ASCASO EXPRESSO MACHINES PRO

3-way solenoid for quick change-over of spent coffee grounds.Brass boiler, group and portafilters - the larger boiler the better.Steel construction, as little plastic as possible.So it was not much of a stretch to enter the lucrative home market in a place that would be competitive.įrom our perspective at the CoffeeCrew.Com website, we feel that in order for a home machine to be really successful, it has to have all of the following going for it: So, what about the Innova-Ascaso machines?Īscaso, as mentioned above, has been making high quality components for commercial espresso machines for decades. The engineers at Ascaso (Innova) seemed to have targeted the sector of the market that considers the Rancilio Silvia the one and only machine to have in that particular price bracket - and afterall, Rancilio pretty much owns that price bracket. so who better to provide equipment and mentoring on the subject! Geir is Vancouver Island's guru of all things coffee - he brought specialty coffee and espresso to Vancouver Island.

ASCASO EXPRESSO MACHINES PRO

My first experience with Innova was with the original grinder series - all solidly made with one bugaboo - the hoppers tended to self-destruct quite quickly cracks appearing at the base and quickly winding their way through the whole plastic hopper body.Ĭredit - Geir Oglend, of Drumroaster Coffee on Vancouver Island was kind enough to give me an extended loan of the Innova single boiler espresso machine (modified to include a PID Digital temperature controller) and the Ascaso-Innova Pro grinder. The first efforts were revealed in Europe in the year 2000 and in 2002 in North America with the likes of the Arc and the Ellipse units. By the mid 1990s, Ascaso started thinking about their own stand-alone espresso machines - the home market their primary and sole focus. Ascaso was founded in 1962, initially producing spare parts for popular machines of the day. Company's founder, J√©sus Ascaso, started his career with espresso machines in the 1950s repairing Gaggia machines. It seems that Ascaso has been around for a good long time - in the espresso business, particularly in parts, service and support. Some history - Which brings us to the Ascaso and Innova series of quality espresso machines. Rephrasing: Anyone that knows anything about great espresso-cappuccino (and a lot of people that do not) recognize the Rancilio as the machine to buy if you are serious. Interesting thing: The single most popular espresso-cappuccino combo, the Rancilio Silvia espresso machine and Rancilio Rocky grinder fall into that no-man's land between 6 dollars. The next tier of buyers spend slightly more on their machine and then a small chunk of change on a good grinder ( grinders-learn more). Lots of people have machines that they are not entirely happy with too. Most people buy home espresso machines priced under 400 dollars. That said, as times and economies have changed, and as people have become more saavy about specialty coffee - the expectations of the average person have taken one big uptick.īut know this: Expectations cost money. Not surpisingly, in about 14 years of gathering data about peoples spending habits, there is a clear preference for spending as little as possible on espresso coffee for the home.

also known as the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.Īnd that's just from your wallet's perspective! if you really and I mean really want to get into real espresso, the shock could be on the sticker.Īnd for those just joining us, a quick overview: Espresso coffee machines break down into a trio of options - The under 400 and over 99 dollar group, the 400 to 900 dollar cluster and the over $1250 set. And although one can brew a pretty bad-ass cup of drip, or French, or Stove-top, or Aeropress for a few dozen dollars. Truth is, there are more ways to brew great coffee on the cheap. The same could be said for quality home espresso in your kitchen - but it is not entirely true.

It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.

Ascaso expresso machines