jvd Senior Member Joined: 9 Apr 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Sweden Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Fri Jan 19, 2007, 9:20am Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
I had 5 different grinders before this one, The KA Proline. Before this one I had the Demoka Minimoka 203 and it was nice for espresso but to much to work when adjusting for different kind of coffee. Also my wife didnt like the design so I went for the KA instead. OK, it work pretty good but no as good as I was hoping for. I have not read hte hwole thread but I get so inconsistand grinds, from large chunks to dust. Now I only grind for drip, press and Eva Solo, not espresso. Is there any way of adjusting this but modify something. I clean once a week. I have adjusted it, etc. It grinds OK, but not as consistant. Anybody? Is this how bad it is or is it just harder to get a grinder that can grind consistant för a drip or a press?
Posted Thu Jan 25, 2007, 9:01am Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
Well I've removed my griding burrs and have taken a small triangle file and somewhat sharpened the cutting edges a little. The just seemed so dull from the factory. I'm getting some fresh beans tonight to test with it.
The burrs are made of a pretty hard alloy, and dulled my file pretty good. I wish they would offer a milled set vs. a cast set.
Pacman Senior Member Joined: 7 Sep 2004 Posts: 5 Location: upstate New York Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: manual Grinder: Kitchenaid Pro Vac Pot: Nicro Drip: discarded
Posted Fri Feb 9, 2007, 2:06pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
I solved the bean hangup problem by cutting the top of a 2 quart canola oil bottle so it fits inside the bean jar and works as a funnel. You can't even see that it is in there. The top of the bean jar still fits. The top of a 2 liter juice bottle might also work.
I use a Nicro vacuum pot, and weigh out the beans for one potful at a time, and put that one quantity of beans into the bean jar, so the slight decrease in bean jar capacity is no problem. I measure the beans this way as a workaround for no timer switch. The problem is, as Mark mentioned, dust as you finish up a load of beans. The grinder is so fast and relatively so quiet that I just stick close enough that I can switch it off as soon as the rpms increase, instead of waiting for it to grind beans into dust. Since I do this the same way every day, I am getting the right amount of coffee.
I've been using this since November 06. The taste of my coffee improved dramatically when I began using this instead of my Braun burr grinder. I attribute this to the improved uniformity of the grind and to less heating of beans during grinding. I can't over-emphasize the improved taste of my coffee.
whfite Senior Member Joined: 1 Feb 2006 Posts: 9 Location: USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Vetrano Rotary Grinder: Mazzer Mini E Vac Pot: pre-WWII Silex Drip: Technivorm KD741 Roaster: Intelligentsia
Posted Fri Feb 9, 2007, 2:33pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
I dunno, Rasqual, but your explanation is certainly logical. There must be some design difference.
I continue to use the KAP for drip and vacpot but I have moved on for espresso, first to a Rocky and now to a Mazzer Mini E. I flirted briefly with getting a Versalab but several guys on AC talked me out of it and I'm happy they did. I don't think (despite its undeniable snob appeal) that the Mazzer grinds a damned bit better than the Rocky (note that others will disagree, and may be right), but God, is it a sexy devil!
1or2lumps Senior Member Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 120 Location: Seattle area Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Rocket Giotto Premium Plus Grinder: Mazzer Major, KitchenAid... Drip: FP, PO, AP Roaster: Behmor; Poppery II
Posted Sat Feb 24, 2007, 7:01pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
I recently readjusted the grinder to ensure maximum fineness. I was actually surprised that I was able to adjust it to grind finer again (2nd time since purchase) as I don't use it daily.
For espresso I typically use the 7.5 setting. 8.0 always seems to choke my *$ Barista. What is everyone else using?
Posted Mon Mar 26, 2007, 8:16pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
Someone on this forum (or one of the alt.coffee ones) mentioned a mod for this grinder to replace the burrs with ones for the Mazzer - I checked out the Mazzer mini replacement burrs online, and they screw in with three screws, while the KA Proline only has two - so is there a way to put the Mazzer burrs in or replace the KA Proline burrs with better ones, since that seems to be what everyone is complaining about?
cmos_master Senior Member Joined: 18 Apr 2007 Posts: 11 Location: San Diego Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue May 15, 2007, 1:58pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
After several solid days of reading posts here, alt.coffee, coffeeforums, kitchenaid forums, etc, I believe I have some idea about the problems some reviewers were seeing. Many people report getting some super fine grind in with their coarse grind, and I think its there when on the espresso setting too, just harder to see. There is a serious flaw with this grinder that is easily fixed. Coffee gets backed up in the grinder because the output chute is too small. The backed up grounds get forcefully squeezed between the housing and the burrs, but eventually most of those "squeezed" grounds find their way out to the grounds bin. That would explain the "nice little curls" reported by many, including the original reviewer(MarkP). I've read about several people removing the bottom plastic plate, and like magic, the problem of coffee getting backed up into the grinder is resolved. I think this also explains the issue of course grinds having a lot of "fines". Thinking intuitively, it doesn't make sense that the burrs would produce "nice little curls" when grinding coarse, and I've read several people reporting just that! It makes more sense that they are perfect grounds being smooshed against the wall of the housing by rotating metal on metal contact.
Kitchenaid reports that the bottom plate is put there to protect the company from lawsuits(kiddies losing fingers in the burrs). If you remove it, the grounds bin no longer fits snug, but if you are using specifically for espresso, like me, you can spit it straight into the portafilter with a homemade funnel device. I've seen several google videos showing such devices. No need to hack at the grinder.
Anyway, this post seemed dead here with lots of information about what people were seeing, but none putting it all together and trying to figure out how to fix it, which is what sent me on my quest for knowledge. I just bought this grinder from someone on coffeegeek, and I will report more once I actually start playing with it. The information above is purely based on information gathering from many many posts, consumer experiences, and kitchenaid representative posts explaining how the machine is supposed to work on the kitchenaid forum.
I know there were two people arguing fervently on coffeed back in Nov/Dec 2005 (Alistair Durie and Mark Prince). Mark is the one that wrote the first look here. That argument sort of ended on a cliffhanger, and they failed to post their conclusions. Hopefully someone will respond to this post, either to tell me I'm stupid and crazy or actually be willing to start looking into it again.
Also, what about upgrading the burrs in this grinder? Anyone know anything?
Jen_Savage Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 37 Location: CT Expertise: Just starting
Posted Tue May 15, 2007, 2:58pm Subject: Re: KitchenAid ProLine Grinder First Look
Susanna Said:
I have the ProLine also. I agree with the grounds falling when you remove the bowl. I just give the bowl a little shake back and forth before picking it up and that seems to help. Sometimes I even jiggle the whole maching to make sure they fall. Kind of an aggevation to have to do that. Like you said it is very impressive and I love using it. Seems to be built really solid and since I only drink drip or french press I think it will be fine for my purposes.
If you watch the video, you learn that the trick is to push up on the "faucet" before taking the glass bowl out. Just lift the bowl upwards to press up and release and the extra grinds fall into the bowl. Then take the bowl out.
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