incredible data communication technology enables operators to access the espresso machine remotely via the web to tinker with machine settings, removing the need for one to be physically present on the spot.
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Dedicated Hopper: Bean hopper can be split into two components to enable the use of different powders as well.
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Milk&Chocolate Technologies: Inbuilt chocolate powder system and milk circuit allow access to 96 recipes, including those which require hot-foamed milk.
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Turbomilk: The innovative milk system allows you to dispense frothed milk. The innovation lies in the ability of S-range automatic espresso machines to froth both hot and cold milk!
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HQ Milk: An additional milk system that helps you regulate temperature, toggle to an automatic dosage option (MilkPS System), and dispense cold-frothed milk with excellent cream quality.
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Automatic Washing System: Milk and chocolate powder systems are equipped with automatic washing technology. The machine's self-cleaning mode is triggered as soon as the milk and chocolate are dispensed.
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Large Touchscreen: A 7-inch touchscreen display with an intuitive GUI makes customizing drinks, choosing recipes, and tinkering with settings a breeze.
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Cup4You App: Cimbali has dubbed this app as a "recipe in your pocket" since it lets you customize beverages, tinker with dispensing parameters, create recipes from scratch, and manage orders directly from your smart device!
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Franke brings another entry for those wanting to transform the customer coffee experience while making a phenomenal number of additional sales.
The Franke A1000 Flex is one of the best super automatic espresso machines, bringing a new standard to coffee machines.
Imagine beautifully crafted, well-brewed coffee and espresso drinks guaranteeing a moment of luxury every day for coffee drinkers.
With the Franke A1000 Flex, you can do just that and more! From brewing an espresso macchiato and latte macchiato to the best iced coffee, the Franke A1000 allows users to choose from over 5 different recipes using its automatic dosing Flavor Station.
Coupled with a large touchscreen, several optional add-ons, and a high-precision ceramic burr grinder for coffee beans and another for espresso beans, you can brew espresso and coffee drinks with true mastery!
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Recommended Environment: Large restaurants, coffee shops, offices, hotels, or convenience stores
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Espresso Output: 300 drinks per day (brew espresso, coffee, latte macchiato, espresso macchiato, and more)
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Number of Hoppers: 4 (a bean hopper for every type and blend of coffee)
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Majesty Coffee Price: $16,556
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FoamMaster Technology: Making that perfectly silky milk foam is effortless using Franke’s FoamMaster tech. Let your imagination run wild without compromising on milk foam quality and creativity.
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Dual Powder Containers: Two integrated powder containers are perfect for extending your drink menu with things such as hot chocolate.
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iQFlow: An intelligent extraction technology making the A1000 one of the best automatic espresso machines, iQFlow ensures product consistency, allowing for a more well-rounded flavor and distinct flavor profiles for every drink.
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CleanMaster System: Having to clean an espresso machine can be cumbersome, so let the fully automatic CleanMaster cleaning system take care of it with grace and finesse, ensuring the best hygiene standards.
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Large Touchscreen: A 10.4-inch touchscreen on the front makes choosing drinks easy and has audio and video support.
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Optional Add-Ons: There are several optional add-ons you can use to upgrade your fully automatic espresso machine. The ASP Autostream Pro S3 steam wand excels at maintaining temperature and foam to uphold quality, consistency, and the right temperature. The cashless accounting system allows complete self-service, and the Flavor Station offers up to 6 coffee drink recipes to choose from, while there are also options to add a refrigeration unit and a cup warmer.
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You can thank Eversys for introducing one of the best automatic espresso machines and a barista's best friend, the Eveversys Cameo.
The coffee and espresso machine comes in Classic and Traditional variations to meet the demands of a wide variety of businesses and office spaces.
With the Eveversys Cameo's self-monitoring and self-calibrating grinding and dosing system, coupled with a state-of-the-art ceramic burr grinder, you can say goodbye to bland-tasting coffee drinks.
If that doesn't get the ball rolling, the coffee machine is jampacked with innovative, high-tech features like telemetry, a large touchscreen, an automatic steam wand, and an automatic milk frothing system.
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Recommended Environment: Medium-volume environments where consistency and quality are crucial, such as offices, restaurants, a local coffee shop, and multi-site operating environments.
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Ceramic Burr Grinder: 2 high-quality grinders to keep an even grind size while facilitating lightning-fast grinding speeds of up to 5 and 8 seconds! With the ceramic burr grinder category, you can say goodbye to bland pre-ground coffee beans!
