One of my favorite presents this year was my brand new beautiful Smeg Coffee Maker from my husband. I’ve been looking at Smeg products for years now and finally decided to add one to my list. Coffee is a huge part of my life and I promise I’m not just exaggerating. I was basically raised a Gilmore Girl, I average 4-8 cups a day and I decided it was time for an upgrade.

Obviously a main concern when buying a stunning appliance is, “yes it’s beautiful but does it function well?” At a steep $200 I was concerned with the lack of reviews I could find, but decided to take the plunge. We’ve been using ours for roughly 3 weeks now so I thought I’d give some initial feedback if you’re thinking of making the investment.

APPEARANCE

As far as looks go, it really is a 10. It’s seriously beautiful to look at and very well made. It’s heavy, sturdy and the retro vibe makes it a focal point in any kitchen. We opted for the cream color and it blends wonderfully.

SIZE

It’s larger than most traditional coffee makers but this doesn’t bother us at all. We have plenty of room on our counter top for it to fit comfortably as well as sugar and coffee containers, however if you have limited space I would measure.

AUTO SHUT OFF

There is an automatic shutoff after 20 minutes. This part scared me a lot, as I’m used to brewing multiple cups and drinking them over an hour or so. However, I’ve spent my entire life wondering why the first cup of coffee always tasted better than the second or any following and thanks to Smeg I have learned why. After 20 minutes the warming plate will begin to burn the coffee and ruin the taste. So this is actually a really positive thing! We’ve just learned to make less at a time and brew another batch if needed.

DESCALING

We noticed last weekend that it alerted us our water may be too “hard” for the machine. We turned the brew strength down a bit and it recommend using a descaler for cleaning. We haven’t done this yet, however we did run a clean pot of water through it and the alert went away; just something to keep in mind, regular cleaning and maintenance is required to keep the machine running top notch.

TASTE

If you’re a coffee snob like me, this is the biggest factor. I’ve always disliked plastic coffee makers because I feel like it affects the taste. This pot brews clean and strong, stronger than any other drip coffee I’ve tasted before. I’m actually using less coffee per pot than previously. This considered alone makes the purchase worth it to me.

Other notes: it beeps kind of loud when starting and turning off, not a deal breaker by any means but it did kind of surprise us. Also I found it a little difficult to fill the water reservoir using the coffee pot. Again, nothing I would consider ditching the appliance over, just worth mentioning!

Given it’s only been 3 weeks this is really all I’ve got! I’ll try to do another review in about 6 months or so to make sure we’re still happy. I hope this was helpful if you’re thinking of making the investment!

PRODUCTS IN THIS POST

As well as some other beautiful Smeg products!

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