New at SCG: La Marzocco GS/3

If you have a pretty penny to spend on your home espresso setup, or you're looking for a light-duty commercial machine for your business, La Marzocco's GS/3 is a single group wonder that's definitely worth your consideration. Featuring dual stainless steel boilers (3.5 liter steam and 1.5 liter brew), convertible water source options, mechanical paddle brew functionality and a PID interface, the GS/3 is known to offer some of the best temperature consistency on the market. We love its powerful steam boiler -- you can easily produce silky microfoam in what seems like seconds -- and the pre-infusion control that the paddle gives you. It's also got a monstrous drip tray (into which you can install a drain kit) and a unique bottom-access 3.5 liter internal water reservoir which makes refilling easy, regardless of your overhead cabinets. We do wish the casing design was a little less industrious looking and shinier -- but that's just us. And we realize that, at nearly $7k, this piece of equipment is really priced well outside many folks' budgets. Other than those two minor cons, there's not much bad to say about this machine; if you're serious about your espresso and can justify the investment, the GS/3 is one of the best options available and worth checking out.