Ooh, shiny

Our espresso machine packed up a couple of weeks ago. Which was pretty annoying, because it was quite expensive, and although out of warranty it was less than three years old. Repair seemed a possibility, until we encountered the sadly typical after-sales "service" of the company we bought it from. They basically told me to google for a repairer. I did, found the only company in France that's an authorised dealer, and was told it would cost 50 euros just to get an estimate.

So Amazon to the rescue. This thing looks like a tacky replica of a Wurlitzer from the 1950s and contains rather more plastic than I would like. But it cost about the same as repairing the old one would have done, and it does make good coffee. Plus it's Italian (the old one was Portuguese). I'm not a gadget person, but to me an espresso machine is an essential piece of kitchen equipment. We are glad to get our coffee ritual back!