Intro
This espresso machine has types of groupheads and just in looks, whether it’s a shiny metal centre piece or whether it’s discreetly hidden inside the machine.
When talking about coffee machines, the most commonly discussed components are usually the boilers.
design and all the types of group heads, arguably the most important factor in coffee brewing, the type of group heads can make or break your espresso shot.
be going through all types of group heads found on all your dream coffee machines and which one is the best option for you.
Table of contents
What is a type of group head?
so it’s the first thing that catches your eye when looking at an espresso machine, or at least to be. Sometimes you won’t even see it, but go get to that a bit later.
It’s where your porta filter goes, giving you that liquid gold you need for a day.
Basically, that’s where the magic happens.
White in hot water gets distributed over a bit of Porta filter, and out comes your espresso short through, 9bars of pressure.
Before we go into the different types of group heads.
Let’s quickly go through what makes up a group head, regardless of its type.
You will find here a gasket and a shower screen.
The gasket is this stick rubber band that creates the seal between the porta filter and the group head.
The shower screen distributes all showers, the brew water evenly over the coffee park, ensuring you get every ounce of your espresso shot.
We have a quick tutorial blog post on how to clean, change your gasket and show screen.
So do check that out to keep your Group head quickly clean.
Espresso machine with different types of groupheads
Now, let’s get into the types of espresso machine group heads
Type of group head E61
E61 the most iconic and instantly recognisable, group head, is none other than the old rebel e61 invented by faema in 1961.
The name comes from the famous E61 espresso machine, named after the solar eclipse that happened that same year
Be using this cross-section boiler and group head system from Profitech,
The part of the E61 is called the ceramic chef, but it’s also called a mushroom, because, well, the top part looks like a mushroom.
You might see some E61 machines that have a knob on the mushroom head, which is the flow control pedal.
The flow control lets you control the amount of water going into the group head,
allowing for pressure profiling during pre-infusion and during espresso extraction.
E61 retains heat longer, better than any other group head, due to what we call the thermosiphon,
water gets constantly circulated from the boiler and back to the group head through a thermosiphon circuit.
ensuring that the brass maintains its temperature when you’re not brewing.
Solenoid blocks the pipe and allows water to flow through the portafilter
when you lift the liver to begin brewing, the solenoid moves out, letting the brew water flow through.
E61 also allows for pre fusion, which is housed in the bottom part. This part has the pre infusion spring and pre infusion chamber.
The price of E61 group head espresso machine are generally leaning towards the mid to high end range.
This is because it takes a lot of power from the boiler to heat up e61 through thermos siphoning function resulting in brands using double boilers in your machines.
E61 group head machine to truly be effective in a cafe setting it would definitely require double boilers to maintain thermal stability
while pulling short after short examples of espresso machine that have an E61 type of group head are the Rocket R squant too the Profitech Pro 400 and ECM sycnchronic.
Saturated type of Group head
Next on the list, we have a saturated group head, essentially the group head is welled directly on the boiler becoming one in saturated espresso machines.
Water is heated directly in the group head to maintain a stable temperature while brewing.
They heat up much faster than the E61 group head making a good choice for those constantly on the go in busy cafes
who need to start chugging out coffees group. The first company to make a saturated type of group head is none other than our favorite la marzacco with your GS commercial machines and, of course iconic GS3.
we have over here because of this price range for saturated group head espresso machines are definitely high end range.
Parts are not easy to source for and maintenance has to be on the price side, due to its complex inner, saturated group head espresso machines are also usually commercial standard machines.
These machines use a double boiler or a multi-boiler system to accommodate a large output,
which would increase the price range even more it not hard identify a saturated group head.
It’s very obvious with La marzacco snack saturated group head.
which is for all their commercial machines, other saturated types of group head machines for home use include the Rocket R91 as well as the slayer single group
Conventional type of Group head
it next up, we’ve got the conventional grouphead. It’s a simple Group head. That is quite straightforward to brew espresso it uses a three way solenoid valve to relieve excess pressure after brewing.
.Other than excess pressure, it also drains excess water, resulting in a dry coffee park that is easy to knock out of your prota filter, a conventional group head.
doesn’t retain heat, which means he doesn’t get hot to the touch. The design is usually quite simple, giving you a sleek, no frills look,
While it may not be the best at achieving thermal stability, it is still an effective and straightforward way to brew your espresso.
It’s not difficult to produce, making it cheaper for manufacturers to use compared to other types of group heads.
It prevents pressure build-up, which can damage the group head and the espresso machines
conventional group head are a good option for home espresso enthusiasts looking for affordable, easy-to-use group head.
They are also a good option. Of course, one concern is having the most precise temperature control and they are They are much easier to maintain
compared to other complex group head Nuova Simonelli oscar is an example of an entry-level espresso machine with a conventional group head, other conventional group head espresso machines. We have is a Ranilo Silvia
Electrically heated type of Group head
electrically heated group head contain heating elements inside the group head itself.
The thermostat or PID usually controls it. Electrically heated group head machines tend to be popular among entry-level machines, as they are fairly affordable to produce.
It is also one of the fastest group heads to achieve brewing temperature upon turning on,
compared to the other group heads, making it ideal for formal use.
Electrically heated group head supplements temperature stability at a fraction of the time,
especially if you have a single-group machine.
The Profitech Go machine over here is a great example of an electrically heated group head machine.
There are also different approaches to electrically heated such as the grouphead, such as the rocket bincocca that uses a cartridge element,
Heated, such as the grouphead such as the Rocket Bincocca that uses a cartridge element,
which kind of acts like a reheater for the brew water machines we have that come with electrically heated group head are a stone spacial machine and also heat Profitech.
Manual type of Group head
There are plenty of other types of group head but some of our mentions include the lever group head
such as the La Marzocco and Profietch Pro 800, and integrated group heads like La Marzocco mini, La Marzocco micra whether it is manual,
semi automatic or automatic espresso machine the group head has the same function when pulling a shot of espresso it holds the prota filter to send a stream of hot,
pressurised water to the coffee grounds and out comes the espresso.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
E61 is a popular and reliable choice for its excellent thermal stability, but it can also slow heat up as is essentially chunk of brass metal.
However, E61 are also a suitable machine, and small cafe owners, as they can still pull short off the shot consistently without a price tag or a saturated group head machine. E61 can also be a burn risk. Just ask any Boy Scout to show you their burn.
I’m sure you’ll have some electrically heated or saturated grouphead are usually.
The most efficient and versatile option, not to mention safer as the heat will be on the inside.
Considering the basics of an espresso machine, you can now make informed choices when selecting the type of group head espresso machine. Now this is for you. Means an in-depth explanation.
We hope this will help you to understand the basics of the types of machines group head saturated. The group head is the preferred choice for high volume cafes due to heavy-duty features and solid thermostability.
If you’re a no fast copy drinker who just wants a good and quick cover, a conventional or electric just be the one for me.
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Thank you for reading, and we’ll see you in the next post!
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