EC's Latest Rules Govern Its Coffee Machines
from the politicians dept
The European government's penchant for regulation is well-documented: its generally fruitless battles against Google and Microsoft are but two examples. Now, though, it's taking on the really serious stuff: the quality of the espresso in the European Commission's offices. The NYT says the EC bought 21 high-tech coffee machines at 5,000 euros each for its headquarters, "as a perk to keep top officials and visiting dignitaries from having to line up in cafes on other floors of the star-shaped Berlaymont Building." The big bill attracted criticism as another example of wasteful spending, but a bigger problem emerged for Commission employees -- the coffee didn't taste good. The Italian company that made the machines plans to replace them with some modifications (apparently water softeners in the coffeemakers were partly to blame), and it will also train "coffee monitors" in "coffee tasting theory and sensorial techniques," "recipes and hints," and "ordinary machine maintenance procedures." I'm not sure if it's heartening or frustrating to learn that bureaucrats' penchant for wasting time, money and other resources is pretty much the same the world over.Filed Under: coffee machines, europe, regulations
