Well, if you ask this British-Brazilian here, yes, we (and by we I mean I) need “expensive” coffee. But I’ll take the good kind with fresh beans that I grind at home and prepare on a proper espresso machine, for cheaper than that watered-down dirty water they sell at Starbucks. Even the "fancy" hardware is a good deal if you drink at least one cup of coffee a day. As long as you take good care of the machine and grinder, the cost pays for itself over the years.