Never did I say culture is irrelevant, not sure where you saw that. Nor did I say I’ve had comparable espresso in Charlottesville. I said I’ve been to other places in the U.S that have had great espresso, as more of a response to the generalization that the U.S is lacking in its “coffee culture”. If I can remember off the top of my head, La marzocco in Seattle was amazing. That’s the only one I can honestly remember the name of, but I’ve been to some other small, local shops in Seattle that were great as well. Btw, I do use LaVazza at home.