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Espresso Output: The Classic submodels will produce 175 drinks per hour, and the Traditional submodels will simultaneously produce 175 espressos and 170 hot water drinks per hour.
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step and Two-step
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Number of Hoppers: 2
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Majesty Coffee Price: $17,350
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eConnect Telemetry: With the telemetry feature, the coffee machine will record every piece of information from drink profiles to specific working parameters. The feature is a must-have for growing businesses looking for efficient data management and record-keeping.
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Modular Design: The straightforward modular design makes fixing glitches, clogs, and other errors a hassle-free process, ensuring you get back to serving customers in record time!
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eClean: manually cleaning a fully automatic espresso machine can be exhausting at best and extremely risky at worst because you need to be consistent in maintaining strict health and safety guidelines. Fortunately, the eClean system in the Cameo allows you to disperse a cleaning tablet with just a push of a button. Each machine can store up to 100 cleaning tablets!
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Touchscreen: The 400mm touchscreen and super automatic espresso machine design help half the crafting time, making the whole process breezy with the push of one to two buttons!
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Are you a large business on the lookout for an espresso machine that can effortlessly keep up with your customers’ demands? Look no further than the Franke A1000.
The A1000 is to date the culmination of all the convenient features Franke packs into their machines. On the front panel you’ll find an extra-large 10.4-inch touchscreen. It’s so user-friendly that you won’t have to spend much time at all training new hires on how to navigate its menu.
This isn’t just a machine that looks cutting-edge, either. It integrates features designed to heighten the flavor of every single espresso you make. For example, its pre-infusion smooths out any irregularities in tamping to produce a full-bodied flavor in the drink.
Franke also uses a unique technology called the FoamMaster system. It makes the normally finicky task of foaming milk simple. You’ll even be able to choose from various settings for milk foam, allowing you to tailor each beverage to every customer’s specifications.
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Recommended Environment: Large restaurants, coffee shops, offices, hotels, or convenience stores
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Espresso Output: 300 drinks per day
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Number of Hoppers: 3
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Majesty Coffee Price: $18,899
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FoamMaster Technology: Making that perfectly silky milk foam is effortless using the Franke’s FoamMaster tech. You can even choose different settings for your foam, such as thickness.
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Dual Powder Containers: Two integrated powder containers are perfect for extending your drink menu with things such as hot chocolate.
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Pre-Infusion: Before each shot is extracted, the A1000 settles the grounds with a stream of water. The result is a well-rounded flavor your customers will crave.
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CleanMaster System: Routine maintenance like cleaning is exhausting. With the CleanMaster System, you can let the A1000 clean itself for you.
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Large Touchscreen: A 10.4-inch touchscreen on the front is crystal-clear with a full-color display that makes choosing drink options easy.
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Franke super automatic espresso machines aren’t the only ones with high-tech touchscreens. This Nuova Simonelli Prontobar Touch is proof of Nuova Simonelli’s ability to keep up with the times, as well.
Like with the Franke super automatic machines on this list, users will operate the machine using the beautiful full-color touchscreen panel. Making a drink is as easy as choosing the drink from the icon menu on the screen.
Best of all, you’ll have total control over the brew settings despite it being a super automatic machine. In addition to choosing drinks, you can use the screen to make adjustments to espresso extraction and the temperatures for brewing, steaming, and the group head.
Any knowledgeable barista will tell you that having control over these settings is crucial to making the perfect espresso.
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Recommended Environment: Small to medium coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, and offices
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Espresso Output: Up to 140 drinks a day
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One-Step or Two-Step: Available in one-step or two-step configurations.
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Number of Hoppers: 3
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Majesty Coffee Price: $12,600
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Full-Color Touchscreen Menu: The 7-inch touchscreen panel is in crisp, full color and consists of an icon menu that’s easy to understand.
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EasyCream Technology: EasyCream is Nuova Simonelli’s automatic foaming system, which makes generating professional-quality milk foam as simple as tapping a screen.
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Easy Maintenance: The Prontobar Touch was designed in such a way that it’s easy to repair, saving you time and headaches.
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Automatic Washing Program: Ready to clean up? Just access the Prontobar Touch’s Automatic Washing Program to tell the machine to clean itself for you.
