According to a survey, an American drinks 3 cups of coffee every day on average. At the end of the year, the number of consumed coffees and the cost behind them are quite eye-catching.
Many coffee enthusiasts own a coffee machine at their home to brew cafe-quality coffees to lower this expense. But, you have to spend a large amount at a time to buy a standard coffee machine.
Have you ever thought, why are coffee makers so expensive?
In fact, a coffee machine is a combination of expensive constructing materials, meticulous engineering, and the brand value of its manufacturer.
Are you curious to know further? We will explain more about it through the post. Keep reading.
Why Are Coffee and Espresso Machines So Expensive?
From a basic to an advanced coffee maker, the price of each electric coffee machine seems a little bit uncomfortable to customers. But, you will find the logicality of the higher price after learning the strategies that go behind an expensive coffee machine. We have noted a few points and would like to explain them in detail.
Material Cost Matters
The cost of a product is automatically enhanced when it contains expensive and subtle materials. An electric coffee maker is a practical example of this theory. It would be clearer when you understand the anatomy of a coffee machine as a customer.
A coffee machine is built by combining a boiler, pump, valves, pressure gauge, temperature sensor, and a frame with well finishing.
Instead of buying these parts from third parties, manufacturers usually design them particularly to build specific coffee makers. As a result, each part separately adds cost to a coffee machine.
Most coffee machine manufacturers use high-end stainless steel or brushed chrome to ensure an elegant finishing. Materials like these are very costly.
The ultimate goal of a coffee machine manufacturer is to build a coffee appliance with all potentialities that satisfy your necessities. So they willingly include essential parts and materials so that you can enjoy fresh and quality coffee every day.
In short, manufacturers are more focused on providing value and quality in place of sales. This point leaves no room to argue against the higher price of a coffee machine.
Big Brands Fabricate Them
If you have ever noticed, coffee machines come from big brands like Rancilio, Gaggia, De’Longhi, Breville, etc. As a coffee enthusiast, you should be familiar with these names. Here we are talking about brand value.
Brand value is not a visible thing. But, you can feel it while using a coffee machine from a renowned brand.
A brand takes years to grow through steady product quality, customer satisfaction, and promotion. Manufacturers spend a lot on research and development for building innovative coffee machines.
A company has dedicated teams to find out customers’ pain points and accordingly include the solutions in products. To make a convenient coffee machine for customers, they apply precise and expensive engineering.
Additionally, brands maintain the high quality of products for years despite increasing the manufacturing cost. They need to promote their manufacturing skill and effort via traditional and digital media.
Brands keep their promotional campaign consistent by letting us know how their products add value to customers’ lives.
Every step of growing a brand costs a lot. Finally, a brand adds all these costs to the retail price of a coffee machine. For this reason, an expensive coffee maker usually comes from a reliable brand.
However, customers still depend on brands since they trust their product quality and pay for their brand value.
Read: Why are Iced Coffee more Expensive than Hot?
Exceptional Engineering
Making a cup of fresh and delicious coffee requires extraordinary brewing talent. Unfortunately, most ordinary people lack those skills. So, manufacturers include modern technology in coffee machines so that people like us can make coffee without any brewing knowledge.
To operate a programmable coffee machine, you need no special knowledge. You just have to add water and ground coffee and set a brewing time on its clock. The coffee maker itself will brew mouth-watering coffee for you.
For busy people, an automatic coffee machine is a revolutionary life assistant. Coffee machine manufacturers include more advanced features in these machines to make your life easy and comfortable.
These even come with programmable memory for when you need coffee and how much ground you prefer. It will automatically brew coffee at the right time and call you to drink. Some automatic thermal coffee machine keeps coffee warm until you drink it.
All credit goes to modern engineering and technology that precisely makes a coffee machine follow your commands. Automated technologies in coffee machines are very expensive and get included in the retail price of a coffee maker.
Though it is fun to have a programmable or automatic coffee maker at your home, you have to spend more on its outstanding technology.
Read: How Long Do Coffee Makers Last?
Do Expensive Coffee Machines Make Better Coffee?
From the above points, we already know why a coffee machine is expensive. The more you spend, the more you get. A high-cost coffee machine means it has advanced functions and quality materials than a cheaper one to improve your brewing.
For example, it comes with an improved brewing unit that makes a noticeable difference in the case of flavor extraction and taste.
So, if you choose fresh ground coffee, a high-budget coffee maker will make worthier coffee for sure.
Additionally, it will also require low maintenance due to high-quality materials.
Though a cheap coffee maker is sufficient for a day to day brewing, buying a precious coffee machine from a prominent brand will be better in the long run.
Read: How Often Should You Replace Your Coffee Maker?
Why Are Espresso Machines So Expensive?
Espresso is one of the most popular coffee types in the world. An espresso machine is also a coffee maker with a more complex mechanism. Because of a complicated manufacturing process and materials, it costs higher than a regular coffee machine.
Here are a few reasons that make an Espresso machine so expensive.
Exclusive Parts and Materials
For brewing the highest quality Espresso, a machine has to force hot water through the tamped coffee ground for a few seconds. Note that the temperature and force of water and the time of brewing must be accurate.
You need a very special boiler and pressurestat for accurate performance at the right moment. Designing those components needs high-standard materials and engineering. Otherwise, it will not perform accordingly.
In addition, internal parts of an Espresso machine such as the brew group and thermoblock are very expensive.
A commercial Espresso machine costs more than a regular one because the manufacturer also focuses on its durability and specific operation.
The components of a modern Espresso machine are very special and expensive. So, the additional costs affect the final retail price of an Espresso machine.
Read: Are Coffee Grinders Worth It?
A Niche Market
The manufacturing procedure of a high-end Espresso machine is very sophisticated. It requires expensive materials, engineering, and time-consuming research. Manufacturers need to sell more units to meet their profit expectations and recover these expenses.
Unfortunately, the demand for Espresso machines is still confined to a narrow market. Espresso machines are usually bought to use in coffee shops. On the other hand, a very small group of people buy Espresso makers for home.
The ratio of sales and manufacturing costs still seems imbalanced. So, Esspresso machine manufacturers set a delicate price to recover all pertinent costs. Because of the niche-specific market, the price of Espresso makers is still higher than regular coffee makers.
We have already discussed the brand value of a manufacturer that also plays a big role in the retail price of an Espresso machine.
Are Expensive Espresso Machines Worth It?
Heavenly flavor and Crema are the beauty of perfect Espresso. To ensure the same quality result each time, you need a reliable Espresso appliance. You can be attracted to a cheap Espresso maker.
But, a non-brand manufacturer will surely sacrifice the machine’s quality to lower its price. A cheap one will never provide the same result as a standard Espresso machine.
So, an expensive Espresso machine is the first choice of experienced users and professionals since they prefer quality over low cost.
Final Words
Why are coffee makers so expensive? You probably already got the answer to the question already. We also recommend investing your money in a coffee maker from a reliable brand.
A high-budget coffee maker will keep the brewing quality the same for years. Though they are expensive, it will be proper utilization of your budget in the long run.
Reference:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/6j452j/why_are_espresso_machines_so_expensive/
