Saeco espresso machines represent one of the most sought after brand names in the coffee making industry. Saeco has been pioneering espresso machines since they started as a company in 1981. In 1985, they revolutionized espresso machine care by perfecting the removable brew group, allowing the operator to easily take out the guts of the machine for swift and simple cleaning and maintenance. This shortly led to their creation that changed the face of the coffee making industry - the first fully automatic espresso machine. This lit a fuse under the market, allowing average joe (get it?) espresso drinkers to enjoy coffee shop taste at home with literally the touch of a button.
In 1990, Saeco introduced two-cup coffee appliances, allowing two cups of heavily caffeinated beverages to be brewed simultaneously. They were also the first to apply cup warmers, digital displays, cappucinatores for easy frothing, nearly silent ceramic grinders, and adjustable dials to control variables like beverage volume and strength. This company based in Italia is the real freakin' deal. Since their modest debut in 81' they've blown up into an international corporation - in 1999 they even purchased Gaggia - the Gaggia espresso machine is another leviathan in the breakfast buzz industry.
Though you probably aren't terribly interested in the history of this company, I felt it necessary to illustrate to you the confidence you can have in purchasing a Saeco espresso machine. Allow me to highlight some of their more popular lines - all of which would make fine additions to the home of any coffee lover - any coffee lover with some spare change.
Aroma
The Saeco Aroma espresso machine is by far one of their most popular lines for home use. You can usually find them anywhere between $300 and $350 depending on the finish you choose. The Aroma line is available in either a solid black or stainless steel finish. Generally, the stainless steel model is going to run $50 more. There really isn't much of a difference in performance between the stainless and the black model. Both models are powerful machines in small packages (8"x10"x11.5"), enabling you to fit them virtually anywhere on your kitchen counter top. Although they don't fall into the super automatic espresso machine category, they still make coffee making a pleasure.
Included in the Aroma is a featured frothing instrument called the Pannarello. One can use the Pannarello to easily create virtually any hot beverage, including cappuccinos, lattes, Americanos, mochas, and even a frothy hot chocolate. The perfectly designed portafilter (the handle you see coming off the front - a distinguishing feature of a semi automatic espresso machine) produces just the right layer of crema with flawless extraction. This model also includes an intuitive dashboard which allows any user to choose the right amount and strength before making their coffee drink. It even comes with a built in cup warmer. Cleaning and refilling with the Aroma is a piece of cake. The water tank and drip reservoir can be removed in seconds for a quick cleaning. The Saeco Aroma espresso machine, a wonderful piece of coffee making machinery in its own right, is perfect for anyone looking for quality that will fit virtually anywhere.
Odea Go II
This sexy little automatic number will run you somewhere in the neighborhood of $600, but well worth it if you want to take your espressomanship to the next level. This machine includes a "Giro" dial that not only looks stylish as heck, but makes the brewing process easy and flexible. Like the Aroma, you can easily choose the volume, type, and strength of your drink, but the Odea takes it one notch higher. It has a built in manually adjustable drip tray that allows brewing for cups of all sizes. In fact, the ove-rsized surface can hold up to six cups at a time. Tell your guests to wait in line.
They won't have to wait for too long, however, with Saeco's "rapid steam" technology employed on the Odea Go II. Rapid steam allows you to manually froth your drink in seconds, from the time you brew to the time you use the Pannarello for adding that deliciously appealing froth. I mentioned earlier that the Aroma is easy to maintain. The Odea is even easier. Where with the Aroma, you can only remove the tank and the drip tray, the Go II allows you to remove the entire brew group (all the components that make the tamping, brewing, and extracting process possible), making it very easy to clean your equipment. With proper attention, taking a few extra seconds to rinse off the brew group can let your machine last as long as you want it to.
One feature that makes this sucker automatic is the grinder. Saeco is known for their quality crafted grinders. They design them with ceramics to ensure that the whole bean flavor stays true. Another notable perk of the Odea ceramic grinder is that it's far more resilient to wear and tear, and runs much quieter than the competition. The Odea Go II does all of this with its energy safe feature, giving you confidence that this machine runs with supreme efficiency.
Talea Ring Plus
I said the Odea was sexy - this super automatic espresso machine is smokin' hot. This has everything and more that the Odea has, all packed into a small (13"x16"x14.5") top-to-bottom stainless steel body. The Talea will look you right in the eyes with its stylish, robustly functional LCD display, and ask you just what kind of drink you want. Ok, it won't actually talk to you, but it comes equipped with multiple settings for make choosing temperature control, strength and volume easier than ever. It's like freakin' coffee magic.
This machine also includes Saeco's freshness promise that ensures that every ounce of water will be purely Brita filtered, every bean maxed out to its full flavor and aroma potential, and that every drop of milk came down from froth Heaven. As an optional installment, you can include the Talea "milk island" which pulls steam from the machine, into the cappuccinatore, delivering some incredible crema. This thing drips with mechanical and digital everything, and at $1300, you're definitely paying for its supreme style and ease of use.
Primea Ring
The Talea isn't the only hot automatic espresso machine Saeco puts out. The Primea Ring is the absolute crema of the crop in the super automatic espresso machine world. If you have one of these mothers in your home kitchen, you'll put your local Starbucks out of business. This machine can create almost any type of hot beverage at the touch of a button. I know I said that about the other models too, but with those, you still add to adjust a setting here, and slide a bar there (still very easy), but with the Primea, you literally just choose the cappuccino icon if you want a cappuccino, or a latte macchiato if you want one of those too. I should say, "if you want two of those too".
The Primea ring employs Saeco's own Touch2Cappuccino technology to allow two simultaneous drinks to be made in all of their rich frothy goodness. Just put your espresso cup on the illuminated, touch-adjustable drip tray (you'll feel like your on a first class airplane on a night flight with this thing), press a button, and you're done. With Saeco's patented Steam Express technology, there is literally no waiting for the steaming process - it's all done immediately. With every functional feature and BMW designed aesthetic compliment on the market, the Saeco Primea Ring lives up to every bit of its $2000 price tag.
If you're interested in learning more on Saeco's products, or really any other piece of coffee making supplies, I recommend you check out Wholelattelove.com. They also offer some very competitive pricing on all of the products I've discussed above
