SMEG 50's Retro Style Electric Coffee Grinder for Espresso, Drip & French Press - Vintage Kitchen Appliance for Home & Cafe Use

This review is for anyone who loves coffee and considers it a very important part of their life. This review is for people like me who look forward to that first cup o' joe in the morning even right before going to bed at night. It's also for people who don't mind spending more for quality that will last a long time and that will give them the best results. OK, I'm a coffee geek. I have a Technivorm Moccamaster and a Ratio Eight; both top quality automatic drip coffee makers. I've also owned coffee grinders that match that quality. For a few years I used the Breville Smart Grinder which was a quality machine and replaced it with a Baratza Virtuoso, also a great machine. Either one would be a smart buy with long lasting value. I have a lot of experience with them and wasn't sorry I bought them. Now, on to the SMEG Retro Style. It's above and beyond!! I got the one in black. It's a beautiful machine. With such a big build up I'll get right to the point now. My jaw dropped open in disbelief the very first time I used it this morning. First off, It's a LOT quieter than either the Breville or the Baratza. Secondly, it's SO easy to use. I set the wheel in front to 8 cups and moved the very easy grind adjustment lever to a couple notches past medium. I put the handy collector cup in, pressed start and couldn't believe how SMOOTHLY and QUICKLY my beans went thru this AMAZING machine. After it was done, the timer was right on at my "8" setting, I took out the collector container and there was ZERO MESS, ZERO STATIC which was a bit of a problem with the Breville and the Virtuoso though not a deal breaker. The SMEG however left NO MESS. Yes, it's more expensive than the two others but trust me; this has to be the absolute BEST quality home use coffee grinder on the market today. It's fairly new. It deserves to be number one on the list of conical burr grinders. You can just hear the quality as it incredibly efficiently does its work. The materials are top notch. I am just SO impressed with this piece of machinery that I had to sit down and write this. Go straight for THIS ONE. Great job SMEG. It's the best thing to come out of Italy since spaghetti sauce. I LOVE THIS!!!!! Buy it and you'll agree. It's a "can't miss." I wish I could have given it SIX STARS. By the way, the coffee tasted GREAT!! **Update a few months later: this grinder is STILL TOP NOTCH. I still can't believe how quick and quiet it is opposed to a couple of other expensive grinders I've owned. It's a joy to grind beans with this each morning. The ONLY thing I've found on the negative side, in case you're a perfectionist, is that the ON/OFF printing on the power button rubs off after awhile. It's no biggie. I simply hand rubbed the remainder of the printing off and there's just the bland metal face on it now. This is an exceptional coffee bean grinder and I'm looking forward to years of service.