Re: Poll for adequate espresso machine "cheap"

I can't understand why Macy's and Kitchen stores don't carry brands like
Gaggia and Quickmill and Expobar or even FF! I don't know about the rest
of you, but I had most of my knowledge about kitchen appliances from seeing
what has been offered my whole life in, well, the stores that carry these
things. It's ridiculous. Why should we expect the EDUCATED consumer (not
hobbyist) to think anything other than that a "good" espresso machine is the
$200 Delonghi, and if you're super rich and powerful you buy a "Jura" at
Williams and Sonoma for the price of a small car?

C

> I'll agree on that... at the consumer level, the parts and such that are
> in
> these things should cost about $100. Trouble is, the majority of the
> people who
> own home espresso machines do not know/care about the differences between
> them.
> Steam/pump, thermoblock/boiler, commercial/pressure, etc... when you're
> building
> machines to cater to the lowest common denominator, convenience takes a
> back seat to
> quality. I haven't read much on the whole espresso equipment thing for a
> few years,
> but I'm appalled at the popularity of the pods. Now that I started
> roasting and can
> actually notice the quality dropoff a few days after roasting, I can't
> understand
> buying pre-roasted, pre-ground, pre-tamped, pre-filtered convenience.
>
> -Cory
>

.