One brand of coffee makers and grinders that you may have never heard of is Wega Coffee Makers. And that is a shame because Wega’s machines are high quality commercial-grade machines that you can use not only at home but also at your office or cafe. They are more popular in the UK than in the USA, because they are imported to the UK by Pennine tea and coffee company. Wega is approved by the Italian National Espresso Institute.

Wega makes it easy to buy an espresso machine and start using it right away for your business, providing all accessories in one package, including 1000 cups worth of beans, paper cups, and saucers.

These are very precise machines, but not automatic. Automation doesn’t allow for the precision of expert human judgement. So these machines are meant to be monitored by your staff, and the coffee prepared by the staff, not simply pushing a button. But if you are a high quality cafe serving gourmet coffee, the customers may appreciate this and know that they are not receiving some kind of phony instant espresso.

You can view some Wega Coffee makers (espresso machines) and grinders here.

The FNC311-42 Krups Novo 3000 is a premium espresso machine that retails in the range of $300. It is a decent introduction to Espresso makers, and at the low end of the spectrum this is a reasonable choice.

The Krups Novo 3000 mainly makes espresso, but also cappucino and latte. It is not automated like some of the more expensive units are, but it is fairly easy to make coffee and froth with this machine. It has a large 1 liter water tank so you don’t have to constantly refill the machine.

Some common complaints about this machine are that it is too noisy, so you can’t prepare a quiet cup while others are sleeping. To me that’s no big deal. I’ll gladly wake up my family for the sake of a nice espresso. Another complaint is that the espresso is not hot enough. But there is a trick to that: you have to heat up the machine first by running one cup of plain water through. Then you can prepare your espresso and it will come out at the right temperature. So this is not really a weak point of the machine, just a trick to making good espresso.

A few customers report some cracks and malfunctions in the unit, though that doesn’t seem to be the norm. For such a low-priced espresso machine, the Krups Novo 3000 does a pretty good job of the main functions: making good espresso, and making good froth.

Learn more about the Krups Novo 3000