The new fad that’s taking Poland by storm is the espresso machine. It seems a regular coffee maker, even a cone filter one, is not good enough anymore. I’ve counted 45 different models in a local store ranging in price from $300 to $2,000 dollars. I don’t remember that good of a selection in any Best Buy before I left the States. I don’t really remember it being anywhere as popular as it is here in Poland.

My very first week in Poland I bought myself a simple, cone filter, coffee maker, and it did the job just fine. I enjoy the simple drip coffee, the aroma it fills the house with, and in my opinion it tastes just fine. But I received an espresso machine as a gift not long ago, and I have mixed feelings.

Sure the coffee tastes good and is way easy to make. Push a button and see it grind the beans and make you a cup. However the coffee aroma is gone now, there is no more coffee to grind, no more trying to get the proportions right. Just pushing the button takes away the soul of making coffee; at least it did for me. And the whole steaming the milk is an art form I’ll never be able to master so that’s another feature I won’t use any time soon.

I like coffee the way I always made it. I’m not sure the advances in technology have done me any good here.