I purchased this unit based upon the reviews in this site. Mine has worked perfectly right out of the box! It is a real treat to have a quiet unit in our kitchen compared to the blade grinder it supplants! Now I can grind my coffee fresh every morning without waking the rest of the house!

The only fault I find is that the static builds up on the plastic receptacle and coffee grounds go flying when one pulls the receptacle from the machine. It would also be helpful if the grind gradations were more elaborately described in the manual.

I owned a Braun blade grinder for the past 13 or 14 years. A testament to this design is that they still sell the same unit. It served me well and doesn't owe me a dime. The blades wore out and I needed a better grind. I purchased the Barista because of price and quiet operation. All of the positives in the reviews herein convinced me of the quality. I got what I expected and once again I'm chuffed. My last purchase was a Capresso MT-500 and these two units make coffee that I am 100% pleased with. My morning brew is a combination ( half & half ) of Continental Dark plus Fazenda Vista Alegre from Canada's '2nd Cup'. This combination gives me very strong but smooth brew. I have been mixing this blend for 10 years!
Since I purchased the Barsita grinder, the coffee tastes better. My brew is full of the tastes I expect and they are just; enhanced!

The buying experience was a bit of a turnoff. I went to a Starbucks here in Canada, asked about the price and was told by the manager that the unit was on sale the week of Nov.1st. at a 25% discount. I returned on that day and was told the sale would not begin for a week. Given I'd been told differently, I asked if they'd go ahead and sell me the unit for the reduced price. I did not want to return but the pricing was too attractive. They refused to be helpful. I returned this week and purchased the unit; mildly annoyed at their inflexibility! I wouldn't purchase anything else from this particular store!