A great grinder marred by a design flaw, which may now have been addressed.
Positive Product Points
Grinds finely, and consistently. Reasonably quiet.
Negative Product Points
Otherwise sturdy design betrayed by serious weak points.
Detailed Commentary
This is a hard review to write, as I really liked the machine, untill it broke. The grind was consistent, could be made very fine, and was quite quiet compared to the capresso grinder I'd tried before. I liked the design of the machine too, and found it easy to use.
The problem was that the grinder would drop coffee grounds into the inside of the casing, and these would clog up the grind adjuster, making it hard to move. Cleaning the machine requires removing the hopper, which means moving the gunked up grind adjuster, and this resulted in small tabs that connect with the grind adjusters breaking off. When I tried to contact Solis about this, they told me that this was because I had tried to adjust the machine without running the grinder, and that I should not do this in future. They reparied the unit free of charge, after which I avoided making such adjustments. Sadly, the same thing happened again after a couple of months. I then returned the grinder.
I've since heard (from Don Cummings review on this site) that Solis is offering upgrades that apparently make these weak adjuster fins much stronger. I've not seen this upgrade, but I wish I had, because if it truly resolves this problem, I would still be using this grinder.
Buying Experience
The vendor, whole latte love, were absolutely excellent. This is the second grinder I'd returned to them, and I must have seemed a very awkward customer, but they refunded my money even though I was outside of the 30 day evaluation period. That is real service.
