Did we all acquired so sensitive taste buds or are we actually victims of over hyped marketing concerning coffee equipment.

Just to clarify that im asking a question and not by any means try to claim that my opinion is the correct one.

I work with an Olympia Cremina paired with a Lagoom P80 and use a V60 for pour overs with a Eureka oro SD, which i use also for my cold brew tower. I spend quite an amount over the years jumping from gaggia to pavoni to cremina and from kg79 to kitchenaid to ascasso to fioretzato etc. But during all these i was trying to be honest with my self and accepted that after a point my newer choices were not so much for the cup result as much as for optics, craftsmanship, quality and workflow (ie pavoni to cremina, fiorenzato to eureka and p80 etc).

My actual espresso bean preferences are humble from medium to medium dark, depending on the mood. I dont get all those taste tones that are usually printed on the bean bags (ie granny smith apples, mango or swiss chocolates). I distinguish acidity (and i try to avoid light roasts and prefer natural process) and astringent and try to find that good spot between sour and bitter where my ideal espresso lies. And this is were my cremina and p80 work their best.

So after declaring my incompetence , i really find it difficult to understand how can an average and slightly above average coffee enthusiast can claim that much of a positive difference in a cap when changing burr type on a the same good quality grinder (not going from a delongi kg79 to a Weiber Eg1). We are talking about clarity and body. How many of us can actually taste that much difference in clarity or body when going from a z1 to a weber, a fiorenzato to niche or , like in my case , from a pavoni to a cremina or a londinium for that matter? Can you guys really distinguish all these subtle differences in beans and equipment to justify the huge price difference that sometimes exist (even in portafilters and baskets)? Or are you more like me that , after a point, its the workflow, the feeling and the actual equipment quality than the cup result that matters? And yes this is a genuine question and NOT an attempt to diminish anyone's tasting abilities.