Updated for 2021. Fireworks, new beginnings, and New Year’s resolutions are all things we’re familiar with and look forward to in the New Year. Out with the old and in with the new, but if you really want to start off your year the right way and with a big bang, why not start in your kitchen, with a good cup of joe and a couple of near and dear friends and family? In true Whole Latte Love fashion, we’ve provided two machines for every type of New Year’s party so you’re prepared when your guests start to slip in your kitchen, eyeing your espresso machine to enjoy a latte with their dessert. We’ve paired each machine with Fuego Coffee Roaster’s, a local roastery in Rochester, to ensure you’re getting the entire package to prepare for New Year’s Day.
Machines for a large party with a pro-barista
This is the time for you to show off all of your pro-barista skills. From brewing to steaming and even pouring latte art, the ECM Synchronika and Profitec Pro 300 will keep up with the hustle and bustle of your New Year’s get-together with no issues.
ECM Synchronika in Anthracite with Fuego’s Colombia El Vergel
One of the first things you need to know about the ECM Synchronika if you’re hosting a large get-together is that it’s a dual boiler machine. This is going to be to your advantage when you’re the only pro-barista at the party and you’ve got a home full of guests waiting to try your barista-style cappuccino. The dual boilers allow you to brew and steam at the same time with no wait time in between (a life-saving feature!). On top of that, the direct water line connection means you won’t need to make people wait after brewing and steaming drink after drink to refill the reservoir, and with the PID controller on the Synchronika, you can brew and steam espresso and milk beverages with no worries about wavering temperatures, but you’ll be confident knowing that you’re producing flavorful drinks for the whole crowd to enjoy.
Speaking of flavorful coffee, Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Colombia El Vergel coffee is a great option to pair with the ECM Synchronika. It’s packed with Jasmine, Cocoa, Honey, Vanilla, Caramel, and Tropical Fruit flavor notes and produces crema-rich shots perfect to impress your guests.
Profitec Pro 300 with Fuego’s Mexico Coffee
If you’re a pro-barista and you’re looking for a more affordable prosumer that can still get the job done just as well, then the Pro 300 will be your best bet. It’s a dual boiler machine so it can keep up with the demand of espresso and milk-based beverages and it’s a hefty German-engineered machine, so we can guarantee that your machine won’t break down once things are said and done. It’s equipped with a PID controller for amazing temperature stability coupled with a shot timer so you can keep track of how long you’ve been pulling your shot. The PID controller will come in handy if you really want to show off your skills and tease out the elusive flavors of your coffee.
So, for the Pro 300, we’d recommend picking up Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Mexico blend. Just imagine everyone enjoying the Green Apple and Caramel flavor notes while complimenting your latte art, a true barista’s dream!
Machines for a New Year’s office party
Who said your New Year’s office party couldn’t be just as fun? Here are two machines that your coworkers won’t be able to get enough of.
JURA Z8 with Fuego’s Brazil Coffee
The JURA Z8 is an award-winning super-automatic with more than enough programmed drink specialties (21 to be exact) for everyone at the office to enjoy. To cater to your coworkers who appreciate full-bodied or more delicate drinks like an Americano, Caffé Barista and a whole pot of coffee, JURA implemented a special preparation method that combines coffee with water to properly brew your favorite café beverages at the touch of a button. The Z8 is an automatic coffee machine that grinds, tamps, and brews on its own so you won’t need to miss out on the fun to make a drink for yourself or your coworkers. With a 4.3” touchscreen display, your coworkers will be able to swipe through the Z8’s beverage options and get their favorite latte, cappuccino, flat white and more, all without you lifting a finger.
To complement this incredibly innovative bean-to-cup machine, we recommend giving Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Brazilian coffee a shot. The P.E.P. (Pulse Extraction Process) function on the Z8 will pulse water through the coffee to extract the chocolate and nutty flavor notes out of the puck and into your cup!
Braun KF9150 MultiServe Brewing System In White with Fuego’s Brazil Decaf Coffee
So there’s someone at the office who prefers decaf, no big deal! This is when you bring out your best drip coffee maker because no coffee-loving coworker gets left behind. The Braun Multiserve Brewing System is a SCA-certified drip coffee maker capable of brewing light, gold, bold, or an iced coffee in less than 8 minutes. Whether your coworker wants a 5 oz or full carafe of delicious coffee, the KF9150 delivers a delicious cup of joe in no time, and there’s even an option to brew hot water for tea and hot chocolate. If you don’t want a basic decaf coffee while everyone’s enjoying their peppermint mocha latte, here are 4 drinks that you can make with the Braun Multiserve and Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Brazilian decaf blend. The Braun Multiserve proves that drip coffee is becoming more innovative, keeping up with the times and is more versatile than ever to provide the best result and flavors for drip coffee lovers.
