Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Surprised by this one. I was looking for a replacement grinder - have had a nice big burr and a Cuisinart with a removable basket that still made something of a mess before it stopped working (after five years of pretty reliable grinding), and I was ready to just order another Cuisinart...but people really really hate it, more than half the people who bought it dump on it, so I surfed around and was transfixed by all the favorable reviews of an absolutely unknown product by an absolutely unknown Chinese maker, which, who knows, may be the Dongmen Jiaoziguan or something like that. Anyway, this was inexpensive and worth a shot, and I needed it pretty quickly, and with Prime it was pretty quick to my door. You'd think, this is just "hold the button down and voila! Ground coffee." No. I didn't read the instructions, I pushed the button like it was an old Braun or the Cuisinart, held it for a 20 count, and POOF! ... it absolutely incinerated the beans, burnt to death as though I'd thrown them into a blowtorch fire. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Or, if you're reading this, you are now forewarned. This little Epica has a pretty powerful little motor - ignore the dartheads who gave it one star because the motor didn't work (they may not have pushed the button down far enough or seated the lid securely): send it back and get a replacement (or did yours "fall off a truck"?) - and you need to PULSE THE GRIND to a 4/4 beat of whole notes - press the button 1. 2. 3. 4. relax, press 1. 2. 3. 4. etc. until you get a grind you like. It's a pretty even grind for a blade grinder. No, you'll never get espresso dust, but you can get pretty close. And the deep removable cup - easy on, easy off, but don't fill to the top, the coffee expands as it grinds (again, the little instruction sheet gives you this tidbit too) - allows you to grind and still keep the counter top pretty clear of grounds. I've had it for three weeks and its still ticking. I like it! I docked it a star because it doesn't have a sticker or some prominent YELLOW warning declaring, "Hey, Darthead, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, or don't say we didn't warn you." But I'd recommend it to anyone who needs a reliably good grinder that doesn't take up any counter space and looks interesting without really being stylish, and Imma get another one for the beach flat...