Krups

The Krups brand, particularly its older German-made products, commands strong loyalty in the r/BuyItForLife community, with dozens of users reporting appliances lasting 20, 30, even 40+ years. The blade coffee/spice grinder is the most-discussed product — widely praised for its longevity and versatility as a spice grinder, though coffee snobs consistently note it's inferior to a burr grinder for grinding beans. There's a recurring concern that newer Krups products, likely manufactured in China, do not match the durability of vintage German-made units.

Vintage Krups appliances — especially the blade grinder used as a spice grinder — are genuinely buy-it-for-life products with decades of community-verified longevity, but the blade grinder is not suitable for quality coffee grinding, and newer Krups products appear to have significantly lower build quality than older German-made units.

Krups appliances — especially older models — are celebrated for exceptional longevity across product categories, with many users reporting decades of daily use. The blade grinder in particular is regarded as nearly indestructible and beloved as a spice grinder.

• Blade grinder frequently lasts 20–40+ years with daily use
• Widely praised as the best domestic spice grinder available
• Old German-made units are highly repairable and serviceable
• Coffee makers, kettles, and espresso machines also reported to last decades
• Inexpensive entry price relative to lifespan makes it exceptional value
• Design aesthetic of 70s–90s models admired for functional simplicity

The blade grinder is frequently criticized as an inferior coffee grinder compared to burr grinders, producing uneven grinds. Several users also flag that modern Krups products — likely China-manufactured — no longer match the quality of vintage German-made units.

• Blade grinder produces uneven grinds, unsuitable for serious coffee brewing
• Newer Krups products reportedly fail quickly and are irreparable
• Some burr grinder models use low-quality false burrs with inconsistent results
• Replacement parts increasingly hard to source for some product lines
• Recent thermal carafe coffee maker reported to fail within 4 years

One highly-upvoted commenter noted the Krups blade grinder is essentially useless as a coffee grinder but called it the greatest domestic spice grinder ever made — a sentiment echoed throughout the thread.

A user described keeping their parents' Krups grinder from the 1980s, noting it just kept going while newer, better-reviewed grinders they bought broke within a year.

Several users admitted to 'waiting for their Krups to die' so they could justify upgrading to a Baratza burr grinder — but the Krups stubbornly refuses to quit.

A commenter observed that old Krups equipment was made in Germany with parts that could actually be repaired, while new models are cheap Chinese-made products that can't even be opened without destroying them.