Not a great grinder, but a good one. A step up from a whirly blade grinder.
Positive Product Points
Produces a much better grind than a whirly blade grinder.
Easy to use.
Not too big. Does not take up a lot of space.
Negative Product Points
Uneven grind at course setting.
Difficult to clean.
Detailed Commentary
I purchased this unit at costco.com for about $60.00(US).
This grinder is very easy to use. Rotate the bean hopper to the desired grind setting, put the beans in the bean hopper, and rotate the power dial to grind. The bean hopper is big enough hold a fair amount of coffee (the instructions say 250 grams. I convert that to about 1/2 a pound, but it looks like it would hold more. I‘m not sure though). The power dial acts as a timer and can be used as to grind a set amount of coffee. It can also be used to manually turn the grinder on and off by rotating the dial on and then rotating it back to turn it off.
This grinder is a huge step up from a whirly blade grinder. It produces far less dust and a more consistant even grind than a whirly blade grider; however, it is not perfect. It will produce a fair amount of dust at any grind setting. When set to a course grind setting, it will produce a range of grind sizes (some huge pieces, some course pieces, some medium fine pieces, and some dust).
I use this grinder mostly for French press brewing and sometimes vacuum pot brewing. I do not know how it will do for espresso. I do not have an espresso maker and have never made espresso, but I have read that this grinder does not grind fine enough for most espresso makers.
I find it difficult to clean. The top hopper which holds the beans can be easily removing by rotating it. This allows for half of the conical grind mechanism to be removed allowing it and the unremovable part to be cleaned with an included brush. However, the path the grounds must travel to get to the bottom hopper is almost horizontal. This area is inaccessible. I must use a vacuum cleaner to suck up everything in there. I find that kind of a hassle, but necessary for me. I only grind enough coffee for a small French Press maker (one heaping tablespoon). If I am not fastidious about this cleaning, the left over grounds still present in this chute could constitute about 10% to 20% in my next batch of grounds. This is enough stale coffee to ruin my brew. For those grinding much more than a heaping tablespoon, the left over grounds in the chute will be considerably less as a percentage and might not impart any foul flavors in your next brew. So this much cleaning may not be necessary for those grinding large batches of coffee.
I do not have any kind of static problems with this grinder. It does not shoot coffee all over my kitchen. Some people have reported static problems; this may vary on region.
If you don‘t have a grinder or have a whirly blade grinder, and you are wanting to improve your brew, this inexepensive grinder should be satifactory. If you need something for espresso (from what I‘ve read) or desire an extremely even grind and/or easier cleaning, you may need to shop for something more expensive.
