We would in a heart beat if we could find one that delivers real espresso.
We can’t understand why in 2011 it is not possible to buy such a machine that has a sufficiently high quality grinder, temperature control, and pump pressure to deliver real espresso. Perhaps we haven’t looked hard enough, but at the time of writing we are not aware of any such machine.
While it is certainly technically possible to build such a machine we think these convenience type products are built to a price as far as their technical capabilities are concerned, with the bulk of the unit cost assigned to extensive marketing campaigns. The promise of being able pour beans in the top and milk in one side and water in the other is very attractive. Unfortunately the marketeer’s promise doesn’t quite materialise.
As a result these convenience products are having their market position eroded by the rise of a more convenient product; the Nespresso pod machines. A race to bottom in terms of espresso quality, if you like. Why? The output from a pod machine isn’t much worse, the machines are sexy in their design, and the capital outlay is nominal to the point where some would view them as semi-disposible as consumer opt to change for the latest design each year.
For this reason we see the convenience domestic espresso market becoming ‘more convenient’, i.e the continued rise of Nespresso, the machines that have previously dominated the entry and middle domestic espresso machine market being decimated (by Nespresso), and significant growth in high end espresso equipment as home users come to appreciate the key components that are required to make real expresso.