Buy the best coffee beans for your fully automatic machine

The convenient advantages of a fully automatic coffee machine are obvious. You have a good coffee in seconds, without much effort. Once set up correctly, you will get what is promised to you. Coffee at the push of a button. Whether black or with milk, the fully automatic machine conjures up everything from café cream to latte macchiato. But there is no magic in this fully automatic device, just really good coffee beans. But which coffee beans should you buy for your fully automatic machine? The right coffee beans for your fully automatic machine are crucial for perfect coffee. In addition, every fully automatic machine works differently and should be set individually.

Which coffee beans can you buy for a fully automatic machine?

Of course, it also depends on taste preferences. However, it can generally be said that you should buy dark roasts for the fully automatic machine. Light roasts are rarely convincing here. This has to do with the acidity of the light roasted beans.

Espresso machine vs. fully automatic – which coffee beans to buy for which machine?

An espresso machine is fundamentally different from a fully automatic machine. That's why you can buy completely different coffee beans for a portafilter than for a fully automatic machine. The extraction time of the coffee beans in a fully automatic machine is significantly shorter and the grinding degree is coarser. What does extraction time mean? During the brewing process, hot water runs through the ground coffee and releases the valuable aromas. The extraction takes about 24 seconds and can be divided into three phases. In the first phase, the acids are released from your coffee beans. In the second phase the aromatic substances and in the third phase the bitter substances. If the extraction time is too short, the coffee will taste watery and featureless. This is also called under-extraction. We urgently want to avoid under-extraction for our fully automatic coffee. Then your coffee quickly becomes too sour and too weak. The lighter the roast, the higher the acid content of the beans. This is also the reason why light roasts achieve rather poor results in fully automatic machines.

Buy the darker all-rounder beans for your fully automatic machine

So it's better to buy darker and stronger roasts for your fully automatic machine. These can also cope with the short extraction time. The low acidity results in a better and full-bodied taste! As a true all-rounder, the fully automatic machine also needs an all-rounder coffee bean. It is advisable that you buy a coffee that is suitable for all types of coffee drinks. For example, coffee beans with a strong, intense flavor profile and low acidity are suitable here. In our online shop you can filter by taste profile and aromas. Here you can choose a low acidity and a lot of starch. You can also choose a nutty & chocolatey flavor profile. Chocolate notes always come into their own in milk drinks from your fully automatic machine! The perfect all-rounder for the fully automatic machine is, for example, the Italo Disco Espresso from 19grams, the Automat Espresso from 55 Degrees or the Sinfonia Espresso from Röststätte. This way you can be sure that you are buying the right coffee beans for your fully automatic machine. If there are two bean containers installed in your fully automatic machine, you can even choose two types!

The right grind level for your coffee beans

The right grind is just as important as choosing the right coffee beans. The degree of grinding influences the processing time of the coffee. If the coffee grounds are finely ground, the coffee flows more slowly and absorbs more aromas. This in turn leads to a stronger and full-bodied taste of the coffee. On the other hand, if the coffee grounds are coarsely ground, the coffee will flow through faster and absorb fewer flavors, resulting in a watery and under-extracted coffee. Accordingly, the degree of grinding and the throughput time are directly linked to each other. So we can use the throughput time as a guide to find the right grind. You could say that a cycle time of around 10 seconds works well for most fully automatic machines. Experimenting and trying things out is definitely part of it! Feel free to try out different settings and grinding degrees until you like the coffee. In the end, you know best which coffee beans you want to buy for your fully automatic machine and are sure to find your absolute favorite coffee. After all, your preference and taste are more important than any rules! Of course, coffee making wouldn't be our favorite science if there weren't a few more factors to consider.

The intensity and dosage of your coffee beans

With a fully automatic machine, you often only have limited options for adjusting the amount of coffee yourself. That's why typical rules of thumb for the optimal extraction of coffee and espresso often don't work here. You usually have the options to choose between “strong/strong” and “weak/mild”. However, the available setting options vary depending on the machine. Some coffee lovers give rough recommendations for certain coffee drinks. For example, a medium intensity for the Café Crèma (e.g. three out of five beans) and a high intensity for a strong espresso (e.g. five out of five beans). But here too, feel free to experiment yourself to find the perfect intensity for your coffee beans.

The water temperature and the amount of water in the fully automatic machine

However, what you can influence, which is not clear to many fully automatic machine beginners, is the amount of water. The amount of water is already preset, but sometimes it is not optimally adapted to your preferences and coffee beans. We recommend checking the settings again and adjusting them if necessary. The following applies here: the more water runs through the fully automatic machine, the weaker your coffee will be. So it's not advisable to use a large cup of coffee as a benchmark for the right amount of water. Then espresso and the like are often rather watered down. Instead, you should get two espressos and adjust the amount of water accordingly. Rough guidelines are 35 ml for an espresso and 110 ml for a café crèma. On some machines you can adjust the water temperature manually. If this is the case with your machine, set the water temperature to 95°C. This is the optimal temperature for extraction in a fully automatic machine.

Storage of coffee beans for the fully automatic machine

Coffee always tastes better the fresher the coffee beans are. Therefore, do not put too many beans in the bean container at once. The coffee beans quickly lose their aroma if they come into contact with air for too long. It's best to only put as many beans in the fully automatic machine as you need in one day. You can store the rest airtight in the sealed coffee pack. This keeps your coffee beans ready for your daily coffee enjoyment!

Further facts about the fully automatic machine

So that you are well informed, here are some other important facts about the fully automatic machine:

The right milk

Are you a latte lover? For maximum taste, it also plays a role which milk you put in the fully automatic machine. Homogenized milk with a high fat content is best suited for a fully automatic machine. In addition, the milk should be cold, as many machines do not heat the milk to a specific temperature, but only for a specific time. If the milk gets too hot here, you get foam instead of a nice, gentle layer of foam.

The right water

Your morning coffee is 99% water. So it's obvious that the quality of the water has a big impact on the taste of your coffee. Only use filtered water for your fully automatic machine. Many machines have an integrated water filter in the water tank, which you should replace every one or two months.

Conclusion: How to buy the best coffee beans for the fully automatic machine

In summary, a clear recommendation for buying your coffee beans can be made. Avoid light roasts and buy slightly darker beans. Our “Nutty & Chocolatey” flavor profile is always a good choice for the fully automatic machine! In order to get the best possible coffee at the push of a button, you should set the grinding level and the amount of coffee correctly. The right amount and temperature of water are further keys to good taste. There is no question about cleaning your fully automatic machine regularly. Using filtered water and the right milk also contributes to the ideal taste experience. In order to buy the best coffee beans for your fully automatic machine, you need to experiment and try things out. Here at 60beans.com you will find a great selection of specialty coffees that go perfectly with your fully automatic machine.