A quick note to both desk maker Z-Line Designs and Office Max, the exclusive carrier of Z-Line’s “Merido” line of desks – when both the manufacturer and the retail store advertise a four hundred dollar desk set as being made of “solid espresso wood” (not once but twice on Z-Line’s product page) and in the materials section, call the wood “Espresso” and the color, also “Espresso,” you should probably back up your claims.

I love desks made with lots of glass, but was also attracted to the "wood" accents on the edges

Interested in getting a replacement desk for my precious computers after I move next week, I scoped out this desk at Office Max right before Black Friday, but because I hadn’t scored a job yet, refrained from purchasing it. Now, the separate pieces are on sale for a combined total of $300, and I figured that was enough money to put into a desk to want to know exactly what “espresso” wood was, especially since Google wasn’t yielding image results of the mighty espresso tree towering over the natives of tropical Africa.

So I called Z-Line on their customer support line and talked to “Jerrod” who after a brief hold, informed me that espresso was indeed just the color. “It’s actually, um, just particle board with a finish,” he concluded. So by “solid” what Office Max and Z-Line really meant was “sawdust solidly stuck together with some glue with a nice finish.” And indeed, the finish is nice! I just wish that there was a little more truth in this particular advertising.