Astoria AB200 1 Group Professional Espresso Machine

The AB200 is Astoria's new professional machine, designed and built in Susegana, near Treviso, where the company has been making coffee machines since 1969. This is the single group version: 468 mm wide, to bring café espresso even where the counter is small.

The 3.5 inch touch screen display manages the machine settings and starts the group cleaning cycle. This version also has the mixed hot water outlet, with three settable doses, advanced energy saving and an insulated boiler.

The 5 litre Advanced boiler fills and heats continuously, so the machine is always ready; pressure is set through an NTC probe between 0.6 and 1.4 bar. The new coffee group reaches temperature faster and keeps it steady, whether shots are spaced out or pulled one after another.

The keypad has four doses (one or two espressos, one or two long coffees), a key for continuous brewing and programming, and a shot counter. Steam opens with a lever with Purge function, to purge the wand before frothing milk. The drip tray adjusts to two heights (80 or 125 mm under the group, for cups or tall glasses), the Astoria portafilters have a deep basket holder that takes filters up to 21 g, and there is a USB port.

For maintenance, removing just 13 screws takes off all the panels. The single group comes in deep black (RAL 9005), at 220-240 V.

What we love

It has the same substance as the larger AB200 models, in a size that fits a bistro, a restaurant or an office. And the display makes even the end of day cleaning simple.