billherbst Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2006 Posts: 52 Location: Olympia, WA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Le'Lit PL041 w/PID Grinder: Roma Doserless Stepped Vac Pot: Melior French Press Roaster: Poppery II
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 12:38am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
Mine came yesterday---new in box, Empire Red of course (and beautiful, though a somewhat "louder" color than the more muted Pearl Metallic that isn't on sale). Serial number ends in "0" rather than "1" as others have noted (implying pre-revision stock that KitchenAid is closing out of inventory). I also got two sets of Bodum double-wall thermal glasses with Amazon's $25 off promotion. Heck of a deal, and hard to beat for $111 with tax and free shipping.
The KitchenAid Pro Line grinder can definitely do espresso, at least compared to the used Capresso Infinity I'd been using. After recalibrating the burrs for espresso per the manual, I dialed-in with old beans. At "8," the finest setting, I got talcum powder that completely choked my Le'Lit PL041. After some sink shots, I settled in at three detents back (6 1/2) and ground some freshly roasted Colombian Acevedo.
Though I saw no visual difference in the KitchenAid's grind compared to the Infinity, the double shot was much better. I could smell and taste subtle flavors I didn't get before---floral notes and blueberries. Yum. If I were to guess, I'd say that the KitchenAid probably "shaves" the beans better and doesn't heat them as much as the Infinity, thus releasing and preserving more flavors. But what do I know? I don't have a Mazzer or Macap to compare.
Adjustability for espresso is limited, however. The effective detent range for a 25-30 second shot is only about two clicks. I hear that someone came up with a mod for making the Pro Line grinder stepless, but a search on the forums didn't turn up anything. (The search function seems to return only posts from 2005 and earlier, don't know why.)
I was considering the Gaggia MDF grinder ($129 with free shipping from GaggiaShop.com), but I'm very happy with the KitchenAid. I just climbed a couple of rungs higher on the ladder to espresso heaven. Thanks to Pyg for hipping us to a good deal!
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 3:55am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
billherbst Said:
Adjustability for espresso is limited, however. The effective detent range for a 25-30 second shot is only about two clicks. I hear that someone came up with a mod for making the Pro Line grinder stepless, but a search on the forums didn't turn up anything.
making it stepless is easy. you need to keep those pins from poking into the blades on the white adjustment knob inside the black one.
you need some semi thin plastic from like a clear plastic deli tray or a lid from the potato salad?? something thin enough (like the yogurt container lid thick) but stiffer.
remove the white threaded piece completely.
put threads down on the plastic scrap.
trace INNER area onto plastic.
cut out hole.
thread platic with hole in it onto the white threaded thing.
get the plastic threaded all the way on so its flush against back of notches in white thing.
cut the OUTER edge with scissors to trim flush with the outside of the notches.
put it all back together.
i have mine turned on when it gets close to the burrs touching. i listen to hear them touching then turn off grinder. then i go 2-3 or more clicks finer to make my "zero" at 7.
if your plastic is stiff enough to keep the pin from going into the notch then you have a stepless grinder. if not find harder plastic or maybe more layers. also you can control how hard the pins "push" against the plastic by adjusting the allen screw behind them. i have also added some telfon tape to threads on the white thing to keep the grind adjustment from slipping.
also a cool thing for me is, if i fill the upper hopper lid with beans, i get 4 shots in a regular 14g double basket. no weighing.
mkraft Senior Member Joined: 19 Jan 2005 Posts: 67 Location: U.S.A. Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bialetti Caffetiera stovetop... Grinder: KitchenAid Pro Line...
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 8:20am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
foobar Said:
Hey Van, since you have received your shipment, does the model number end with a "-1"? Supposedly, the -1 indicates the revised edition with fixes such as a heftier bottom glass and more sloped interior to aid in fewer beans that get lodged.
Where is the "-1/revised edition" information from? I'm not doubting it may be accurate, but the phone rep at KitchenAid said there is no difference between the Red model and the Pearl Metallic (other than the color).
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 8:26am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
mkraft Said:
Where is the "-1/revised edition" information from? I'm not doubting it may be accurate, but the phone rep at KitchenAid said there is no difference between the Red model and the Pearl Metallic (other than the color).
jonbauer Senior Member Joined: 8 May 2006 Posts: 73 Location: San Francisco, CA Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Rancilio Silvia Grinder: Rancilio Rocky
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 8:33am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
I spoke to Kitchenaid and they told me that the red one was no longer being produced and that it DID NOT have the (minor) updates that the other ones got...
nethiker Senior Member Joined: 20 Oct 2006 Posts: 8 Location: Montana, USA Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 9:37am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
I received my grinder as well.
I'm very pleased with it's performance as I'm upgrading from a $30 Cuisinart. I was a bit disappointed in the hopper. A minor point in that the name etched on it is off to the side when fully in place, but more annoying is that the lid is too small with a gap big enough to see the beans despite the o-ring which suggests that it was intended to seal tight.
I called customer service and they are sending me out a new hopper and lid. When I gave them the serial number she asked when I purchased the grinder. I told her just last week and she told me that it was manufactured 2 1/2 years ago. There was no hassle, she didn't even ask where it was purchased. Very professional and I felt well taken care of.
I'm glad I found you guys, my coffee is improving daily. Thanks.
If its that you can't turn it far enough to bring it on center (I've had three like this) run the "white washer" under hot water. It will soften it and allow you to turn it far enough for "KitchenAid" to be front and center.
xardoz Senior Member Joined: 8 Feb 2005 Posts: 141 Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: KA Proline Grinder: KA Proline Vac Pot: Bodum eSantos Drip: Newco OCS-12 Roaster: UFO/TO
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 11:46am Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
Received mine last night, have the same hopper issues as Nethiker - I'll call it in. It's cool that KA are so responsive. Mine is definitely a "0" model, so it sounds like Amazon got a hold of some backstock, and hence the great price.
For the price, I can live with having an off-center logo, but the lid doesn't fit at all. If I soften the white "O" ring, I can get the logo to face the back of the machine, but not the front.
UPDATED - I called in right after I posted this and it took no more than 5 minutes. Very friendly and they'll be sending a new hopper and lid right away, no charge, and I don't have to ship the old ones back.
Yay KitchenAid!
Brian
I'm an enigma - an enigma wrapped in a riddle, and smothered in secret sauce.
Sutremaine Senior Member Joined: 29 Nov 2006 Posts: 2 Location: S. Wales Expertise: Just starting
Posted Wed Nov 29, 2006, 1:11pm Subject: Re: Good price on the KitchenAid KPCG100ER Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder
Aw, it sucks to be in the UK right now. The shipping for this item, where it's available, is nearly as much as the grinder itself, and once it got here I'd spend more money sorting out the voltages. There are a couple of similar-looking but differently-named (Artisan, they're called) models on ebay.co.uk. One of them has the reference number 5KCG100BER -- is it the exact UK equivalent of the Pro Line? I've only just got interested in doing my own coffee, so I don't know too much about any of this.
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