A mess in more than one way. Read before you buy one.
Positive Product Points
Grinds OK for drip and press, barely.
Negative Product Points
Several. Read detailed commentary. Cheap burrs, too much plastic, awkward settings, coffee dust, static, hard to clean.
Detailed Commentary
Only grinds OK for drip and press coffee. Even in those cases, the grind is inconsistant. When you grind, the grounds shoot out near the lid and the 'dust' grounds clump and stick to the upper corner while the correct size grounds fall to the bottom. Between the static and the dust, it is a mess to say the least. Not only is it messy, but the dust is very strange - usually coffee dust is a result of a blade grinder. The dust is probably a result of the burrs spinning too fast. On the finest setting the grounds are not even close to fine enough for espresso. I plan to give this machine to a friend of mine who drinks a ton of crappy coffee and doesn't know a thing about coffee. Cleaning of this thing is another adventure on its own. The top burr locks and unlocks awkwardly and the position of your hand inside the hopper to do so is a knuckle buster. Too many grounds/dust particles stay inside the blow-hole and burr area. This thing is a real catastrophe. If you are starting out, you will save money by going straight for a $125 grinder (Solis) for drip and press. Anything less will have to be replaced due to wear and tear or crappy grind and you'll just be spending more in the end. If you are making espresso go straight for a $200 machine like the Gaggia MDF, or better. It may seem like too much to spend, but the quality grinders don't need to be replaced and the burrs only need replacing every few years.
Buying Experience
Very strange purchasing from AabreeCoffee.com. The first time I ordered from them I ordered on a Thursday and it shipped on Monday. This time it took about 4 business days. I emailed customer service and didn't hear back for 2 days. Apparently they were out of stock and forgot to update the website with this info. They told me it was shipping from the manufacturer. When I received the item, there was a bill of lading showing that it was billed to WholeLatteLove.com and shipped from an importer. Since Aabree and WLL are both in Victor, NY I'm guessing one owns the other or they are somehow affiliated. The item had scratches all on the inside of the hopper due the the upper burr not being secured in place during shipping. Although they have a very nice website, I do not think I'll be ordering from AabreeCoffee again.
