An espresso machine provided with a rotating ceramic disk valve (1) as a selective water-steam distributor that is in a driving connection with a drive motor (2), and a control device (3) for controlling the drive motor (2). To increase the precision of the rotational-angle setting, a Geneva gear (4) is incorporated into the driving connection between the drive motor (2) and the rotating ceramic disk valve (1), with the gear setting the rotating ceramic disk valve (1) in make-and-break cycles. The control device (3) shuts off the drive motor (2) after at least one make-and-break cycle of the Geneva gear (4).