Archive for September 21st, 2009
You’re probably familiar with the pleasures associated with espresso – the delicious taste, the burst of energy it provides, the rich smell of the coffee beans being ground and brewed. Costs of regular trips to the corner coffee shop can really start to add up; just try keeping track of your warm morning beverage purchases over the course of a month and you’ll see what I mean.
Many coffee lovers choose to forgo those costs by investing in an espresso machine of their own. The process of selecting a machine can be daunting as they cost more than most consumer appliances. When budgeting for a Solis espresso machine, think about the years of use you would get out of it as opposed to how much it will cost right up front. When the cost of a $900 machine is amortized over 10 years – with several shots of espresso being pulled each day – things suddenly seem a bit more manageable.
Cheap machines aren’t advisable for a number of reasons. First, as many coffee drinkers know, you get what you pay for. Low-end machines create coffee of middling quality, and they are prone to breaking down inside of a few years. Also, they are as good as “totaled” the second a single part breaks. Boilers can cost upwards of $150, so it just wouldn’t make sense to replace the boiler in a $200 machine.