When the Swiss company Jura was founded in 1931, it set out to make cutting-edge household appliances, and for its dazzling debut it produced—drumroll—an electric iron. A steady succession of other sturdy and useful products such as radios and toasters soon followed, but it was in 1937 that the company segued into hot beverages and introduced its first coffee machine at the Paris World’s Fair.
That first Jura coffee machine was a two-liter percolator that was heated on a stove top. When water in the base of the pot came to a boil, it was forced up through a tube to the top of the pot and then it trickled through a container of coffee grounds back into the base. The method, while perfectly valid, has fallen out of favor in no small part because of Jura’s own efforts in the march of progress. The company continued to experiment through the 20th century and offered its first line of espresso machines to households almost three decades ago.
Jura’s push to keep improving upon those coffee-fueled beginnings has led to its top-of-the line Impressa Z7 One Touch ($3,000), which brings together generations of Swiss technology and precision into an efficient, barista-worthy machine for the home. The machine is programmed so that right out of the box—and with just a touch of a button—you can produce espresso, cappuccino, latte macchiato, ristretto, hot chocolate, a large cup of coffee, and more. However, users with specific preferences can fiddle with the options to customize the amount of liquid in the cup, coffee strength, and temperature. The hopper will grind your chosen beans to the perfect pulverization, but it takes preground coffee too. Either way, brewing takes less than a minute.
Measuring 12.2 inches wide, 14.6 inches high, and 17.7 inches deep, the sleek aluminum appliance weighs slightly more than 30 pounds and fits easily on most countertops. The designers state that incorporating the single, simple knob control enabled them to pare down the shape of the machine, while a rotary switch provides users with access to a display menu that is easy to read and follow. Other features include a cappuccino spout with a 6-inch adjustment range, which means froth won’t splash, and it will accommodate any standard latte macchiato glass. For the eco-minded, the machine also has a zero-energy switch, which prevents it from using any power in standby mode.
Perhaps best of all, a high-performance pump (which uses 15 bars of pressure, for those who take note of such statistics) delivers the perfect icing on the cake, as it were—the crema on top of the espresso, that delectable foam of proteins, oils, sugars, and air that points to a perfect pour.
Jura Capresso, www.us.jura.com