Clogged chute issues; Cheap plastic construction; Anti-static not very effective
Detailed Commentary
I had high hopes for this grinder. Unfortunately, as outlined above, the plastic construction of this unit has plagued me. First, the tab on the back that secures the coffee compartment snapped off. This happened on the first day. Solution? A piece of duct tape. Lovely! Next, one of the plastic nibs holding the grind adjustment dial to the burr setting mechanism snaps. The dial is holding on by the one remaining nib and a prayer.
Most importantly, this grinder suffers from both static AND stuck grinds. The latter is absolutely unacceptable. If you are paying for a device like this for the marginal improvement in coffee quality that it affords, you are absolutely going to care about stale grinds in your chute. Not to mention that it confounds any attempt to dose-and-grind. In other words, if your method is to fill the hopper, grind a batch, and then measure - fine. If your method is to measure first and grind only what you need, you will be unhappy to find that not all of your carefully measured coffee reaches the bin after being pulverized.
On the positive side, the vertical grind path can theoretically enable a very clean operation. The bin securely fits into position, and can be removed without grind spillage. However, the clogged chute and static make this difficult. The burrs are good and an excellent espresso grind is possible. The auto-grind knob is not useful for repeatable duration (despite claims), but it does enable hands-free operation nonetheless.
Overall - feh. I want to like this grinder, but ultimately I simply cannot!
