I found this website which seems quite interesting. From what I gather they are attempting to define what counts as "espresso" in terms of coffee, machinery and bars/cafes that conform to the standard. In terms of machinery, it's interesting to see who makes the list as well as who does n 't.

Qualifying equipment is here: http://espressoitaliano.org/doc/Attrezz...ficate.pdf

Qualifying blends here: http://espressoitaliano.org/doc/Miscele...ficate.pdf

Home site: http://espressoitaliano.org/eic_en.asp?lang=en

I'm not sure if I should be pissed off, because neither my grinder, nor my coffee machine make the list. Although the manufacturer of my grinder makes the list, just not the model I bought. Ho hum.

It all depends who paid for the certification and who not and of course good equipment

Ian_G wrote:From what I gather they are attempting to define what counts as "espresso" in terms of coffee, machinery and bars/cafes that conform to the standard.

Not exactly. They are defining "Italian espresso," which they want to protect in the same vein as "Parma ham" or, probably more to the point, "True Neapolitan Pizza" http://www.pizzanapoletana.org/.

They understand that there are many international variations of espresso, but want to protect their corner of the territory. So, they are certifying equipment, blends, baristas and bars.

It's all good, but would you rule out any of the manufacturers that made it on to the list?

Many of the major manufacturers have signed on, with only a few companies, most notably Elektra snd Anfim, absent. But on the blend side, most of the big players aren't getting the certification.

The model makes cafes that get certified use certified equipment, blends, and baristas. Last time I checked, the list of cafes that got the certification was fairly short; this means there's not much incentive yet for suppliers to get their gear or coffee certified.

Are you more likely to get a good shot at a certified cafe than at the uncertified one next door? I don't know the answer. However, the equipment list includes superautos, but no lever machines; so the certification might be mostly window dressing that something as awesomely genuine appearing as, say a Victoria Arduino lever machine, hardly needs.

The list looks like it is aimed at commercial use.
Neither of my two major pieces of equipment are on there but there seems to be at least one super auto.
Ever work on a Fiat? If you had, you wouldn't be too concerned about Italian certification.

The LM GS/3 is certified. It plays O Sole Mio whenever the pump runs.

Apparently there is a need for other roasters too to form an associaton:

http://www.caffespeciali.it/en/csc/members.html

Their regulations seem to be more demanding though.

i think there are probably better options than the la marzocco swift