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Red is hands-down my favorite color of all time—so much so that my two-seater sports car is red with a black top, and even one of my two leather sofas is red too. So naturally, I was over-the-moon happy to discover the SMEG Automatic Coffee and Espresso Machine in candy apple red. Sure, there are plenty of red coffee makers and espresso makers on the market, but I never found them impressive enough to compare with my collection of brushed stainless steel coffee appliances.
I have a limited amount of space in my home, so I tend to only include items that are both stylish and functional, like an air purifier fan that looks like Scandinavian art, or an air purifier that’s been mistaken for a Bluetooth speaker (yes, I have a fondness for air purifiers). The SMEG Automatic Coffee and Espresso Machine certainly looks good, but would it also get high marks in functionality? Read on to find out!
My first impression—well my second impression, since the first was just sheer delight that the appliance was red—is that SMEG does a really good job of making sure that this isn’t a bulky espresso-coffee maker with a bunch of parts sticking out. The slim design is a space-saving feature that makes it easy to slide the machine flush against the back of the countertop when not in use. Whether you have more width or more depth on your countertop, the dimensions (13 ¼” H x 17 1/16” D x 7 1/8” W) allow you to store either way.
If red is not your favorite color, the machine is also available in black, matte white, taupe, and jade—and you can get it with or without a milk frother.
Once I started opening compartments, the true beauty of the design became obvious. Behind all of these assorted lids are the coffee bean container, water tank, brewing group, and external drip tray. There’s also a handy brush for cleaning the coffee grinder. The power cord can be completely removed, which makes the appliance even easier to store flush against the wall.
The built-in coffee grinder makes it easy to enjoy fresh coffee beans every day. The coffee bean container can hold up to 5.3 ounces of coffee beans and the built-in stainless-steel burr grinder is adjustable, so I can make it coarser for coffee and finer for espresso drinks. Plus, the LED lights will flash when the coffee grounds container is full (to avoid overfilling), or when there’s no coffee in it.
Smeg Coffee & Espresso Machine
The water tank is removable, which makes it easy to fill with (or pour out leftover) water, and clean. The tank can hold up to 47.34 ounces of water. The LED lights will flash when the water tank is empty or doesn’t have enough water in it.
Buy Smeg Coffee & Espresso Machine at Saks Fifth Avenue, $529
Buy Smeg Coffee & Espresso Machine at Amazon, $530
The controls are located on top of the espresso and coffee machine. The primary menu includes the following buttons: Ristretto Coffee, Espresso Coffee, Coffee, and Hot Water. However, if I press the change dispensing program button, the top row turns orange to indicate that the secondary menu has been activated. Now, those four buttons are for Light Ristretto Coffee, Light Espresso Coffee, Long Coffe, and Americano.
The SMEG espresso-coffee maker also has a brushed aluminum front panel and drip tray, and uses a thermoblock heating system with 19 bar pump pressure. The dispenser can also be adjusted to accommodate different cup sizes. I can also choose whether I want an audible alarm when the brewing cycle is over. In addition, there’s a descaling alert when I need to descale the machine. And all of the alerts can be customized to be audible or just flashing alerts.
The SMEG Automatic Coffee and Espresso Machine makes it quick and easy to grind beans for fresh coffee drinks of every size. And the unique design makes it just as easy to move the appliance out of the way when not in use—not that I would ever want to hide it.
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