Espresso and fresh-brew coffee brewing unit

A brewing unit for making espresso (ES) coffee and fresh-brew (FB) coffee, the brewing unit comprising:

• a brewing assembly;
• and
• a pump configured to feed water to the brewing assembly, wherein the pump is a substantially constant-flow pump;
• wherein the brewing assembly includes:
• a variable-volume brewing chamber having an axis, the variable-volume brewing chamber designed to receive a measure of ground coffee;
• an inlet conduit for a given water supply from the pump;
• closing means movable along the axis to adjust the volume of the variable-volume brewing chamber;
• a first outlet conduit for the ES coffee;
• a second outlet conduit for the FB coffee;
• and
• a delivery manifold connecting the variable-volume brewing chamber to the first and second outlet conduits;
• and
• wherein the first and second outlet conduit and the delivery manifold are formed on the closing means;
• and
• wherein the brewing assembly further includes:
• first valve means located along the first outlet conduit, and which are only opened by a fluid pressure ranging between 5 and 9 bars;
• and
• second valve means designed to keep the delivery manifold connected to the first outlet conduit, and which are switchable, in opposition to elastic means, from a normal open position, in which the delivery manifold also communicates with the second outlet conduit, to a closed position, in which the delivery manifold only communicates with the first outlet conduit.