****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I understand that this is neither a conical nor a ceramic grinder, but with its 55 mm flat steel burrs it does a terrific job. It has replaced my formerly-go-to Bunn commercial grinder after many years of service. I am using this for pour-over coffee, which the manufacturer endorses as an acceptable use in addition to grinding beans for espresso (which I have not done, so I can't comment on that).The user-controls are superb, as is the angle of the shoot -- the ground coffee flows effortlessly in to my pour-over filter holder with wet filter paper already in it, that I hold with one hand (I momentarily press the button that is now behind the filter holder with the other hand, easy to do, no problem as there are with other machines that depend on a portafilter hitting the start button automatically when installed (which will work on this model too, but you can still reach the button to manually start the machine, a thoughtful feature). No need to hold the button down, the timer function shuts off the grinding automatically (just do a few experiments to dial-in the correct grind and the correct grinding time, both of which settings survive a power-off, the grind setting because it is a manual control, and the time setting because the manufacturer thought this thru ... you can even lock-out the time adjustment buttons so that no one can re-set your chosen time accidentally without knowing the magic button-press sequence to unlock, clever!).The machine does not move at all on the counter while grinding, so you don't need to hold it down. Hence one hand is free while the grinding happens, which is useful since I am grinding for about 20 seconds (21.5 to be exact, since I have set this on the machine); I turn on the kettle to boil the water, etc.The grind consistency is perfect, every time, and the clean-up is trivial, a quick swipe with a brush. No fly-away grinds at all (a constant problem with my old Bunn). Plus, as other reviewers have said, the machine is very quiet, compact, and looks very cool on the counter ... my guests always comment on it! And it's reasonably priced compared to others in this class.The bean hopper is not opaque, and does not have a vacuum push-down sealing membrane, so I only add beans to grind right away. I would prefer to keep some beans in the hopper, and re-fill only every-few-days. So I have ordered a custom stainless-steel 5-sided (no-top) box (aka inverted tray) to turn upside-down and act as a sheath-like cover for the hopper (from one of the very-reasonable on-line metal machine shops), and some silicone pads to trim and make a push-down seal. I'll let you know how it all turns out. I am matching the mirror-finish of the machine itself, so I hope it all looks good and not "home-made", we'll see. If the ugly "very shallow I-care-too-much-about-looks and love to show-off" me surfaces, I could always remove the metal sheath and hide it when company comes over ... and when the snooty guests say "you shouldn't expose coffee beans to light" I can produce the custom-made metal part with a flourish and with my best snark say "if I knew you knew that fact then I would have left the cover I had custom-machined in place, I only took it off to expose these beautifully-roasted dark beans".
