A few months ago, I was in the market for a small round knockbox, for not a whole lot of money. I wanted one in plastic, easy to clean and maintain, and just a good fit for purpose. There were several out there in my desired form factor, from Grindenstein, Osaka, Cafelat, etc. -- but the one I ultimately selected was the Crema Pro 110mm model in red.

I was initally attracted to and leaning towards the Grindenstein, but as I thought more about it, a couple of factors nudged me towards the Crema Pro:

• I liked the looks of the big fat knock bar on the Grindenstein, but then realized it could actually tend to retard the expulsion of the puck compared with something a bit narrower in diameter.
• The offset of the Crema Pro's knock bar, towards the front of the bin, would make it easier to expel the puck with less risk of making a mess. All the other candidates I was looking at had their knock bars closer to the axis of the bin.
• The rubber tubing over the knock bar on the Crema Pro looked like something you could get in any big box home products store, rather than a replacement you would need to obtain from the manufacturer of the knock box, should the original wear out.

I've been using the Crema Pro for several weeks, and it has worked very well and met my expectations. It's easy to use, never makes a mess, simple to clean (I just pull the metal bar, throw the bin in the dishwasher, and give the rubber tubing a quick wash in the sink; reassembly is easier then tying the shoestrings on a loafer). The construction is very solid (it'll outlast me unless a meteor hits it first), and while the bin doesn't have the glossy finish of some of its competitors, I've found that matte utensils hold their looks better over time, so I'm fine with that. If I ever need to replace the tubing, I just need to get some that will accommodate the 9.5mm thick metal bar and do a couple of simple snick-snack angled cuts with a box cutter.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a knock box in that form factor (and in black, red, gray, or burnt orange), the Crema Pro is well worth considering.

Disclaimer: I've received no monetary or verbal encouragement of any kind from Amazon or the manufacturer for this review; I'm just a satisfied retail purchaser and user of the product.