I was born in Rome, Italy but now live in San Francisco, CA where there is a big focus and excitement surrounding coffee; not just American coffee but Italian Espresso, Cappuccino and everything in between — unfortunately the espresso coffee is mostly terrible.

Fancy Marzocco machines…

Coffee shops/bars spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in interior design, purchase fancy $40,000 Marzocco machines, and offer pre packaged coffees designed like Apple products. At the peak of this frenzy is “Purple” Bottle Coffee and similar new brands where baristas, embracing their inner hipster, pour your morning cup. Everything seems perfect, except…

You won’t find this espresso in Italy. And baristas in the U.S. take forever.

I’ve asked myself many times, why do Americans fail to deliver a simple good espresso coffee?

Potential variables as to why espressos are so bad here include barista mistakes, water and poor quality of materials. In my unscientific sample of European visitors, nobody understands why espressos taste so different here.

Let’s analyze the whys!