Feb 6, 2009

Built-In Barista

I’ve seen dozens of wall-mounted coffeemakers in magazines and showrooms, but never actually had hands-on experience with one until visiting friends in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival a couple weeks ago (Zooey Deschanel says “hey,” by the way—she’s as cute as you’d think, and I wanted to put her in my pocket). I knew that Nassir was planning to redo the kitchen, but not much else, so I was curious to check it out. Wow. Deep chocolatey-gray Poliform cabinets line facing walls, and on one there’s this built-in stainless steel Miele coffeemaker that is just a dream. Punch a few buttons, and in about a yawn-and-a-half you’ll have a freshly ground espresso, cappuccino, or plain old cuppa. Sure helped kept us bright-eyed at 8:30 a.m. film screenings. It is practically silent, everything is stored behind the façade, and the grounds are tamped into neat pellets and plopped in a container until you’re ready to dispose of them. I investigated prices at Abt and found one I like for about $3,000, which translates into about 750 venti caramel macchiatos at Starbucks. Maybe I could switch to Folger’s for a few years….

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

Posted at 08:03 AM in Obsession | Back to all posts