But I Want It MY Way …

Something that I found quite depressing when shopping for a coffee machine a few weeks ago was the distinct lack of choice that I found on the highstreet.

To my mind, “coffee machine” means either an espresso or a filter (or “drip” if you will) machine. I actually went out with the intention of buying a “high-end” (say around £100) filter machine with timer, gold filter and the like, but to my surprise found that there weren’t any for sale – I could buy cheap (£20) machines, or nothing. And at the other end, there were practically no espresso machines – I searched every likely shop in the area, and was able to find exactly two machines. There was one that came vaguely close to my budget (at around £160), and the other … well, it was around £500. I’d dearly love to be able to consider spending that kind of money, but let’s get real about this …

What I did see was a plethora of Nespresso machines. I have a couple of problems with these – first it’s practically impossible to get Nespresso capsules in the shops, and I’m not organised enough to ensure I can order them so I don’t run out. Secondly, and rather more importantly, I don’t want to be stuck with a choice of 10 or so ‘cru’ that Nespresso make available. Give me a coffee machine that gives me some choice, that lets me easily try out something a little different. I want to be … Free / To Do What I Want / Any Old Time.

I was quite saddened by how quickly the Nespresso machines have taken over the market. A year or so ago there would have been a far wider range of “proper” coffee makers available. In particular, there’s a lovely kitchen shop which used to have a wide range of espresso machines which I would lust over (but never buy, since I “knew” that I couldn’t drink coffee). And what do they have now? A couple of cafetieres. Still, at least they haven’t succumbed to the call of the Nespresso.

The clever thing to do would probably have been to come back home, do some research, and buy a machine from Amazon. But because I’m impatient – and hopefully to prove that there’s still a market for “true” coffee machines – I ended up buying the £160 espresso machine. Never made an espresso myself before, but hey – it looked cool …