The choice between full-automatic espresso machines and semi-automatic espresso machines is not just a lifestyle preference, it also shows your character and state of mind.
Personally, I think that there are some things loose their attraction without human touch.
Brewing coffee is one of them. Yes, the machine can do everything for you – it can dose, grind, brew, even dispose of some of the waste. But, when you get your cup of espresso, are you missing something?
I was very glad to have an encounter with Howard Schultz, one of the smartest and brilliant businessmen in the world. He is the CEO of Starbucks (you can read the whole interview here: http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/12/16/325296/starbucks-boss-interviewed-on-american-tv.html). One of his biggest regrets of his past is turning to highly automated espresso machines. He has acknowledged that losing the theater of the manual espresso Machine was a mistake. The performance of a barista conjure with the espresso machine is something we see rarely in today’s age. It is such a joy for me watching the barista conjure with the machine, using the perfect moves, thus getting an espresso that is a little tastier. Ahh, the magic of the human hand!
I won’t lie – we considered full automatic machine at first. We felt that the idea that you do not have to do anything, just press the button and get your espresso was astounding. Luckily, we went with semi-automatic. Almost a year after getting semi-automatic machine, we have no regrets. Our machine is never tired to entertain us, especially for my husband who looks at this as a great man toy! Automatic can get boring (and is very expensive too).
The best example I can give is a car with manual transmission. It may seem scary at first and hard to operate, but any manual driver will tell you that an automatic may be more convenient, but manual is more fun to drive and is also better in the long run. I know an espresso machine is a little different then a car, but I hope I made my point.