Obsolete - get the Solis Maesto, unless you find this one for $80 or so.
Positive Product Points
Least expensive usable espresso grinder.
Negative Product Points
The improved "Solis Maestro" makes this one obsolete, consider it only if it's on clearance.
Detailed Commentary
My experience with home burr grinders is limited. This one‘s my third. The first, a no name $50 job, didn‘t grind fine enough for espresso machines. The second, a Briel Java, did grind fine enough, but was loud, hard to clean, and sprayed coffee all over the place.
Given that experience, I love this grinder. It grinds and cleans up with no fuss at all. There‘s no static or flying coffee grounds. And it‘s not too noisy (it‘s not quiet either, but it won‘t wake up the neighborhood).
The burrs have a conical design, and produce a nice evenly ground coffee at all settings. The upper burr is easily removed for cleaning.
My old Briel Java had a "doser" that was a bad joke, and I don‘t often hear Gaggia MDF or Rancilio Rocky owners raving about the ease of their dosers, so I‘m skeptical about the general usefulness of home dosers
For single dose espresso grinding, there is a problem - about 5 grams of ground coffee gets stuck in the chute - so it will go into the next shot and be stale. The work around: 1. Leave the upper hamper empty and measure in your shot portion in whole beans (use the same measure as for ground); then grind normally into the lower bin. 2. Remove the lower bin. 3. Pull the antistatic clip halfway out, open up the flap with your right index finger, and push the clip back in. 4. Transfer the espresso basket to your right palm, position it under the chute, while keeping the flap open with your index finger. 5. Turn on the grinder for a few seconds -- this will clear the grounds from the chute into your basket. 6. Fill your basket with the rest of the grounds. This sounds much more complicated than it actually is; it takes only a few seconds.
Buying Experience
Whole Latte Love has an exemplary coffee equipment sales site, and provides very good prices and service.
Three Month Followup
Another work around: the Solis grinders don't have the same degree of fine adjustment as higher end grinders, so sometimes one finds oneself "between" settings. The easiest solution is to grind half the dose at the finer setting, then click to the courser one halfway through the grind (going from fine to course puts less strain on the burr-carriers).
So what is it about home espresso grinders that manufacturers don't get? They're low volume, LOW VOLUME.
So they don't need dosers, hoppers, or all the rest of the commercial adjuncts. But they absolutely do need to clear all the coffee out of the grind mechanism and chute, since the next use may be hours (not minutes) away, and any residual grounds will be stale.
And they still need the fine adjustment of commercial espresso grinders.
