Not an espresso- geek-worthy unit, but for most folks with normal espresso and coffee needs this works great and is built like a tank.
Positive Product Points
Heavyweight well built grinder more suited to the drip or french press crowd, but capable of espresso grinding to a point. Simple operation to set the grind and fill the hopper. Good basic functionality as expected.
Negative Product Points
Glass receiving carafe is very fragile and easily damaged. Grinding directly into portafilter is possible but can be messy. Once set fine enough for espresso you don't have enough variation control to compensate for fine changes inherent in different batches of beans, but it will work.
Detailed Commentary
We got this when our old grinder ran out of life, and wanted a heavy duty burr grinder for all types of coffee. We'd seen a number of folks that were happy with this unit and were satisfied owners of many many Kitchenaid products already. It did a much better job than the good quality burr grinders that our friends have been using and didn't cost much more for a very robust machine. We do all types of coffee, and we've tried all the settings including making the internal adjustment to get the finest possible setting for espresso. The instruction book even details that it meets the industry standard for espresso grind size with this adjustment. The drip and french grinds all work fine, and as someone else has stated, you may get some dust using certain coffees, but it has not been a big issue as we've seen. Drip coffee grinding is flawless. As for the espresso, we used it to grind with out Silvia for a few months, and it worked OK. The only issue was when I used some lighter roasts and grinding fine, it just seemed to need the next finer setting which didn't exist, but I must tell you it worked, and the espresso was excellent. The only person who knew it wasn't optimum for that bean was me. It now runs beside our new Baratza Vario, which is dedicated to espresso, but is a better overall grinder, and you pay to get that. Overall I wouldn't suggest this to an espresso geek, but to most folks with normal espresso and coffee needs this works great and is built like a tank.
Buying Experience
Found the best price using a basic internet search. Clicked, bought, it arrived, just as expected.
