In search of a Hot Bean to Coffee Cup Machine

Question

I have just returned the De'Longhi Eletta Cappuccino ECAM44.660.B Bean to Cup Coffee Machine. Not because it didn't make nice coffee, but because the coffee was luke warm within seconds of drinking. Basically, the coffee was never hot. I followed the instructions to make it hot i.e. Place coffee cup on hot metal tray before dispensing the coffee, heating the coffee cup with hot water before pouring the coffee, plus many other suggestions.

I have googled for hot bean to cup coffee machine, and the general impression is that I will never be able to purchase a machine that will produce really hot coffee.

Can someone let me know if it is indeed possible to purchase a hot bean to cup coffee machine?

Answer 1

Thanks @Patterson for taking the time to answer our questions.

The short answer to your question is that you will not find that feature in any commercial espresso machine. The reason for this is simply that espresso is best brewed using water with a temperature of around 90° C, so thermostats in those machines are typically set to around 92°.

However! And this is a big however. Several things steal heat away from the water before the water ever touches your cup. Those extra few degrees on the thermostat are there to help the coffee stay about 90° when it hits the coffee, but after it hits the coffee, the water hits the (metal) brew group, brew head, and shower screen. Slurrrppp. There goes that heat. Your coffee will be closer to 80° C by the time it hits your cup.

Then, the cup... Oy. I know you said your brewer had a heating tray to heat your cups, but those trays don't actually do much. If your cups are glass, stoneware, or porcelain, you're probably losing another 10° or more to the cup--even counting the warming you're doing. This is because these materials are decent insulators. That hot plate heats the top of the cup where you drink (assuming you place the cup upside down), but the heat doesn't make it down into the part of the cup the liquid touches. You can probably tell this by simply picking up said cup. A cup hot enough to protect the heat in your drink would be quite a shock to grab because it would be hot and will actually burn you quite badly if you hold onto it for more than a second or so.

So yeah. For machine to serve piping hot coffee, it would have to brew first, then either boil the brew (which would create a very different drink from espresso) or add boiling water (which makes an Americano and not an espresso). You won't find a machine that does the former, and a machine that does the latter is not an espresso machine.

That said, espresso based coffee drinks aren't typically served piping hot. Like I said before, ~90° C is the target water temperature for brewing, and milk for lattes/cappuccinos/whatever shouldn't go over ~70° C because high heat will mess with the proteins and sugar in the milk. Consider giving "warm" espresso a try because that's generally the tastiest way to get it.

Answer 2

The problem (for you) with espresso is that the amount of coffee brewed per serving is small and it tends to lose heat faster than, let's say, a mug of filter-brew coffee from a jar that has been sitting on a hot plate.

I found some interesting information on: https://www.1stincoffee.com/art-of-making-espresso

The brewing temperature is the temperature of the water at the point where it comes into contact with the ground coffee. This temperature is controlled by the thermostat of the espresso machine and should be 88C to 91C. The temperature of the brew in your cup will be between 71 and 74C. The heat loss occurs in the brew group, the air, and the cup. This is the ideal temperature for espresso in order to feel hot without scalding. To keep the beverage temperature from being too low, you should preheat the brew group and the cup. The easiest and most reliable way to heat the brew group and the cup is to run the cycle once with water only. This will heat the brew group, including the portafilter, and the cup simultaneously. A cup warmer will also help keep cups warm when you are making multiple espresso beverages.

From my experience, excessively hot espressos ( > 80C ) like the ones served in restaurants in my country tend to yield a horrible burnt taste and are a telltale of a bad barista or a malfunctioning machine