[barrkel]

Try a nice Ethiopian blend from a Chemex made by an experienced barista and come back to me.

Espresso is as different to filter coffee as icecream is to milk. They're different products, made with different material mix and different processes, different roasts, different grind size, different bean choice. They're two different things.

An espresso can't be better than filter coffee any more than an apple can be better than an orange.

[icebraining]

Of course it can. It's just a subjective measure. It's better to me, even if it's worse, or even incomparable, to others.

All of which is irrelevant to the question of whether it's just snobbery or not, which was what I was discussing.