There’s no surprise at all that we love the Superkop espresso machine at CoffeeGeek. Our twice-updated First Look heaps praise on the device, and the uniqueness offers, both in operation and in the fact it is the only wall mounted espresso machine you can buy today.
We still use the Superkop to this day, and are way overdue for the publication of our Full Review. Spoiler alert, it’s going to score over 90 points once the review is published. Just about everything regarding this device is first rate and well built. One thing we’ve discovered since the First Look was published is just how temperature stable the thick polycarbonate water reservoir is for pulling espresso shots.
When we published the review, the Superkop was actually cheaper to buy in Canada than it was in the USA.
This has now changed. As of June, 2024, the Superkop is available through Amazon in the USA, at a price of $799.
And there’s even better news. If you opt for the black model, currently there is a $50 off coupon, making the machine (and its hefty wood base) just $750. This is $250 less than what the price was just a few months ago, and puts it a lot closer to the Flair 58, which is around $600. Here’s the choices:
Why the Superkop is So Special
Superkop themselves love to push the fact that this is a generational product: it is so well built, and so ultimately simple in operation that it should last decades and decades with minimal maintenance.
For me, it’s the combination of the industrial design beauty, the quality of beverage it is capable of producing, and the day to day function of the device. Especially if you wall mount it.
It’s funny; when I posted our First Look of the device, I did talk up Superkop’s claim that the machine is maintenance free. Several people on social media questioned that, some not believing it.
For the most part, this machine is maintenance free. You will have to replace the gaskets down the road (on the water reservoir) and possibly the reservoir itself will wear out (I’d recommend buying a spare now, just in case the company isn’t around in 10-15 years). But other than that, the engineering design plus robust build quality make it virtually maintenance free. Hidden inside the machine is a pneumatic piston; its purpose is to lift the plunger piston once you cock the lever back to the full upright position. That should last for decades.
The ratchet system is also very robust and should stand up to tens of thousands of uses, if not hundreds of thousands. This is not a plastic toy. The Superkop is all metal, all completely over-built.
Back to why I love the machine so much: in a way, it kind of “automates” the manual lever experience slightly with the ratchet design, unique to this machine in the whole world of modern lever espresso machine makers.
The ratchet design means you don’t have to exert a lot of force to get a full 9bar extraction. Six pulls means you control and pause the introduction of water to the bed of coffee. Having the six pulls gives you a series of controlled steps that you can increase pressure on, decrease pressure on, do planned pauses, or extended preinfusions. There’s a lot of room for experimentation and play here.
Then there’s the all mount ability.
I mean, that’s just fantastic. This can become a functional work of art in your home. If you have a breakfast nook or a dedicated “coffee bar” portion of your home or kitchen, this could be the centrepiece. Even in our home, it still stands out wedged into a corner, beside a buffet table and the door to our basement. Every visitor to our home, when they notice the machine, is immediately intrigued. I usually let them pull a shot from it, with a bit of guidance, and the results are marvelled at.
The Flair 58 might be a better lever machine in terms of output in the cup, but it doesn’t enthuse people like the Superkop does. And if we’re all excited and talking about espresso, we’re going to get better and better espresso. This machine contributes to that.
At $800, or even better yet, $750, the Superkop espresso machine is a solid choice for the home.
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