As a wedding present to ourselves, Matt and I bought a very nice coffee/espresso maker. It lasted nearly nine years, which is really good considering we never de-scaled the thing (ultimately causing it's death). So, after it's death we bought a mid-priced coffee maker, nothing spectacular. It lasted 6 months before it clapped out. We then purchased the coffee maker above. It survived about 6 months too, until it decided it only wanted to make a half pot of coffee instead of a full pot. Somehow it would evaporate 5 cups of water, most of which condensed in the control window. It would also not brew the same tasting coffee everyday. It was a crapshoot as to what we would get. All that combined forced us to retire this coffee maker and seek out another, more reliable model. We didn't want anything fancy, just a dependable model that would make a good cup and would last longer than 6 months. I guess that's easier said than done.
We decided to skip over the mega-stores where you can get your bath items and your kitchen gadgets and go to the experts, the coffee geeks, the ones who drink espressos all day and talk about what their favorite bean is to roast. Unfortunately, the top choice in the area is closed on weekends...having convenient store hours apparently interferes with their coffee roasting parties. So, we sought out another reputable store, one that solely dealt in making and preparing gourmet foods. A store we knew would have knowledgeable staff, test what it sells and stand behind what it sells and have it's fair share of coffee geeks on staff.
We entered the store to find a large crowd in the coffee maker section. All were huddled around the espresso machine they were demonstrating. Many to get a free espresso/cappuccino and others just to check it out and monopolize the sales staff with talk of roasting beans. We stood there, checking out the coffee makers and getting annoyed that we couldn't get a sales person because they were discussing coffee while sipping a latte. Finally, the crowd dissipated after getting their caffeine fix and we were the only ones left standing...the people who were actually there to buy something, not just get a free drink.
It started out innocently, just asking about the basic coffee makers and which one the salesman thought was the most dependable and made the best coffee. But, I guess with the swarms of people no longer blocking the view of the espresso machine on demonstration, it was too sharp not to catch our eye. Next thing you know, Matt's drinking an espresso and I have a latte and we are standing in the check out line waiting to purchase our very own automatic espresso/cappuccino maker.
But, the way I figure...it cost twice as much as the one we bought 9 years ago. That means it should last twice as long...RIGHT??? If this machine dies, we could be devastated and not because of the cost---I am in love with the machine and have been sporting a caffeine buzz since we fired it up.
No comments
Post a Comment