Coffee and espresso are very much a cultural and artistic thing. It helps that the taste is out of this world (or can be), and that you're dealing with one of nature's most complex food sources, but for me there is much more to quality coffee than just taste. Coffee and espresso mark the cornerstones of some of the most memorable moments of my life - my time in Europe, the hours upon hours of chatting and socializing I did at my favourite cafe in Ottawa, and how I got my education in life while sitting at an outdoor cafe in Vancouver are just three examples that come to mind.

Because coffee and espresso epitomize artistry and culture so much for me, it was almost a given that I would be so impressed visually with the subject of this detailed review: Balance brewers called the Cafetino and the Royal. Both were supplied to CoffeeGeek by the folks at Coffee4You (website), headed up by Patrick Van Den Noortgaete, the master craftsman behind these works of art.

Van Den Noortgaete normally sells these brewers for roughly $300 (Cafetino) and $600 (Royal base models) in retail stores in Europe and select parts of the US. Restaurants and commercial ventures also pay prices similar to this, but if you want to get one, he has special pricing for online buyers, and has authorized an extra special price for CoffeeGeek readers, offering a substantial saving. You can find more detailed pricing info in our conclusion page.

Since this is a CoffeeGeek detailed review, you know we place a good deal of emphasis on form and function, but that is not our sole evaluation concern. If a product is an absolute work of art but is difficult to use, or produces inferior products in the cup, the shine for a product wears off quickly and we'll tell you up front. How do the balance brewers stand up to this kind of scrutiny? Read on and you will find out.