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Adjustable Settings: All aspects of the brewing process, from tamping pressure to milk foam density, are adjustable. This means that baristas have as much control as they want over each drink they make.
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Are you looking for a machine similar to the Franke A1000 at a lower price? Then the Franke A600 might be perfect for you.
It has an amazingly user-friendly touchscreen. Each drink is featured in colored pictures, which makes it simple to choose exactly which drink you’re in the mood for.
Two built-in grinders allow you to offer two different blends to your employees. For instance, you could have caffeinated and decaf blends. You could even do light and dark roast. The choice is yours.
There are also tons of optional add-ons you can consider to make the A600 even more flexible. Examples of possibilities include an optional syrup station, milk refrigerator, or cup-warming shelf.
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Recommended Environment: Small to medium offices
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Espresso Output: 150 drinks per day
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Number of Grinders: 2
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Majesty Coffee Price: $14,032
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Pre-Infusion: Through a pre-infusion step, the A600 smooths any tamping irregularities from the espresso grounds, which promotes a balanced extraction (and better flavor).
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Integrated Powder Containers: Dual integrated powder containers allow you to keep hot chocolate or powdered milk mixes in the machine.
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FoamMaster: By simply tapping the screen, employees can enjoy perfectly smooth milk foam every time.
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Removable Brewing Unit: Swapping the brewing unit in the Franke A600 is. You can switch it to brew two cups at a time or switch it to specialty coffee.
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Optional Add-Ons: There are several useful add-ons for the A600, including a cup-warming shelf or flavor station that can add flavors to your drinks.
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The La Cimbali S30 is an ultra-sleek and attractive super automatic espresso machine that’s perfect for complementing the counters of virtually any business. It even has customizable lighting options that you can tweak through La Cimbali’s companion app, which is called Cup4You.
To ensure it epitomizes convenience, this is a plumbed-in machine. That means it will need to be connected to a water line to operate. However, the benefit to this design is that you also won’t need to refill its water tank periodically like you’d have to with a pour-over model.
It also comes with a cool-touch steam wand. This means the steam wand won’t overheat while you’re frothing milk, remaining cool to the touch. You or your employees won’t need to deal with the hassle and pain of annoying steam wand burns.
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Recommended Environment: Medium to large coffee shops, restaurants, offices, and convenience stores.
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Espresso Output: 300 drinks per day
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Number of Grinders: 2
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Majesty Coffee Price: $23,300
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Dual Boiler Design: With two boilers, the S30 has the strength it needs to power through a busy workday and deliver consistently speedy drinks to customers.
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Cup4You App: The machine is compatible with La Cimbali’s Cup4You app, which lets you customize the layout and look of the machine’s menu and lighting.
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Perfect Grinding System: The S30 will monitor any environmental changes, such as regular wear and tear, and adjust the fineness of the grind accordingly.
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Cool-Touch Steam Wand: No matter how long you use the machine for, the steam wand won’t burn your skin.
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The Franke A400 gives you a bevy of high-tech features for a fraction of the price of other super automatics. This is the ultimate budget-friendly option for you if you liked the look of other Frankes on this list but found their prices too steep.
Despite being significantly more affordable, the A400 still offers you a range of cutting-edge features. You’ll have access to the innovative FoamMaster system, for example, which froths milk to perfection for you with just a tap of the screen.
The Franke A400 will also clean itself for you through its CleanMaster system. All you need to do is insert a cleaning cartridge and set it to clean up. No more frustrating cleaning at the end of a long day at the office.
Furthermore, it has a pre-infusion step that happens right before brewing every shot of espresso. It involves releasing a small stream of water that smooths out the grounds, ensuring all particles of coffee to be reached during extraction. In other words, it creates an even fuller flavor in every single cup.
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Recommended Environment: Small offices, coffee shops, hotels, or convenience stores
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Espresso Output: 100 drinks per day
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Number of Grinders: 2
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Majesty Coffee Price: $8,789.60
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FoamMaster Technology: Through the easy-to-control touchscreen, users can tweak the milk foam to their exact preferences.
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CleanMaster System: The Franke A400 can self-clean so well, it meets HACCP hygiene standards.
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Pre-Infusion: Prevents tamping irregularities from impacting the flavor of your drinks, ensuring each one tastes as good as the last.
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Adjustable Beverage Spout: Brew into cups of any size by adjusting the height of the beverage spout.
