Older Starbucks Barista not suitable for Rancilio Silvia
Positive Product Points
Good inexpensive grinder for normal use (I think, but I only make expresso, so I can‘t be sure). I liked it much better than my Braun flat burr grinder.
Negative Product Points
Doesn‘t grind fine enough for my Rancilio Silva. I was hoping that by paying twice the price of my Braun grinder that I could get twice the performance and it would be enough to get 25 second shots.
Detailed Commentary
Starbucks was having a Father‘s day sale on their older version Barista (i.e. Solis 166) for $99. I bought one believing that I could adjust it to a finer grind suitable for my Silvia and not spend $200 on a bean grinder. While I found instructions that claimed to allow me to adjust the Starbucks Barista (Solis 166) to a finer grind, I found that the instructions were not appropriate to the grinder that I had purchased. In fact, after taking the grinder apart (the instructions up to this point was very accurate), I found the only thing that was adjustable is how the whole bean hopper fits into the unit; and this has nothing to do with how fine the beans are ground. Oh well. I guess I‘ll just have to buy a Rancilio Rocky instead.
