this grinder is for those that want the pinnacle taste from their coffee grinds
Positive Product Points
even grind,heavy duty burrs,convenient timer switch,
Negative Product Points
noise,plastic body. grinds get stuck in the chute sometimes. bean hopper can not take a full load of beans without getting jammed
Detailed Commentary
i bought this grinder in the hopes that i would get a better cup of coffee i waited until clearance prices started and got it at half price when the maestro came on the market. the original grinder was shipped and did not work because a flimsy tab was broken on the hopper. i avoid removing the hopper as i'm afraid this tab will break on the replacement hopper i promptly recieved from josie at barista. this grinder replaces my hearthware(delonghi) grinder that i got as part of a deal for buying the gourmet roaster. the solis 177 grinds a much more even grind and the taste of my coffee from my kitchen aid ultra compact auto drip is much better. the solis 177 is noisey but you are grinding beans so i don't know if one can really make it a quiet operation. the solis 177 has a timer knob that can be set or you can just nudge the timer knob and use it as an off/on switch. the solis 177 from barista i believe is adjusted to give a finer grinding range than the open market models. but i set it at "6" which is the upper range of the grinder settings and it works just fine for auto drip. i don't know how it would work out for a french press though. i wish it was housed in a metal chassis but in this price range i guess you can't complain. the money seems to be spent on the heavy duty burr blades which are conical. i had difficulty grinding moka kadir roasted beans that i get from sweet maria's with my hearthware (delonghi) burr grinder but experience no such problems with the solis 177 i am very satisfied with my purchase but then i got it at half the retail price so... at full price you can now get the newer edition called the solis maestro which you will want to check out in the reviews but if you can get a solis 177 for 70 bucks or so i would grab it. as far as espresso grinds i can't honestly comment as i use my zassenhaus mill for such purposes. but other reviewers can provide insight into the capabilities of the solis 177 on espresso grinding. one other thing. you can remove the bin the ground beans fall into and put your portafilter or auto drip filter holder under the chute that the grinds fall out of if you are so inclined. as far as static is concerned i really can't complain there is some on dry days but not so much on other days. supposedly there are a few tricks you can do to remedy this situation such a rubbing "bounce" anti static wipes across the outside of the hopper.
Buying Experience
barista was a pleasure to do business with i heartily reccommend
Three Month Followup
still using grinder daily 2-3 times. happy with my purchase.discovered platform that guts of grinder is on was cracked near one of the phillip screw mounts causing intermittent operation of grinder. used crazy glue to fix
