samuellaw178 wrote:
A touchy subject. In practicality sense: i) GS3 has a relatively small footprint and is stylish (not another chrome box) ii) Excellent built quality/design iii) Offers the experience of 'driving' a luxury machine iv) Very consistent temperature performance for espresso (this is a big part of it), thus ease of use v) Steam performance(as in ease of getting microfoam) is greater than most machines It's hard to get another machine with all that in one package. Doesn't mean it's free of flaw though (in this case high maintnenace cost)
Well yes it certainly is a touchy subject, and I have a couple of minutes on my hands.... In my years of experience importing, selling and servicing equipment as well as servicing the clients, I have to say that a lot of stuff is not always as it seems and those that know me know that I like to take a more pragmatic and realistic approach. Ergo, in regard to the subject of Sam's post, i) GS3 has a relatively small footprint and is stylish (not another chrome box) very stylish, certainly. The footprint however is not actually so small. I think you may find it is rather an optical illusion that the very low profile of the body may make it seem as if the footprint is small...there are enough others with similar or smaller footprints. ii) Excellent built quality/design yes and there are any number of other brand models that are also of excellent build quality and design, not to mention performance. iii) Offers the experience of 'driving' a luxury machine That my friends, is the subjective bit which certainly is influenced by all the hype...directly influencing this phenomenon regarding what is anyone's "dream machine"... iv) Very consistent temperature performance for espresso (this is a big part of it), thus ease of use Now this is certainly where hype transcends into and blurrs the edges of reality. There are enough other well designed good name machines also having excellent / consistent temperature performance for espresso and ease of use. Additionally we need to look at the market where this type of model is pitched to, where in the main, most consumers will switch on and make two coffees, then switch off until tonight or tommorrow, and where so called "temperature or thermal stability" over a succession of brews as would occur in a commercial situation, simply does not become an issue (except in machines of poor design which in the main do not have much market penetration in these circles). Even in situations where you might think that "temperature performance" could be an issue such as when entertaining, it really shouldnt be because when people entertain at home they are not really rolling off lots of coffees in a continuous run. Entertaining a group of friends and where there are plenty of stops and starts, is not like rolling continuous coffees in a cafe situation. Additionally, as time goes by all well designed and built machines made by good name manufacturers undergo the necessary process of R & D, ie a process of continual improvement by their manufacturers, especially as a result of manufacturer's responses to whatever its importers and agents report back to them about model performance. Machines now being sold in our market are vastly improved over what was being sold say 10 years ago, and the whole "temperature / thermal stability/consitency thing" has become less and less of an issue, to a point where I would have to say that any current discussion of "thermal stability" needs to consider that a lot of stuff that gets discussed on the web is to a very large extent outdated... v) Steam performance(as in ease of getting microfoam) is greater than most machines Not really. Different individuals, different levels of experience using different techniques, different milks depending on location, different steam tips, etc etc etc etc etc. No one manufacturer has some kind of special *secret weapon* steam quality or steam delivery design that is any better than anyone elses... My personal viewpoint is that the model is certainly very stylish, in addition to offering some "points of difference" to other brands in the method of operation, eg steam valve operation etc. After that, it is simply erroneous for anyone to put the case that one brand or model performs significantly better than (or even just better than) all competing models in the particular market sector, in whatever areas of coffee and steam prduction. They (in the specific market sector) are all espresso machines that in real terms, get very little use over time, and on the basis of a blindfold test, will all make a great espresso coffee and productive, useful steam. And to return to a phrase used a few lines above.....if the manufacturer had somehow discovered a *special secret weapon machine design* that rendered everything else on the market to be obsolete and below parr, wouldnt ya think all other manufacturers would by now have copied it all and dropped their own tried and proven designs? Different manufacturers have their own take on things and make decisions about what they want to do and where they want to be in the market. Let's all try a refreshing approach to selecting a coffee machine and look for some good old homestyle truthes. Buy whatever you like the look of, in a particular price bracket that you can afford, with guaranteed good after sales service, because after that a lot of the technical and "review" discussions are incredibly flawed and only used realistically, to tick off boxes of features to make the intial selection, and after which it is all forgotten when the client proceeds once or twice a day, to make a single but good, cup of coffee for themselves and maybe their partner. That's an awefully small amount of useage, to get hung up on a lot of theoretical mumbo jumbo that is only designed to get you to buy one machine over another...ie, sales pitch. It is a very powerful sales pitch, that convinces people to pay around about double for equipment that in real terms, isnt really delivering anything more than *personal satisfaction*, rather than real live significant differences in usable performance. Or to put it another way. If you like something because you just do and you want it and can afford it, buy it. My only concern per above, is to know that you do it with your eyes wide open. This is really only the tip of the iceberg in the discussion but there is much that is basically "commercial in confidence", and this has been enough in the context of this discussion. As stated at the top of this, I have an extensive background in equipment import, sales and service. Hope that helps.
