Thank you all who contributed to this informative and (almost 100%) civilized conversation! It was very helpful to me in making the DW decision. In case someone wonders, we went with the Miele Optima, to be installed later this week. I chose it partially based on how convenient I find Miele's dish racks & utensil drawers, but definitely influenced by all your comments on this thread. The discussion about energy consumption was very informative, including the detailed energy consumption measuremements, and how the total can be swayed by whether the DW was connected to warm vs. cold water, and the measured wash cycles, and even little things like the flashing light. For me, what was also key was aprince's comparison of the values embodied by the two manufacturers, in which Miele is sold & serviced through independents, and takes back its parts. Since we'll be getting hot water from geothermal heating, and electricity largely from PV panels, the small energy consumption difference itself isn't as crucial to us as what the efficiency, design, and manufacture decisions say about each company. (Still, it feels very odd to spend $2K installed for a dishwasher! That's almost as much as for our Samsung RFG298 [at 30% off]. Still, those are two of the three appliances I'll use every single day, so after quite a bit of soul-searching I decided to go with the Miele. Again, thanks to all. And, after we move in, assuming we can plug the DW into a Kill-A-Watt, I'll post the energy consumption for our real loads in the Miele Optima. (unless someone with better technology already posts their energy consumption numbers for a Miele).

I agree, "get a good scale". Heck, get a cheap scale - just get a scale and eliminate the conversion math quiz. You'll soon be sorry you didn't get a scale a long time ago. There are all kinds of things a scale makes easier in the kitchen. -Divide bread dough into equal amounts so the loaves, rolls, buns, etc. are all the same size and will bake evenly. -When you make layer cakes you can scale the batter in the pans to equal weights so the layers are the same size. -It's a lot easier weighing sticky things than scooping them into cups (although you'd have a hard time getting my Wonder Cup from me ;-). -Accuracy...as already mentioned. If you have 3 people measure 1-cup of flour, they will all be a different weight because of how they fill them. They may be as little as 3.75 oz. to as much as 5 or 6 oz. BTW - There are not any "standards" for how much a cup of flour weighs. Even the "experts" can't decide this one. -Dry measuring cups and spoons sold in the U.S. are not manufactured to a standardized volume, so each set you have may be slightly different in volume. Measuring cups/spoons in the U.K. and Australia are larger than the ones from the U.S. About the only reason measuring cups work at all is because most recipes are based on a ration of ingredients. For instance, a plain cake has, by measure, one-third as much fat as sugar; two-thirds as much milk as sugar; and about three times as much flour as liquid. So you can use measuring cups, grandma's coffee or tea cup, canning jars, or buckets for measuring, as long as you maintain the ration of ingredients. The exact measurement isn't as critical as the ratio of one ingredient to another. -With a scale, when you need 4 oz. of shredded cheese you can weigh it and not try to figure out how many cups that will be, and whether the cup is loose-packed or tightly-packed. It's 4-oz. by weight and you don't have to worry if you've over-stuffed the cup or not put enough in it. -However, accuracy of measurement goes out the window when it comes to flour for bread making - also already mentioned.... Due to the amount of moisture in flour (more in humid weather and less in the dry winter months), if will alter the weight of the flour. You have to go by the "feel" of the dough rather than an exact measurement. Each bag of flour will also vary in protein/gluten content, as well as moisture. The higher the protein level in the flour, the more hydration it will absorb. Protein content of flour can't be weighed with a scale. -Grainlady

I'm not an expert, but I did develop an unhealthy obsession with coffee a couple of years ago, when I started working from home and needed something to replace the coffee that I formerly drank at work and took for granted. I realized that I had to stop when I was spending more time thinking about my next cup of coffee than I was about work, and searching the internet looking for things like true mocha beans from Yemen, etc. What I learned from scouring all of the "coffee snob" sites, is that the things you need for a great cup of coffee are deceptively simple: 1.) beans that have been roasted within the last 3-7 days and are freshly-ground, 2.) beans ground to the right consistency for the extraction method used (using a burr grinder), 3.) water heated to the correct temperature (195-205 degrees), 4.) correct technique and 5.) right amount of contact time between the ground beans and hot water. As far as technique is concerned, the most important thing is to let the beans "bloom". This refers to the foam (from carbon dioxide that hasn't off-gassed yet) that comes out of freshly-roasted beans when hot water is poured on them. You need to pour a small amount of hot water over the beans, let the foam settle and then proceed with your chosen extraction method. Aside from this, the beans just need to spend the right of time in contact with the water depending on grind consistency. If you get these 5 things right, then you can make a great cup of coffee that will please any coffee snob using very simple equipment, like a French Press or a simple pour-over cone. There are a lot of good automatic machines as well, but the Technivorm seems to be the gold standard against which all other machines are measured. What the Technivorm supposedly does extremely well (I don't own one), is heat the water to the correct temperature, spray enough water in the correct pattern to let the beans bloom, and then shower all of the beans with water at a flow rate which results in an optimal extraction. The point I'm trying to get at, is that, if you're using a machine, you should match the machine used against the coffee beans that you're putting in. If you're simply dumping in some pre-ground Maxwell House from the grocery store, then a Mr. Coffee will likely work as well as a $300 Technivorm. I'm not trying to sound like a snob, but am simply noting that there are a lot more important things than the machine used (for the record, I've gone back to drinking instant coffee or stopping by Dunkin Donuts most days). I haven't researched built-ins that much, but I would have a hard time making the case for one myself. From what I've seen, you put in whole beans and (in most cases) water, and the machine grinds the beans and makes the coffee for you. Assuming the machine does these things as well as a separate grinder and high quality coffee machine would, then you might get a great cup of coffee, provided you put in high quality freshly-roasted beans and use them up quickly. But why would you spend north of $3K for a machine that takes up a lot of kitchen real-estate, when you could get an excellent quality brewer and grinder for about $500 (or $30 if you use a hand grinder and pour-over cone)? I won't speculate about motivation, but I suspect that most people who buy built-ins are doing it for reasons other than convenience or coffee quality.

Thanks homepro - I'll give them a shot. The prices seem reasonable. I like the Waialua coffee grown here on Oahu, just don't buy much Kona these days as all the stores (including Walmart) are overrun with tiny 6 to 8 oz. bags of 100% Kona, or a million flavored Kona blends, for the tourists. There are a couple of blends labeled as made for well known local restaurants which are OK - but they are 10% Kona only. Most the blends are only 10%. I want to use real beans and get real flavor! Sharon - just what I need, another gadget! LOL! Maybe I'll try when I'm retired. Too busy to start another hobby right now! Terri, this one could be promising. It could probably arrive from WA within a couple of days. Maybe the pachamama mentioned by arbenson too. I want to try a few over a period of a couple of months to try some new roasts. Then I can set up a standing order with the ones we like best.