Posted Mon Jan 9, 2012, 1:51am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
I sure hope this thing works - there is a 76 page thread dealing with this very grinder over on a German forum - 76 pages is not what a POS will ever ever generate...ever - I have a source of renewed confidence. Get your Google translate on and feel the Teutonic love (they call it a Graef CM80 something - isn't Google translate strange?
alanfrew Senior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2001 Posts: 596 Location: Melbourne Expertise: Professional
Posted Mon Jan 9, 2012, 4:09am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
Eh, it's a good grinder (especially if they're selling them for US$100.00, they are US$200+.00 here) but not a great grinder. The adjustment and attachment system for the top burr limits the grind quality and precision, and doesn't improve with use. I'd still be selling them if Sunbeam AU hadn't abandoned their smaller distributors.
Posted Mon Jan 9, 2012, 7:14am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
alanfrew Said:
Eh, it's a good grinder (especially if they're selling them for US$100.00, they are US$200+.00 here) but not a great grinder. The adjustment and attachment system for the top burr limits the grind quality and precision, and doesn't improve with use. I'd still be selling them if Sunbeam AU hadn't abandoned their smaller distributors.
That is my impression too - for $99 these are exactly what you describe - a good grinder. The next step to find better performance in the USA is $300 - huge spread there.
$100 vs $300 (USD) - can't emphasize that enough...
76 pages - not posts about this grinder and exact same burr set (the Graef CM80) - I checked - in the European version of CG and nothing at all here is shocking to me.
This shot is shockingly good too - only $99, hmm...
(Click for larger image)
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
shmulibaby Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 44 Location: NYC Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra Grinder: Rossi RR45, Krups Conical Drip: Melitta single cup Roaster: Popcorn Popper
Posted Mon Jan 9, 2012, 7:20am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
alanfrew Said:
Eh, it's a good grinder (especially if they're selling them for US$100.00, they are US$200+.00 here) but not a great grinder. The adjustment and attachment system for the top burr limits the grind quality and precision, and doesn't improve with use. I'd still be selling them if Sunbeam AU hadn't abandoned their smaller distributors.
What can you say about use as a grinder for drip/pour over. Does it have good consistency or does it produce a lot of powder at the courser-than-espresso settings?
Also, can any of you comment on noise? Thanks very much.
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 1:19am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
I discovered that the only thing making this grinder stepped is the spring loaded release button on the back - tape it in or remove it all together and you have a stepless espresso grinder for $99. I put up a video that gives an idea of the speed and noise you can expect for this price:
shmulibaby Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 44 Location: NYC Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra Grinder: Rossi RR45, Krups Conical Drip: Melitta single cup Roaster: Popcorn Popper
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 10:20am Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
Thanks Eric. I think I am in for one, for use predominantly with my aeropress at work but perhaps occasionally for espresso. At this point, I'd just be curious about how long the burrs would last and replacement availability - supposedly many of these low-end conical burr grinders are known to have the burrs go dull pretty quickly (e.g. I've read that about the Capresso Infinity)...hopefully this is a bit better...thanks for all the info you've provided, u've been very generous with your time.
P.S. I noticed that you've owned the K30 so you clearly have experience with a highly capable grinder which means your positive reflection on the Krupps is that much more complimentary.
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 5:08pm Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
shmulibaby Said:
Thanks Eric. I think I am in for one, for use predominantly with my aeropress at work but perhaps occasionally for espresso. At this point, I'd just be curious about how long the burrs would last and replacement availability - supposedly many of these low-end conical burr grinders are known to have the burrs go dull pretty quickly (e.g. I've read that about the Capresso Infinity)...hopefully this is a bit better...thanks for all the info you've provided, u've been very generous with your time.
P.S. I noticed that you've owned the K30 so you clearly have experience with a highly capable grinder which means your positive reflection on the Krupps is that much more complimentary.
I am flattered by your kind words but my experience is less that a week old - I would rather someone take a look at the 76 page Graef CM80 thread on Kaffee-Netz before making a decision.
I will post a photo of the grind at setting 25 (coarsest) before I shimmed mine up to better handle espresso grinding - not surprisingly my mod did cost me some coarse grind settings and I see Turkish at setting 10 and 30 second pours at setting 14 using 17g of beans. Setting 15 gives me 22 second shots for comparison of the step sizes - I would recommend making it stepless for espresso.
I do not like the metal finger guard in the chute - it is responsible for retention when the grind is very fine - I stick something flexible in the chute to retrieve what this safety device blocks from leaving the grind chamber. Less of a problem on the coarser settings but still a problem and one I will likely remove -living dangerously with the Krups...
(Click for larger image)
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
shmulibaby Senior Member Joined: 14 Nov 2011 Posts: 44 Location: NYC Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: La Nuova Era Cuadra Grinder: Rossi RR45, Krups Conical Drip: Melitta single cup Roaster: Popcorn Popper
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 6:53pm Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
Yeah so I'm really not setting the bar too high as I really just want consistent grind at a mildly fine grind setting. At first I was looking at the Infinity and Bodum...but if this one seems capable at only $20 more, may as well give it a shot. As for the 76 page thread on that German forum, I'll just take that amount of interest to be at least a minimal vote of confidence in the grinder. I really don't want to belabor this decision too much...BTW, what sort of spacer/shim did you use? I'm not sure how they are measured but curious to know in case I do decide to explore the very fine settings. Thanks.
Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 8:08pm Subject: Re: Krups Conical Burr Grinder - First Look
Cool - it should work as well as either of those grinders with some added features to make the user experience friendlier as well.
The shim/spacer is extremely low tech. I took a junk mail post card and cut out the shape I needed to get close and then created additional shims from thin foil (middle photo) to fine tune the adjustment. One thing I did notice while taking things apart is that under the spinner vane beneath the burr (far left in photo) sits a mount with 6 ball bearings riding between two plates - maybe all grinders have these.
The last photo shows a 17g 30 second shot - makes cutting the shims worth the trouble for me.
(Click for larger image)
I chew coffee beans with my teeth while gargling with 195 F water to enjoy coffee. What is this "coffee brewing" device you speak of?
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