Gemimlai G3007L
This is the Gemilai G3007L, one of the most popular compact espresso machines in the Chinese market. Now it’s available for multiple overseas markets. If you are a coffee enthusiast or even a professional barista, you really have to try it out. I’ve been making boutique coffee for a few years. Whether it’s hand-brewed, cold-brewed, or espresso, I’ve already tried. I’m fascinated by the aroma of coffee and the subtle differences in flavor that can be discerned between different brewed methods. Especially for espresso, it can be the quickest way to extract coffee liquid or the most expensive and creative fancy. The Gemilai machines always drive me excited, as the brand is good at developing the right coffee tools for individuals and families.
Home-Made Expresso Semi-automatic Machine
Well, a kind reminder here. If you are looking for a fully commercial espresso machine for a huge shop, the review probably is not for you as we only tested it in a home espresso scenario with the most convenient tools. However, I did see exquisite coffee stations using the Gemilai CRM3007L to do their business. And surprisingly, it tasted pretty good. So if you don’t mind, it can also save you money on equipment costs for your small business.
Anyway, if you are a novice barista or a person who loves coffee, and would like to experience homemade coffee, but have no ideas about those machines, then please watch the video to the end. I would try my best to share my experience. After all, with the Gemilai machine, you deserve better.
Packaging & Design
First of all, let’s check out what we got inside the package and the design as well. Some of you may be worried about whether I would need to buy additional accessories to complete my coffee-making journey with the machine. Well, the answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’.
For most users, the necessary tools and accessories were already included, such as a two-cup portafilter, an additional single-cup filter, a tamper, a coffee spoon, a cleaning pad and brush, and a screwdriver. And I’m pretty happy with the well-designed Manuel, where you can find professional guides and informative figures. So for those who won’t buy any more accessories, I will suggest they buy the espresso powder directly. So you just need to prepare the water, powder, a coffee cup, and milk if you like milky coffee. Then the machine will help you figure all the things out although it’s just a semi-automatic machine. Later I will show you how it works for coffee brewing and milk frothing.
So why is the answer also a ‘no’? Because you probably won’t stop buying those fine accessories and tools, spending a lot of time experiencing the joy. For example, you might need a coffee scale, a tamper holder or station, a needle distributor, or even a small screen mesh. You’ll get hooked, which I’ve all been through, though that didn’t make a big difference in the coffee I made.
Okay back to the Gemilai machine. My favorite part is the design. It’s so elegant and compact built with a whole brushed metal shield. Although it’s a home machine, the texture feels like the big commercial models we’ve seen. It’s smaller than I imagined when I saw its picture.
It’s likely because they removed the hot water outlet from the body. So for those of you who like hot Americanos, it might be a problem, unless you don’t mind getting water from the brewing head.
But meanwhile, it’s truly heavier than I expected. Well, it’s actually a good point. It gave me a reliable feel with solid build quality. And in actual use, I can easily fix the handle with a single hand, without worrying about wobbling or shifting.
Space-Friendly with a Compact size
So on the other hand, its compact size also perfectly allows it to appear comfortably in bars, small stations, or kitchens. The control and info panel is surprisingly simple and intuitive. A power button on the top, followed by a manual and an automatic coffee button. On the right is the info screen and a steam knob. The screen shows the temperature and brew time. The steam pipe with a 3-hole steam wand is good, it takes about 40s to well froth the milk. It isn’t exactly fast overall, but as a home machine, it’s more than enough. The 1.7-liter water tank is good. At least for homemade coffee, you don’t need to frequently refill it.
Professional PID 58mm Group Head & Hybrid boiler system
The best combination on the 3007L model is the professional PID 58mm group head with a dual boiler system. The big size of 58mm group head allows the hot water to come into full and even contact with the powder, which is widely used on most professional machines. The 58mm handle with fine filter holes also brings a balanced exhaust.
The dual boiler system separates the stainless-steel boiler for coffee brewing and the thermos block for milk frothing. So both of them achieve perfect temperature control in their own process. It cannot make both at the same time as it’s a single-pump design. But when you’re done brewing coffee at 200 degrees, the milk frothing can follow up seamlessly.
The machine applies a high-quality Italian ULKA pump inside. It can ensure a steady 15-bar pressure for ideal espresso extraction. To support the boiler heating and high-pressure pumping, the machine features a rated power of 1450W.
G3007L’s Upgrades For Golden Cup Standards
I’m quite sure some of you have noticed the pressure gauge. If you’re familiar with the baristas’ niche, you must know the Golden Cup Standards that have become popular in the last decade. The whole brewing process is just all related to all kinds of figures, such as temperature, contact time, input ratio, pressure, and so on. Although I’m no longer staring at the pressure gauge, it’s still a good reference to help understand your best brew. Specifically, it helps monitor your brewing process with precision and consistency, so there would be records to refer to when you get your favorite way. It’s the same reason to have the display showing temperature and brewing time. So if you need all these brewing figures, the Gemilai machine has taken care of most for you. What else you need to prepare is a coffee scale and grinder with scales.
A warm surprise is that the machine features an LED spotlight here. This is a very useful feature, you can clearly see what’s happening under the brewing head.
Coffee Brewing & Milk Frothing With G3007L
Now let’s show you my complete brewing process with the Gemilai machine! The grinder I used here is also from Gemilai, which is an entry-level, so it’s not as finely graduated. The beans I used here are a blend from Africa and Asia. The default 58mm double-cup portafilter is good for me, so no need to change it here. By the way, the heated top of the machine is good for warming cups.
If you want to change the preset brewing time for the auto mode, just long-press the auto button until the time you want. Oh almost forgot, the auto brewing includes a short pre-brewing stage, lasting about 2 to 3 seconds, which is good. Here I manually brew it for 30s. As the pressure gauge showed, it was a steady brew, and the preset flow paired up with the golden pressure between 9 and 12 bar was just my preference. So everything looks perfect.
Even though you are unsatisfied with the flow, you can adjust the control valve to get the right water flow.
And now please watch the review video and check out how I frothed milk with the steam wand. To be honest, we’re not good at making the microfoam. Not to mention pouring them into the espresso and making latte art. Alright, that’s it. It’s not hard to make the microfoam, so the machine could work well for artist’s milk frothing.
Verdict
So overall, I really enjoy making espresso with the Gemilai machine. It does balance efficiency and production quality, which is my main concern in a cup of espresso. And if you are a believer in the Golden Cup Standard, the machine would definitely help you out with amazingly stable brews. The G3007L model probably would be sold under other names in regions like the US. Then its price might shock you out. But now you can check out the Amazon link down below, the price there should be really competitive.
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