Question about original S1 temperature range

[nitpick]

As the owner of a new S1 / VII, I got a question I just have to ask:

The original S1 / V1 appears to have not only a 5C increment in brew temperature, but a range of settable brew temperatures from 85C to 120C. For the life of me, I can't remotely understand how that's a usable range for brewing espresso. 120C is nearly 250F, which is 40F degrees above any remotely reasonable high end brewing temperature.

Now this was an Italian espresso machine, made in Italy, by a company that does not appear to be insane. So how was it that the engineers, marketers, and everyone at La Spaziale thought that selling an espresso machine capable of turning a coffee puck into plasma was a good idea?

[Endo]

Don't laugh, but at the store where I bought my machine, they have the demo Vivaldi set at 100C. I asked if it was a bit hot and the owner says he had the same model at home and swears buy the 100C setting. So I figure it isn't calibrated, or more likely he prefers a bitter, over roasted flavor.

My theory is that some old school Italians actually prefer a oily, Vienna roasted blend (even with some Robusta beans), a hotter brew temperature, and a teaspoon of sugar to cut the bitterness. After all, espresso is all about tradition in Italy, and less about getting the best taste ( since every Italian will tell you it's a well known fact that the only good espresso comes from Italy).

But I agree, 120C is silly. I guess they just couldn't figure out anything better to do with the extra LEDs. In any case, it all got solved when they went to 1C increments.