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If you’re looking for a super automatic espresso machine that looks totally unique, the Talento could be perfect for you. The cool gray metal panels on its exterior add a touch of refinement that’s typical for Nuova Simonelli.
The Talento has another unique quality: although it’s a super automatic machine, it puts much of the control into your hands. You’re able to program up to 20 drink recipes into it, which means you can adjust each one to be precisely as you want it to be.
Consistency is something the Talento specializes in. Its double tamping system ensures each puck of espresso is tamped to perfection, promoting even extraction. You can even program it to turn itself on or off at the same times every day, so you’ll never have to worry about waiting for it to warm up if someone forgets to turn it on one morning.
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Recommended Environment: Large coffee shops, restaurants, and offices
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Espresso Output: 240 drinks per day
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One-Step or Two-Step: Available in one-step or two-step configurations.
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Number of Hoppers: 2
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Majesty Coffee Price: $16,250 (two-step) or $17,100 (one-step)
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Sleek Design: The aesthetic of the Talento is graceful and refined, making it something you’ll be proud to have on your counter.
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Adjustable Spout: You can tweak the positioning of the beverage spout, which allows you to brew directly into different sized cups.
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Thermo-Compensated Brew Group: The Talento’s brew groups are designed to keep temperatures stable. This protects your espresso from random temperature variations that can damage the flavor.
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Self-Diagnosis: If there’s an issue with the Talento, you don’t have to deal with the hassle of troubleshooting it yourself, thanks to its self-diagnostic system.
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Believe it or not, super automatic espresso machines don't just belong in businesses. There are many models that are made for the home, and Miele makes some of the best home options, like the 6150.
One of the 6150's most intriguing features is its ability to make two drinks at the same time. This makes it perfect for families of coffee lovers; you'll be able to get through drinks that much more quickly in the morning.
Need to step away from the coffee machine for a bit? With just a single button, you can lock the system so no one else can tamper with your drink settings. No need to worry about curious children playing around with the machine or guests accidentally pressing something.
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Recommended Environment: Home
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Plumbing: Pour-over
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Number of Hoppers/Grinders: 1
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Majesty Coffee Price: $1,899
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User Profiles: With 10 user profiles, you can save the favorite drinks of up to 10 different people in the machine for easy future access.
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Programmable Auto-On and Off Times: Program the machine to turn on and warm up at any time, so you can wake up to a machine ready to brew your favorites for you. Alternatively, you can program it to turn off by itself so you can’t accidentally leave it on.
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Ground Coffee Drawer: With a grinder and ground coffee drawer, it’s possible to have two different blends of coffee available for brewing.
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System Lock: By simply pushing a button, you can protect the machine from accidental use.
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Aromatic System: The aroma of each drink you make will be accentuated so your whole kitchen smells lovely every time you brew a cup.
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Are you a coffee enthusiast looking for an affordable super automatic espresso machine to add to your home? One of our top suggestions for those on a budget would be the sleek Kalerm Premium.
Not only does it look great, but the Kalerm is amazingly easy to use. All your favorite drinks, including cappuccinos and lattes, can be prepared for you with nothing more than the touch of a button.
The machine is also designed to give you user-friendly alerts whenever it needs care. Whether it needs more water, needs to be descaled, or is running out of grounds, the Kalerm will notify you. This means you'll pretty much never need to guess when the machine needs some kind of maintenance.
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Recommended Environment: Home
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Plumbing: Pour-Over
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Number of Hoppers/Grinders: 1
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One-Step or Two-Step: One-step
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Majesty Coffee Price: $1,299
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User Alerts: The machine will tell you when it needs more coffee beans, water, or descaling, taking the guesswork out of maintenance.
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Programmable Auto-Shutoff: You can program the machine to turn off after certain periods of inactivity, so you'll never forget to turn it off.
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Drink Customization: The amount of coffee, temperature, and volume of milk foam can all be customized to create the perfect drinks for your preferences.
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Optional Beans or Grounds: Not only can you use whole beans, but you can also use ground coffee, expanding your options.
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Different Drinks You Can Make in a Fully Automatic Espresso Machine
A fully automatic espresso machine can brew several specialty coffees and espresso drinks with the press of a button.
From a jolting espresso to a delectable and silky cappuccino, the best automatic espresso machines offer a variety of drinks to choose from.
Specialty Coffees Without Milk
If you like a regular cup of Joe, refer to these specialty coffee drinks made without milk.
