Review: Superkop Espresso Machine

Nothing makes me happier than when someone comes along and clears away all the technological clutter from a device to reveal its simple mechanical underpinnings. When the result also looks better and works better than its competitors, that’s tech(less) nirvana, which is exactly what the Superkop espresso machine manages to achieve.

The Superkop is an entirely manual espresso maker that needs nothing more than hot water and espresso-ground coffee to brew up a delicious shot. There’s no touchscreen, no needless phone app, no digital nonsense, just the essential element you need: great espresso.

Since it doesn’t require anything more than hot water, when the zombie apocalypse comes, you can heat that water over a trashcan fire, brew that delicious shot, and calmly look up from your still-functional Superkop at the impending Zombie horde and say, “Bring it.”

Hand-pump espresso machines aren’t a new idea. They are, in fact, the original idea. Still available today, mostly in the form of expensive, pro-level machines. La Pavoni is probably the best-known brand, but most of its machines (and most modern pump machines) still require electricity (usually to heat the water). Go back further in history and you’ll find large, complex hand-pump machines designed for coffee shops. They’re amazing, often beautiful—some of them are art nouveau–era masterworks—but not the sort of thing most of us can afford in our homes.

The most practical hand-pump machine I’ve used (and the top pick in our guide to portable espresso) is the Flair Signature ($239), which is hand-pumped but uses your body to provide the pressure necessary to achieve the 9 to 11 bars required for espresso. This works if you’re able to provide that pressure, but it is the one weakness of the Flair—you need to be strong enough to get that pressure.

The Superkop steps into this market with a strong design aesthetic, albeit more industrial than art nouveau but striking nonetheless, and a clever way around the pressure problem. It uses a ratcheting mechanism in the handle to keep the pressure constant as you raise and lower the pump arm. It takes six pulls to get a full Lungo shot, but you don’t need to pull hard at all.

At the same time, you do have some control over how much pressure is applied. You can regulate the pressure by the speed of your pumping, and this, combined with the volume of beans and how finely you grind them, are the tools you have to control the finished result. Don’t worry, there is an overpressure value that releases at 20 bars so you won’t break anything. And try as I might, I could not get this release to trigger, so I wouldn’t worry about building up too much pressure.

As with all espresso machines, there is a learning curve to getting it where you want it. Use a scale to keep track of how much you’re using, and tweak your grind in small increments until you get it to your tastes. After the usual fiddling with the grind, tamping pressure, and amount of grounds, I was able to consistently pull excellent shots with the Superkop. They were, in fact, better than what I’ve been able to get from the Flair Signature and better than most consumer-level home espresso machines, in part, I think, because of the consistent, constant pressure the Superkop achieves.

Courtesy of Superkop

Is it better than the espresso at your local coffee shop? That depends on too many factors to answer for everyone, but in many cases, yes, definitely. If you happen to live by a shop where the baristas really know what they’re doing, maybe not, but in my experience traveling around the US for the past seven years, those are few and far between. (If you have a good shop near you, drop me a line so I can stop in if I’m in the area.)

What I like about the Superkop goes beyond coffee. This is a machine built to last a lifetime. Or more if you know what you’re doing. Built with solid metal (aluminum and stainless steel) and wood, it's well-made. The lever and portafilter are made of polished stainless, and the portafilter has the industry standard diameter of 58 mm, which means you can swap it out with any other portafilter.

The only plastic part is the water cup, which is made from polycarbonate plastic, in part because it holds your hot water at temperature without needing to be preheated (as you need to do with the Flair and other machines).

The weak points, from a repair perspective, are the internal seals and the gas spring, which causes the brewing piston to slide back up. Superkop sells replacement springs and seals but says these parts won't need replacing for at least five years.

I should also note that, while I tested the stand-alone version, which features a heavy wooden base, there is an optional wall mounting shelf if you have more wall space than counter space. I did not test it in this configuration, but I'd make sure you can wall-mount it into some studs or other strong support elements.

I wish there were more things like the Superkop—clever, mechanical things that solve problems without going digital. Should you buy one? At $800, they’re definitely not cheap, but if you love espresso and want something that looks good in your home and will likely last a lifetime, the Superkop is hard to beat.