There's no such thing as a free lunch. Or a $25 grinder well-suited to making espresso.
Positive Product Points
Grinder has adjustable burrs that produce a range of grinds suitable (perhaps) for drip through French press. Dual interlocks limit probability of injury through interaction with rotating burrs or spraying coffee all over the kitchen from the discharge chute. Operates with reasonable speed. Little hold-up of ground coffee in (very short) discharge chute.
Negative Product Points
Finest setting is too coarse for espresso. Machine is light: pressing "on" button requires holding grinder to create resistance against button. Adjustment is difficult -- adjustment knob does not turn easily (and with one hand holding the machine, one pressing the button, it's a three-handed contortion to adjust while grinding.) Receiving bin is fragile.
Detailed Commentary
I bought this as an intended upgrade to a blade grinder, but the finest grind available is not nearly as fine as that obtainable by whipping a portafilter's worth of beans in a blade grinder.
I can grind about 30g of coffee in about 15 seconds, but the grind produced is so coarse that I dose my Krups "steam toy" with that full amount. If I cut the shot after 30 seconds, I get about 60 ml of relatively pleasant strong coffee, with even a hint of crema.
The grind produced has a significant portion of fines, but the prevalent particle size is much too large for espresso. When I've used the ground coffee from this machine for drip coffee, it's been acceptable. The machine will grind ~3 oz. of beans in about a minute; there's no caution to allow the grinder to rest after this amount of grinding, but ~3 oz is about the maximum capacity of the built-in hopper.
The fines tend to accumulate in the (horizontal!) discharge chute, and across from the chute in the receiving bin. I ended up mixing the product in the receiving bin before pouring into a portafilter; otherwise the fines tended to clump. They'd also accumulate on the walls of the receiving bin; I rinse that after every day's use.
Cleaning is straightforward. The upper burr can be removed without tools: open the charging hopper, grasp the burr holder (which has a protrusion for the purpose), and pull upward. A brush is provided that is a good size for brushing off the burrs, but the sweep area around the burrs is easier to reach with a chopstick or other non-plastic-marring tool). If cleaned once a week, build-up doesn't appear to be significant.
If I'd bought it solely for drip, I'd probably have rated it higher. But the advertised claim that it grinds fine enough for espresso was not true, at least not with the example I have.
Buying Experience
Not really applicable -- bought at a big-box store. Checkout area smelled of artificial popcorn butter, but that's hardly a relevant complaint.