Strong
Strong coffees without milk are typically less in volume but offer an eye-opening jolt of caffeine that could wake a person up from a coma.
These include a ristretto, espresso, and espresso doppio. All are exceptionally strong drinks.
Super automatic espresso makers equipped with a ceramic flat burr grinder produce the best espresso doppio, with intense earthy flavors and a balanced mouthfeel.
Mild
Milder coffee mix in milk with the espresso. A stainless steel burr grinder or a ceramic flat burr grinder will produce finer and more even coffee beans, which is crucial in making a good espresso.
The water and espresso are mixed together simultaneously during the brewing process of a lungo.
For an americano, the process occurs in a sequence. First, the espresso shot is extracted, and then the hot water is mixed.
Specialty Coffee Drinks With Milk
Milk drinks are where you can utilize automatic coffee machines to their total capacity. The best super automatic espresso machine will have a milk system, stainless steel burr grinder or a ceramic one, milk frothing system, milk container, and an automatic or manual steam wand.
Strong
Strong milk coffee specialties include drinks like an espresso macchiato or cortado. Milk froth is most commonly used in solid milk specialty drinks and those with more milk than coffee.
A manual steam wand can texture the milk, while a milk frothing system will create the milk froth.
An espresso macchiato will only contain milk froth, while a cortado will contain warm milk and no milk froth.
Creamy
Creamy milk specialties typically contain equal parts of milk froth, espresso, and milk.
The most famous specialty coffee, the cappuccino, consists of warm milk, espresso, and milk froth.
On the other hand, the flat white contains the three components in a 1:2:4 ratio, with the highest volume of espresso and the lowest volume the milk froth.
Milk Specialty Coffee With More Milk
The latte macchiato and cafe latte are excellent options for milk lovers who don't want a lot of coffee in their drink.
The latte macchiato primarily consists of milk froth, a tiny layer of espresso, and a large portion of milk. Think of it as a milky counterpart of the americano, which mostly consists of hot water.
On the other hand, the cafe latte is a bit stronger due to a smaller amount of froth and a more significant amount of espresso.
Does Starbucks Use an Automatic Espresso Machine?
Starbucks apparently uses "the best" super automatic espresso machine, the Mastrena.
The espresso machine was developed exclusively for the coffee connoisseur by the Swiss company Thermoplan AG.
It contains its own custom drink settings, a milk carafe, more than one burr grinder, and a computerized menu, allowing them to adjust coffee strength and rapidly produce coffee drinks to cater to many people!
Since their focus is on making as many coffee drinks per hour as possible, quality becomes an often overlooked component.
You can make some of the best coffee drinks by investing in a good-quality burr grinder and above-average coffee beans.
Do All of the Best Automatic Espresso Machines Take Pre-Ground Coffee as well as Whole Bean?
A super automatic espresso machine is designed to facilitate the crafting of coffee drinks. To that end, some super automatic machines allow you to use pre-ground coffee.
These machines possess a separate hopper or doser for ground coffee. However, this is typically an added feature, and most super automatic espresso machines only take whole coffee beans because better-quality whole beans are easier to source.
Can You Use Automatic Espresso Machines to Make Iced Coffee?
Technically, you can use automatic coffee machines to brew iced coffee. The coffee drinks are made by pouring piping hot espresso over the ice.
However, the art of creating authentic iced coffee is either perfect by using iced brews or rapidly cooling hot espresso over ice.
Most machines that are used to make iced coffee water down the flavor since the espresso does not mix well and becomes bland.
It also self-advertises as the world's first and only fully automatic espresso and coffee machine with an iced coffee feature.
Therefore, while you can use any automatic espresso machine to make iced coffee drinks, it's not always a good idea because you might end up getting something bland, lacking flavor, and simply poor in quality.
Should You Get a Steam Wand or Automatic Milk Frother?
A milk frother is a utensil that is used to create milk froth through the aeration of milk. Aeration produces bubbles that increase the volume of the milk, making it light and fluffy.
It injects air into the milk, producing light and airy foam. Some automatic milk frothers also have a thermocouple that can heat up the milk.
A steam wand is a protruding pipe that is present on most automatic espresso machines. It's connected to the machine's oiler through a pipe.
It typically only produces steamed milk by releasing steam from the boiler, which then passes through the holes in its nozzle.
