Looking for your first serious (Espresso only) grinder? Buy this one!
Positive Product Points
+ Stepless grind adjustment + Pin-point grind control + Seems very sturdy & weel-built, with substantial enough weight to it + Fairly accurate doser w/ a minimum of grounds left behind + Platinum color matches my silver Oscar almost perfectly!
Negative Product Points
- Long dial-in process (A one-time deal, though- so no biggie) - About 3-4 grams are left in the chute per (double shot) grind - The finish is scuffed and scratched in spots <sarcasm>It MUST be the skilled artisan who thoughtfully added those marks to ensure that my grinder truly IS one of a kind! It says so in the instruction manual!</sarcasm> - The grind tray goes flying off if you even LOOK at it funny
Detailed Commentary
As I expected, I expended roughly a pound of beans for the initial dial-in. I expect the exact settings to vary slightly, as I experiment with different roasts and blends.
The doser is surprisingly accurate. As long as the ind. "chambers" are close to full, I've found that I'll get between 6.5 and 7.5 grams per pull.
I've noticed that the grind adjustment wheel rotates toward the "fine" side while in operation- I've put marks on my wheel as a reference point so that I can see any movement and adjust/correct it and to better visualize any adjustments that I may make.
The beans did clog the entry into the burrs once and when I stopped to remove the hopper, I sent beans flying everywhere- It's kinda tough to remove the hopper "gently"....
Buying Experience
My girlfriend got this for me on espressoparts.com. The only delay was from UPS not being able to deliver to my street due to a tornado- that's right, a freakin' tornado in suburban Los Angeles- which brought down trees, utility poles and power lines effectively blocking off my street for 2 days.
EPNW did have my UPS tracking no. and shipping info within reach when I called and asked- which helped in tracking my wayward Christmas present.
Three Month Followup
So far, nothing has ghanged in terms of the machine's performance. I can still crank out excellent, 27 sec. shots with very little adjustment to the grind setting. I guess I have the better version of the hopper- as I've dropped once, but it's still perfectly intact.
I've found that the rubber feet don't grip very well- I've noticed that it "walks" a little over my countertop over the course of a few days. I solved that by cutting some non-skid shelf paper to size and placing the grinder on top.
