small; sharp looking; makes excellent grounds; very little static; matches my bucky's barista espresso machine burrfectly.

still a lot of $$$ for a grinder; $150 cnd is a LOT of money I could have spent on coffee - like 12 lbs worth...lacks a cleaning brush (cheapo buckys could have thrown one in)...bit of a pain to clean...and a simple on/off switch would be good...timer kind of useless.

So my roomie SHOCKS me by buying this grinder as a gift  - all I can say is WOW :)

I'm a big fusshead when it comes to my morning brew and have been openly debating on getting a burr grinder to see if there would be a palpable difference with freshly ground beans vs. beans ground at the LCS (local coffee shop/store) and used within 2 weeks/stored in an airtight jar. First off, yes there is a difference and it is for the better (but not mindblowing)...plus there is the convenience of controlling the grind for different styles of coffee.

There has been some discussion about the fineness of the ground produced on this machina but I have only been able to excellent results and pairs perfectly with my barista espresso machine - perhaps if I had a rancillio or other brand it would require an even finer grind (apparently the starbucks burr grinder can me modified to a finer setting with a little work - do a google on modify starbucks grinder to see), but I do not go for turkish coffee (yucko) so it suits me just fine. Plus it makes awesome coarse grind for the french press.

Starbucks should have included a cleaning tool to brush out the grounds from the burr; but they are just cheap. You can find something in  a dollar store that will work, and also I have had no static discharge so far as others complained about - but that maybe due to living in the wet wet NorthWest and not arizona....

I do not like the fact there is no on/off switch and using the timer is useless because when you adjust the ground finess you desire with the rotating grind selector  - the length of time you choose is irrelevant because once your beans complete grinding at the set-grind; there are no more beans to grind and the burrs just burr empty-ly.  I understand the grind selector. I understand an on off switch. But the timer is redundant. I do not think it damages anything by letting it grind a bit empty-ly (when there are no beans in the hopper), but on a design/coffee-sophical level it fails.

But the machine is a great size, fits discretely anywhere and is pretty quiet so all in all a good little package despite its high price. Just make sure you bug the store for some complimentary coffee beens.

Is it worth $150 can or $90 US? I'm just not sure...it is still a pricey add-on which can buy beaucoup java...and it would be a no-brainer if was $75 cnd or $50 US...so if you got the cash and like your toys/convenience and have elevated to the "next" level of enjoying coffee - yes it is worth it.

It was a gift so awesome; but the store "forgot" to include the complimentary coffee beans. So I had to go to the local buckys and explain what happened and they threw in half-a-pound (without a receipt). Kudos to that!