However, it can sometimes be used to froth milk by holding the milk pitcher at an angle, thereby inducing spinning motions that aerate the liquid.
If you're not strapped for cash and want a utensil with a wider range of capabilities, invest in a steam wand since it can produce foamy textured steamed milk as well as milk froth. It's especially good for espresso-based coffee drinks.
How Big is a Typical Bean Hopper?
A bean hopper is used to store coffee beans after they're ground. Super automatic machines also have hoppers for whole beans.
The average bean hopper should have a 10 lbs capacity, which is roughly equivalent to 400 cups of coffee.
Since the purpose is to create ease of crafting and reduce the need to search for coffee beans every time you need to grind them, the hopper should at least accommodate a 12-oz bag of coffee beans.
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Are Super Automatic Espresso Machines Worth It?
The more features an espresso machine comes with, the more it tends to cost. This can mean that some super automatic espresso machines, which are highly advanced automated models, can be expensive. But are they worth that price?
The answer to that question largely depends on you or your business. Everyone has different needs that may or may not be met by a super automatic espresso machine.
For example, if you need the easiest-to-use espresso machine out there, a super automatic is a good investment.
You or your employees will never struggle to learn how to operate the machine, and training times will be reduced.
On the flip side, if you want an espresso machine that challenges employees by giving them more control, a super automatic espresso machine likely isn’t worth it for you.
You need an entirely different type of machine, such as a semiautomatic or automatic espresso machine.
Super Automatic Espresso Machine vs Manual
We've touched briefly on what a super automatic espresso machine is and how it functions throughout this guide, but you may still be wondering how it compares to other types of machines. Let's compare it to a manual one.
A manual espresso machine is a traditional type that was used by baristas in the past. This type of machine will usually have a lever that baristas must pull and hold down to extract espresso.
It takes skill to use these machines, and they tend to have a lower output than other types of espresso machines due to their very hands-on brewing method.
After pulling a shot of espresso, you'll still need to foam your milk separately on a manual machine.
Like other machines, they'll have an attached steam wand that you can use to do so. The entire process, put simply, is manual.
A super automatic espresso machine simplifies the process. If you get a one-step machine, all aspects of brewing and frothing will be handled for you at the push of a button.
If you choose a two-step machine, the milk will be frothed separately and you'll need to add it to the drink, but it will still be frothed for you.
This means that super automatic machines are much easier to use than manual ones. They can also produce coffee and espresso more quickly and with greater consistency.
Super Automatic Espresso Machine vs Semi Automatic
What about a semiautomatic machine and a super automatic machine? Is the difference between them as stark as that between a super automatic and manual machine?
To answer that, we'll need to define what a semi automatic espresso machine is. Semi automatic espresso machines, for the most part, are still manual, and some baristas even refer to them as manual for that reason.
However, rather than relying on a barista's elbow grease to generate the pressure for brewing, users simply need to push a button or flip a switch to begin the brew cycle once they have their grounds in place.
The machine will run water through the espresso puck on its own. It's up to the barista, though, to decide when enough espresso has been properly extracted and to end the brew cycle. They will also still need to froth milk on their own.
A super automatic machine will take care of all those steps for you. In a direct comparison, it's still the easier of the two machine types to use.
The main reasons you would choose a semi-automatic would be if you wanted your baristas to interact more with the drink-making process or the affordability that semi automatic machines tend to offer.
Other Resources
Majesty Coffee offers far more super automatic espresso machines for sale than just the ones we discussed in this guide. Be sure to view our entire store to look for other super automatic machines we have if none of the ones here feels like a perfect fit.
Looking for more resources regarding super automatic espresso machines or commercial espresso machines in general? Here is a list of helpful content we’ve created to help users like you find their perfect match:
Wrap Up
At the end of the day, the main reason you should choose a super automatic espresso machine is that it’s easy-to-use and you want consistency. These machines reduce the complex process of building drinks into something as simple as pressing a button or tapping a screen, making them fantastic for businesses with a high rate of turnover or home users.
If you’re still unsure which machine is right for you, don’t forget that we’re here to help. Feel free to give our team a call at 888-978-5224 or reach out to us through the live chat in our store. We’d love to help you pick the perfect espresso machine for your home or business.
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Tony Barlow, with over a decade of experience in the coffee industry, is the go-to technical sales expert at Majesty Coffee. He's passionate about helping businesses find the right espresso equipment for their needs.
