versatile quality grinder suitable for daily use along with a good-looking design without the need for constant maintenance
Positive Product Points
sturdy design, aesthetically pleasing on counter, high quality prosumer design
Negative Product Points
oily beans tend to stick above gears, greasy parts interfered with the cleaning
Detailed Commentary
i have enjoyed using and getting to know this grinder over the past six months. I am pleased with the grinds produced by this machine ranging from a course french-press to a near-fine espresso grade. Following the instructional guide for how to reset the gears for a finer espresso grind is a must - although after performing this adjustment i find that leaving the grinder on setting 7 produces the best results for my Breville 800ESXL. Setting 1 works perfectly well for a french press. I have used settings 4-5 for bringing fresh ground coffee to work.
My first complaint is that oily beans tend to stick in the area directly above the grinding gears requiring me to violently shake the machine while it's grinding. Sometimes i even have to turn the unit sideways or upside down to get the grinding to start again. I am not comfortable poking anything down into the beans while grinding for fear that it will hit the gears and grind off part of whatever would be stuck down there. To alleviate this problem I finally discovered that if i turned the grinder on before pouring the beans into the hopper it they would stick far less.
My second complaint is that i encountered a lot of grease on the burrs when cleaning it - and the brush which i was cleaning it with touched the grease which resulted in spreading it around, and probably spreading a thin layer wherever the greased brush touched next. It required hot soapy water to clean the brush of the black mess comprising of grease and coffee grind dust.
Overall I have been pleased with the grinder, I use it one to two times daily and with the exception of the occasional bean sticking issue it has never failed me. After changing my habit to turn the grinder on before adding beans it works near-flawlessly.
Buying Experience
amazon.com works well as always
Three Month Followup
still working great, needs monthly cleaning.
One Year Followup
working as strong as the day i purchased. writing this comment is reminding me that i need to clean it - it works so reliably i often forget it needs any maintenance at all.
