I have been a coffee drinker most of my life. My taste for black coffee was developed quite early in life and has moved from the chicory-laced sweet version to a self-ground dark French press on which I spend a few minutes daily.
But I’m not coffee-crazy enough to carry my own grinder to a business meeting — trust me, I have seen those types too. Anyway, when Wonderchef reached out to me to test their Espresso Coffee Maker, I was interested because this is one appliance I have never been able to wrap my head around.
Over the years, I have tried all sorts of coffee makers from around the world, not always with success. My strangest coffee machine story comes from Barcelona a few years back, where the room I stayed in had a fancy Italian coffee machine that took in pods which were very different in size to the regular Nespresso pods. To sum up, the pod was flying in the air and I was ducking to save myself after what I thought was the right way to use that machine. That is how complicated some of these coffee makers can turn out to be.
But the Wonderchef Regalia Espresso Coffee Maker is quite simple to use. In fact, it is simple to set up and could quickly assemble the boiler unit at the back and tray up front. You will however need a power plug to run this, so keep that in mind. In the box, there was also a milk frother which I had little use for as I like my coffee neat and black. The machine is compact and occupies just a corner of the kitchen slab.
Now, one important part of this setup is the coffee pods which you have to buy separately. Since Nespresso is not that easily available in India, I bought some Coffeezza pods from Amazon for review. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)
The process of brewing is simple too. You need to fill up the boiler unit at the back with water, insert your coffee pod through the top, and select the Espresso size from the three buttons on top. I used the largest size most of the time, as even with an Espresso I like giving it more than one shot. The machine takes about a minute to warm up the water and then another press of the buttons get the brew running.
Interestingly, the 15 Bar here means 15 times atmospheric pressure — there are machines with lesser bars too, but maybe brewing tamer coffee. Also, when you insert a new pod, the older one is pushed down into a bin which you need to clean at regular intervals as it also collects some liquid over time.
Now, one important part of this setup is the coffee pods which you have to buy separately. Since Nespresso is not that easily available in India, I bought some Coffeezza pods from Amazon for review. This is among the cheaper capsule options out there, but will still cost you almost Rs 40 a cup. So while you love Espresso enough to buy a coffee maker, do keep in mind that this is also the start of a recurring cost.
Since Nespresso is not that easily available in India, I bought some Coffeezza pods from Amazon for review. (Image credit: Nandagopal Rajan / Indian Express)
Another aspect is that while the Espresso is quite good and the Americano — a large Espresso topped up with hot water — also tasted fine with the Coffeezza pods, coffee with milk is not that great unless you invest in better, costlier capsules.
At Rs 11,999, the Wonderchef Regalia Espresso Coffee Maker is a decent investment for those who love their Espresso. Those who like to do more with their coffee and want variety on a daily basis might need to look for a more evolved machine for their kitchen. But it is good to see that Espresso machines are now available in India at good price points, and this could trigger wider availability of Nespresso and other coffee capsules.
