A beautiful, (almost) infinately adjustable, quality grinder at a good price.
Positive Product Points
Very consistant grind quality. 1/4 turn yields slightly less than 1/4 oz change in volume per 25 seconds. Doser doesn't leave much behind. And it's pretty! (got one of the first aluminum finishes). Very even grind.
Negative Product Points
The hopper seems a little flimsy, but hasn't given me any trouble yet. The doser clicks are a bit loud. The feet stain my counter tops.
Detailed Commentary
Had a basic black on order, but Terry at Espresso Parts NW called and said they were out of black, but a new aluminum finish was available. I jumped at it.
The packing materials were good. EPNW put the Innova box in another box surrounded by a couple inches of packing shells. Shipped very securely.
On initial inspection fit and finish were very good. The feet leave grey streaks on my white counter. I move it back and forth quite a bit, so I cut out a piece of cardboard for it to sit on. Problem solved. Eventually I'll make it to the hardware store to replace them.
After cleaning up the grinder ( Mr. Princes initial look was very helpful) I started the dial-in process. Thanks to the previous review I was able to get it in the ball park after about six shots, stable results after about a dozen. I must have had lower expectations because I have no gripes about the speed. It takes me 13 seconds to grind a double shot. It works out well using the Rancilio Sylvia cheat. I start the grinder and the pump (last cycle) at the same time, and the grinder finishes about 2 seconds after the Sylvia light comes on.
Some random thoughts.. The doser lid is convenient for holding grounds when clearing out the chute of old coffee. I keep a short piece of kabob skewer (bamboo) to clean out the chute and get all the coffee out after grinding. A fair amount of grinds escape from around the doser, especially where it attaches to the grinder. I thought the doser was loud, but I haven't woken up anyone yet (I was up at 5:00 AM sunday to watch the Grand Prix of San Marino, and you need a cappa for that). If you push the portafilter back as far as the guide allows you, you're going to spill some coffee. I spill coffee anyway. The top pops off easily for cleaning. And my Sylvia portafilter fits no problem.
Buying Experience
Espresso Parts NW has been very responsive to questions on both orders I've placed with them. While they lack on-line order tracking like some of the larger suppliers, they make up for it with good customer service.
Three Month Followup
Still plugging along. The grind clumps up a bit, but good quality espresso.
One Year Followup
Actually the six year follow up. Just took the doser apart to clean, and examined the workings of the doser. In a word, junk. I've always had the experience of the doser not indexing, which I always worked around by taking the lid off the doser and using a finger to force it to click in at the next stop. The index wheel looks to be aluminum, and the index spring is a hair too short, hence the problems indexing. Were I ambitous, I would make a better spring, but espressoparts.com, the importer last I checked, has the index spring for under $2. Problem is, they may have to order it from spain. The replacement doser is $76, and you can't convert it to a chute. The grind still clumps up a bit as well. Next time I have the price of a mini-mazzer burning a hole in my pocket, I'll replace this.
