Yeah, it's pretty fancy. When it arrives, I will have three Breville gadgets. I really like their build quality, so I'm hoping that this unit lives up to the reliability of the other devices.
I doubt very much that I will be coming close to trying all its permutations but we shall see. I have a drip, french press and a stove top espresso maker (unused because it takes too damn long). My girlfriend has a powered espresso maker (standard 15 bars pressure), which might add to the fun.
A bit of explanation about the change of direction:
After reading various comparison reviews of the top contenders, I looked at my budget and realized that a prudent choice was to dismiss any idea of the Breville and concentrate on machines in the range of $100 to $150, leaning toward the lower end of the scale. I then sought the advice of coffee lovers on this forum, trusting that there had to be a few lovers of the bean. We do watches, cigars and scotch after all; why not coffee?
BTW, thanks for your input; it did cause me to look long and hard at models that I had overlooked, notably the Bodum. It might sound like a lot of work for an appliance but look at it this way: it's got a motor and as such, requires much research.
Anyway, I had an idle thought to check the catalogue on the Visa Gold Points reward site and lo and behold, there it was! I looked at the number of points needed and realized that I had that and more. I called them the next day and placed the order. Score!
The one irony of my research is that several people mentioned that they used to have the same Braun model I have and loved its reliable service, day in and day out. The reason for switching is always the same: It finally died after many years of solid use but could be neither repaired nor replaced owing to Braun's departure from the appliance market in North America.
