Somebody asked me what do you think espresso machines will be like when our grandchildren are able to afford state of the art machines.
Below I'm reposting what I brought forward in another subject. Hopefully this forum place is OK:

I love science fiction and futuristic speculation.

I saw a clip on a newscast where a pharmaceutical company was developing 3 dimensional printing technology to produce medication tablets. The upshot was that the tablets dissolved instantly compared to conventional produced tablets. Somewhere in these emerging technologies with 3D printing/production, nanotechnology and advanced computer controls lies the future. A perfect puck! All grains of coffee grounds are dimensionally perfect and equally distributed at a perfect volume and mass. The extraction process profiles both temperature and pressure and is 100% repeatable. Alas the art of the Barista will very different and may focus on the recipe (bean, roast, ground dimensions, compaction and the extraction parameters) of the shot and not so much on the physical act of grinding and pulling of shot. Barista competitions will be very different and may focus on taste and creativity in presentation. Sort of like going from medieval pre-printing illuminated manuscripts to great works of literature on your kindle today.

I know this is a bit muddled and it is now 4:30 AM and I know I should not have had that double shot after supper. But I'm anxious to hear what others are thinking about coffee preparation 25 years, 50 years from now.

If coffee is still able to be grown in 25,50 years, then keeping an eye on past rate of development... Perhaps we'll get pharmaceutical mill style grinders in the home and on-demand volumetric temperature control for precision and energy efficiency...

Well I'm not sure how long this will take, but I imagine that super automatic machines will eventually be capable of producing consistently excellent espresso. I'm sure there will still be a niche market for hand grinders and levers far into the future though.

I'm sure we'll see some improved methods for storing beans too. I'm sure I'm not alone in hating such a short period of bean freshness. I would love to see coffee be more like wine. Imagine having a cellar with really good years of specific coffees held in perfect stasis!

I like your thinking. Yes people still practise calligraphy but with right printer, computer and program we can duplicate the art. I really like the idea of putting beans in suspended animation. Inert gas and cryogenics?

Somebody noted that the coffee plant genome lacks the diversity to survive climate change. Perhaps with the right modification the plant can be coaxed to thrive in many climes.

I think the future of espresso lies in the realm of auto brew ratios like the Linea PB and Black eagle, and of course sleek design.

Given that the most popular "enthusiast" machine design (E61) came out over 50 years ago, and Gaggia's spring levers are from the 1940's ... I don't think that espresso machines will change much. What have been the major changes since 1961? Vibration pumps have had by far the largest impact. Electronic thermostats (PID controllers) a distant second. That's about it. Gear pumps and the pressure profiling they make possible have yet to make a significant dent. Thermoblocks for steam production are technically superior to boilers, but implementations of thermoblocks has been limited to the lower end of the market; people want to see big boilers for steam production, to the extent that having two boilers is considered an improvement, when the elimination of boilers 'should' be better, now that computer control of multiple heating elements is possible. Similarly, electrically heated groups 'should' have replaced all other group designs - yet thermal stability via a big hunk of metal (E61 or testa pesante lever groups) or a big amount of water (saturated groups) are what the market wants.

Coffee beans are coffee beans, and water is water. Hot water, under pressure, acting as a solvent for coffee - that's all espresso is. As soon as ground coffee can be sufficiently preserved (and it'll happen sooner than later) then Nespresso or something like it will relegate most everything we use today to the arcane hobbyist - just like my Hasselblad 500C, 4x5 Speed Graphic, and Beseler 45MX now relegate me to the outskirts of photography,

Some improved type of pod machine where ground coffee is somehow kept from going stale.

Induction water heating could replace boilers for rapid warm ups and accurate temps. The La Fenice espresso machine was supposed to be the first of its kind. Availability was initially pegged for early this year, but it's still stuck in pre-order purgatory.

I asked for an update on CG a few weeks back, since Mark Prince is a kickstarter backer for the project, but I haven't seen a reply. The kickstarter updates are now for backers only.

It also looks like it's from the future. Or, a long lost Droid forgotten by Jawas on Tatooine.
http://www.lafenicemilano.com

According to their updates La Fenice have had problems with parts supply and certification tests, but only one test is left and parts are scheduled to be supplied in August.

December delivery looks within the realms of possibility!

It does look like a valuable innovation, in particular it should significantly reduce power wastage. It'll be interesting to see if it makes decent coffee.

I would bet money that the next iteration of Breville's Oracle will have gravimetric dosing with either automated or assisted grind adjustment.

I also believe we are seeing the decline of E61 machines. I believe more machines with boilers and groups similar to the Linea Mini and Breville BDB will become the norm in the prosumer realm. I'm not saying they will disappear, but I expect the market to become saturated by "saturated" groups with smaller brew boilers. The E61 is mechanically complex and inefficient compared to designs already available.