BY REDMOND CAROLIPIO
ENOUGH OF video game systems, sunglasses with MP3 players and portable electronic accessories.
This time, we’re tackling kitchen tech.
I feel the need for a disclaimer: I’m not one with my kitchen. I have no faith in my cooking ability.
So I’m going to stick with something that doesn’t involve fire. Let’s talk coffee: that all-powerful, magic elixir that gives us enough liquid motivation to battle through the day.
Lots of people are content with simply heading to Starbucks or Coffee Bean for a fix. However, there are some upscale coffee machines available for those who want to spruce up their kitchen as well as satisfy their inner barista.
I took a trip to the Kiva Kitchen and Bath store in Colton to check out some high-end coffeemakers.
The ones I saw were all built-in models, which would satisfy a lot of homeowners who are going for that "seamless" look in their kitchen.
"You can hard-wire these into your home, and you can personalize them to your settings," said sales associate Mark Maulden. "You just need to supply the beans." The first model I saw was one from Decor, which Maulden calls the "Starbucks killer." There isn’t a hot drink that this thing can’t make. From lattes to hot chocolate, you could potentially brew everything to your exact tastes. It’s even got a foaming wand. However, be prepared — like real gourmet coffee, this stuff can take time.
"One thing that people need to know is that this isn’t an instant coffee machine," he said. "It’s a whole-bean application." And for this kind of experience, it’ll cost you $3,000 to $3,500.
Maulden showed me another model, this time from Thermador. At roughly $3,000, it’s got all the bells and whistles as the other machines of its kind have.
"I think people really enjoy that convenience factor, being able to have coffee on demand," Maulden said. "But there’s not a whole lot that separates the brands — people like buying the name." The top name that was suggested to me was Miele, a German company. Some of its features included settings for water hardness as well as an LCD display that accommodates seven languages.
"That’s a higher-end line right there," Maulden said. "It goes into that whole thing about fine German engineering." Not to mention the quest for a decent cup of coffee.
