I bought a Baratza for a Christmas gift and despite it costing $200 it seemed to have too much plastic similar to my current Saeco grinder. I found the Lelit through coffeegeek and the distributor website - http://www.lelitespresso.com As an engineer, one of first things that impressed me before buying was a parts diagram with all replaceable parts. (I just hate having to throw something in a landfill because a single part broke. Sorry for the digression.)
I bought mine before reading Jennifer Juhasz's scathing review (retaliation?). I'll try to followup a year later and maybe I'll feel different, but she's clearly wrong about some things.
The housing is made from a sheet of heavy gauge stainless steel held together with screws for easy servicing. The reservoir is plastic but has a deep lip so the lid stays secure. The chute and holder is also plastic. I am currently grinding dry-proessed beans with significant chaff. These beans were a static problem for my previous grinder but the Lelit adds no noticeable static. I think that's because the motor speed is very slow as it takes a lot longer to grind the beans (I'd guess about thirty seconds for a full pot).
The holder prongs don't seem useful to me because I simply hold my gold filter under the chute but I suppose if you were filling an espresso portafilter it would center it under the chute and press the pulse button.
The main reason I wanted a new grinder was better control over grind courseness. I switched to a courser grind for French Press and was happy to see a wide range. I no longer have an Espresso machine but switching back to fine grind gave a nice clump. To change the grind you hold down on the lever and rotate the wheel to discreet stops. The lever is small and made of a plastic polymer (ABS?) so it might be vulnerable to breaking. I plan to treat the lever with respect but I don't change the courseness often.
The motor is heavy-duty and the appliance cord is huge. Most manufacturers go cheap on appliance cords by making them too thin or too short. This one is long and heavier gauge than my tablesaw!
My only disappointment is the amount of ground coffee that remains after grinding. The ground coffee piles up on a horizontal surface until the pile is big enough to be forced out the chute. When you're done a spoon of coffee remains. Maybe I'm too much of a purist but I don't like the idea of a spoon of day-old coffee mixed in the next morning so I have to tilt the unit forward and give it a good whack on the back to knock them out.
Overall I compare the quality to my Technivorm coffeemaker and HotTop roaster. All good, well-made products.
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