Panasonic’s New First Fully Automatic Espresso Machine
Nothing beats the lovely smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning. Although I consider myself a tea drinker, I love a good old cup of coffee in the afternoon.
A few weeks ago, I attended a one-day pop up event at the House of Coffee to celebrate the launch of Panasonic NC-ZA1, New Bean to Cup espresso machine, which is the first fully automatic espresso machine, taking the art of coffee making to another level.
I went along to the evening reception where I was introduced to the compact and smooth machine, which can create a perfect cup of coffee personalised according to your taste, by using an easy to navigate, colour touch screen. From the same extraction, it is possible to select a finer grind, add more or fewer shots of water and vary the milk ratio, adjusting both the flavour and size of the drink for that authentic artisanal taste.
In my opinion, one of the favourite features of the espresso machine is being able to save your personalised settings, so once you have figured out how you want your coffee each morning, you can simply save it for easy reference next time. You can store up to four combinations of settings in memory for coffee strength and amount, milk proportion, and amount of foamed milk. You will then be able to enjoy your unique espresso recipe at a click of a button.
While I was there, I tried some of the lovely cocktails on offer made using Panasonic’s New Bean to Cup espresso machine. On the cocktail list, you would find ‘Madrugada’ with Blanco Tequila and dark chocolate, fresh mint and espresso coffee; ‘Besame’ with Spiced Rum and Araku coffee liqueur, vanilla ice cream, chilli and espresso coffee; and ‘ Rum Runner Espresso Martini’ with Vodka shaken with Araku coffee liqueur and hazelnut syrup.
I must confess I’ve never tried espresso martinis before, but after having one at the Panasonic pop-up cafe, it is now one of my favourite cocktails. I just love how easy it is to use Panasonic’s espresso machine and also how sleek it looks with the stainless steel body and touch screen – I am convinced this modern and elegant espresso machine would make a great addition to my kitchen!
