Elektra Micro Casa Semiautomatica Domestic Espresso Machine

Some machines are equipment. The Micro Casa is furniture that happens to make espresso.

Under the copper and brass bodywork is a real machine. A brass group with continuous delivery, a brass boiler with a heat exchanger, and a pump that feeds both the group and the boiler refill. The dry steam wand is set away from the boiler and controlled by a twist knob, so it comes on and off instantly and froths milk properly rather than watering it.

The details are the kind you only notice once you own one. A three-way solenoid valve releases group pressure the moment extraction stops, so the portafilter comes off cleanly instead of spitting. The water basin loads from the top and refills while the machine runs, so nothing has to shut down mid-service the way a lever machine would. A sight glass and pressure gauge tell you where the boiler is at a glance, and a relief valve sits behind it all.

It draws 800 watts and runs on anything from 110 to 230 volts, which means a normal wall socket and no electrician. That, more than anything, is why it ends up in places a plumbed three-group machine never could.

Part of the Elektra Heritage range.

Where it belongs

Guest house breakfast rooms, hotel suites, boardrooms, showrooms and offices where the machine is on display and the coffee is made a few cups at a time. It is a single-group machine with a two-litre boiler — beautiful in a reception, wrong behind a café counter at eight in the morning.

Specifications