You must be described as a coffee enthusiast otherwise you wouldn't be at this site … yet are you part of that portion of the populace invariably first to embrace even the most simple item of coffee technology if this means an improved cup of coffee (or even showing off to your pals)? Even though you your think you own the best espresso machine, you will be continually searching for the latest and greatest piece of coffee-making development. The possibility that your current equipment was more expensive compared to someone else's car cannot really obscure the fact that you are overlooking a crucial lesson of life – the fact that the finest espresso maker is only as effective as its weakest link … in this case the actual coffee beans.

Not All Coffee Beans Are Created Equal

You are aware of what you enjoy: a dark roast at breakfast time and, for special situations, Jamaican Blue Mountain to impress your friends following a meal. Technological innovation, particularly in relation to home espresso coffee makers, has been modified to the stage that we believe the actual coffee maker is the make-or-break link in the coffee making chain. Of course, a good coffee machine has the potential to produce an awesome cup of coffee. An inescapable truth, nevertheless, has crept into the consciousness of the modern espresso drinker ? the realization that the weak link in the coffee-making chain is, in reality, the humble coffee bean.

No quantity of digitally managed temperature gauges or gold-plated group heads can compensate for sub standard or poorly roasted coffee beans. A lot of money and all the research on the planet will do nothing to enhance the coffee from the best espresso machine money can buy if your beans are not able to deliver on their promise.

Engineering is, at its heart, a promise of consistency. Under a similar circumstances, with the same ingredients the best coffee machine will produce a quality product repeatedly through the application and manipulation of carefully controlled inputs. In other words, your own coffee maker should, under constant conditions, create a good cup of coffee every time.

Purists could believe that the water is the most important element in a good cup of coffee. It is true that water quality is vitally important for the finished product nevertheless it isn't the most important element.That position goes to the coffee bean! Locked inside this roasted cherry are flavor complexities that, at their optimum, can be compared to a fine wine.

At their worst, however, poor quality or poorly roasted coffee beans are little more than pale copies of their former selves. Old beans impart a bitterness to coffee that might be much better dished up as a late-night offering at a roadside gas station. By using beans like that, even the very best espresso maker will are not able to produce a drinkable cup of espresso.

So now, while you're reading the reviews about the high-tech features of that completely new coffee machine that is being applauded as “the greatest espresso maker available today”, take a few moments to think about the simple bean. If you really need to savor excellent espresso, you must begin with top quality beans.