Would You Pay $2,500 for the Perfect Cup of Joe?

If you're anything like me, you've found yourself at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table, standing in front of a wall of those crazy super-automatic coffee machines and ... wondering. Wondering if a machine could really make a decent cappuccino without significant human intervention. Wondering if you might be able to replace that morning Starbucks stop with a countertop coffee robot. Wondering if the machines are really easy to use or more trouble than they are worth. Wondering if such a machine could be worth a four-figure sum. Wondering if your spouse would kill you if you came home with one of those awesome-looking machines.

Well, I can't answer all those questions for you. But I can answer a few, because over the last few weeks, I've been testing automatic cappuccino makers. Six machines are sitting on our dining room table at this moment, and I have consumed espresso, cappuccino and coffee from each of them. The good news is that some of these machines really are pretty nifty and can easily replace a daily Starbucks habit. The bad news is that I probably won't be able to sleep, or blink, until sometime in 2015.