50 beans | caffeinated highway robbery

This morning I was on the Prima website to check out their reviews on the Hario v60 drip when I came across this "sale" (term loosely applied i'm sure...) on a La Marzocco Strada Electronic Paddle 2 Group Espresso Machine. The price tag? $23,000, and on sale (if you can call it that) for $17,700. Right next to it is a space to designate order quantity and surreal little "add to cart" button, as if someone was going to order five of these on a whim.

Now, I'm as much of a coffee nut as the next guy, but seriously? A coffee machine that runs the same price as a brand-spanking-new honda civic is a little crazy. I mean, I understand the complexities of an espresso machine is pretty intense, but on the flip side, an internal combustion engine is not exactly simplicity itself either. Regardless of how customizable the cup of coffee is (believe me, it can get a bit tricky), I honestly don't see how an espresso machine can reach such astronomical prices.

Perhaps my feelings toward the La Marzocco Strada reflects a larger trend that is reverting back toward low-cost and low-tech (some say purer) coffee brewing. After all, the coffee trend has gone from drip to espresso, and now what appears to be back to drip again, and it's easy to see why: the charms of being able to get a superior cup of coffee out of a decidedly low-tech process of simply steeping grounds in hot water is definitely attractive.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not off the espresso bandwagon yet (and I don't think I'll be departing from that anytime soon). Espresso still has a dominant hold on my coffee habits, not solely because starbucks is right downstairs and they serve primarily espresso, but because it tastes good. The taste of espresso isn't adulterated by a paper filter, and you get much more of the flavorful oils from using a metal filter. Now there are much (much, much, much) cheaper ways to get espresso than the La Marzocco Strada, so what makes this particular machine so special? Lets have a look:

This machine comes with a one year warranty and one year service. It also allows the user to variably control brew pressure throughout the duration of the espresso shot to a tenth of a bar of pressure from 0-12 bars. The user can also choose to save up to four different repeatable profiles. It comes with a digital display that shows the brew temperature (±0.1 C), brew pressure (±0.1 bar), shot timer, as well as operating mode. It also comes with adjustable levels to accomodate tall cups and includes easy to clean stainless steel portafilters. Oh yea, it has cup warmers too.

Now what would a proper review be if I didn't compare it to something else in the 17-23k price range? So, here goes:

The honda civic has an internal combustion engine, and for that price range, we can probably add navi and heated seats too. The engine is capable of choreographing close to 100 million well timed explosions throughout an average year (estimated using 3,000 rpms), and the civic has what I can imagine are quite a few moving parts as well. It also has a speedometer that displays MPH, a rev counter, and three odometers (one for the duration of the car and two trip odometers). I think it may have variable temperature controls too and I'm sure it'll make it through the starbucks drive-thru with no issues. Oh yea, it has seat warmers too.

Well there ya have it. Two similarly priced items. I suppose you can be the judge on which one provides more bang for your buck.