A surprisingly good burr grinder, for the money, for drip coffee or low end espresso.
Positive Product Points
A $70 grinder that will grind fine enough for "SOME" espresso machines (mostly low end). 24 grind settings. Good grind uniformity compared to other grinders in price range. Straight forward and easy to use. Nice timer. Coffee chute does not clog up easily and is easy to clean. Overall quality appears a touch above other grinders in this class--which is not very good to begin with. It is a surprisingly good alternative to a blade grinder.
Negative Product Points
Will not grind fine enough for "all" espresso machines. Noisy. Messy, static ejects grounds and make it difficult to scoop grounds. Burrs style crush's the beans rather than shaves them into flakes resulting in reduced flavor and coffee strength. No instant on switch. Cannot get to the burrs to clean them.
Detailed Commentary
I was pleasantly surprised with this little grinder. I could pull a passable 25 second shot (a bit pale and weak) with my Olympia Cremina and could grind fine enough to choke my old Krups 887 pump espresso machine (which is not that hard). The uniformity of the grind is superior to my old Capresso 551 or especially any blade grinder. Although I would not call this grinder a good grinder, I would call it barely passable for a grinder in general and very good for a low end grinder--which is surprising.
To use you just turn the timer to start the grind. When the grind is done you pull the coffee chamber forward to remove it and scoop out the coffee. There is a lot of static however, and it does lead to coffee everywhere.
Final analysis: Although it does not even come close to my Solis/Baratza Maestro let alone my Anfim Best, I would highly recommend the Baratza at minimum if you can afford it, and if you cannot afford it, perhaps this little grinder can get the job done for you for $50 - $70. In short, you could easily do a whole lot worse.