Machines for a small get-together with family & friends
Having a couple of friends and family over for dinner? Prepare yourself for the easiest brewing experience you’ll ever have with the Gaggia Velasca Prestige and an easy to use semi-automatic, the Breville Barista Express.
Gaggia Velasca Prestige with Fuego’s Ethiopia Coffee
Recently featured in our Wedding Season Gift Guide, the Velasca Prestige is a super-automatic with class but isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty to brew delicious, barista-quality beverages at the touch of a button. The brew group inside of the Velasca Prestige handles all of the work on this automatic coffee machine to produce smooth, crema-rich espresso. If you’ve got your hands full with friends, family and dinner, no worries, you can prepare beverages for everyone to enjoy simply by pressing a button and attaching your dedicated milk carafe for milk-based beverages. You can walk away from the machine, come back and your drink will be ready to go. The built-in grinder has 10 settings ranging from extra-fine for crema-rich espresso to coarser grinds ideal for long coffees, or if you have pre-ground coffee you can toss that into the bypass doser with no issues.
Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Ethiopian coffee is a great option for the Velasca Prestige. It’s a sweet blend of tropical and grapefruit flavor notes to help you kick the new year into full gear.
Breville BES870XL Barista Express In Silver with Fuego’s El Salvador Red Coffee
Breville’s Barista Express is an entry-level-friendly espresso machine that covers all the bases while still giving you some control over brewing an espresso. It comes with a built-in grinder (score!), a magnetic tamper holder, a 360 degree swivel steam wand with a one-hole steam tip, programmable options to brew a single or double shot and adjustable grind settings. The latter features are great for creating beverages for guests who have different drink preferences. Maybe they want a coarser grind or a double shot of espresso to go with dinner, the Barista Express makes hosting with your loved ones an enjoyable experience without the harsh learning curves of a higher-end espresso machine. Once the night is over, you won’t need to worry about a huge mess in the kitchen, the Barista Express does a great job of keeping the mess to a minimum with a separate drip tray for stray grounds and any spilling during brewing or steaming.
Pair the Barista Express with Fuego’s El Salvador Red coffee and your loved ones will talk about your New Year’s dinner for days on end. It’s a delicate blend of floral and Jasmine flavor notes that sits lightly on the taste palate to balance out a hearty and delicious New Year’s dinner.
Machines for your solo night in
Let’s face it, we’ve all had that one year where we stayed inside with nowhere to go and you’re listening to everyone count down to the new year while your cat is staring at you in silence. I get it. But this doesn’t mean that you still can’t have a little fun! Sure, your cat can’t toast with you, but you’ll surely have a lot of fun playing with these two machines on your solo night in:
ECM Casa V with Fuego’s Bear Claw Blend
The ECM Casa V brings the New Year’s fun home. It’s a compact machine and is undoubtedly one of the best semi-automatic machines that you can get for just under $1,000. It’s perfect for your solo night in, allowing you to pull shot after shot or a couple of milk-based drinks (if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes between brewing and steaming) and the intuitive controls on the face of the machine will help you to produce café-quality beverages in no time. With the incredible performance of this German-engineered machine, there won’t be any reason to feel bored on your night in, you can brew and steam all of your favorite drinks from the comfort of your kitchen and have your cat to keep you company.
Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Bear Claw Blend will take the lead and present a balanced yet flavorful resulting cup of coffee. With a medium body paired with nutty and gentle floral flavor notes, The Bear Claw Blend is one of our favorite coffees for those who are new to the world of coffee and espresso and want to dabble in specialty coffee from a local roastery.
E & B Lab Pour-Over Set with Fuego’s Colombia Coffee
Hand-crafted in Italy, E&B Lab’s Pour-Over Set was made for coffee lovers who appreciate the art of manual brewing. The set comes with a handmade borosilicate glass that can handle up to 248 °F and holds 18 ounces. It also comes with two flower-shaped filter holders which grip your paper filters and the steel construction prevents changes in the coffee’s temperature. Think of it this way, while everyone’s out on the town, you’ll be perfecting your pour-over skills for the next time you want to show off this luxurious and modern pour-over set.
Fuego Coffee Roaster’s Colombia would work best for pour-over (and drip) coffee. It’s a washed coffee grown in the mountainous region of Huila, Colombia and creates a bold coffee with cherry flavor notes.
Which machine gets you excited to start off the New Year with a good cup of espresso and your loved ones?
