Professional Conical Burr Coffee Grinder, Black/Silver, 8.5-Oz.

Update: After 6 years it's still going strong!! I was just looking at my past orders and noticed this was purchased in 2015. I use it daily and it works 100% after hundreds of pounds of coffee. I make cold brew daily and go through 4 lbs of coffee a month easily. I also make espresso and regular coffee using this machine. Swapping beans not super easy but I don't have experience with other machines so it could be that they are all the same.I will say that it's messy to use and I don't like the nose level or the fact that the indicator is hard to find. I also think there are cheaper better models today but at the time this was it. Unlike some on here who have complained about the longevity, I have not had that experience.I am fairly new to the concept of all the gadgetry involved with making coffee and espresso. I am however a long time consumer of kitchen gadgets and shopping for a good value.SUMMARY: Works exceptionally well, looks great, easy to operate and has all the necessary functionality. I cant speak on the longevity which would factor into the overall value.OUT OF THE BOX - It feels heavy and sturdy and it looks nice on my kitchen counter top. It was straight forward to put together simple attach the hopper and insert the catcher and plug it in.OPERATING - There are two settings, one for the grind the other for the amount determined by number of cups. You put the beans in the hopper spin it to adjust your grind, select the number of cups on the side dial and push the large button the front and its working. The coffee pours into the catch and turns itself off once it has met the time allotted for the number of cups.GRIND - I have not used a microscope or compared it to 10 other machines grind results. Frankly I couldn't point out the grind from this over another machine any day of the week. I can say it looks very uniform and the finest grind makes a fine powder that makes great espresso.Everything I read indicates that once you are going through all this amount of effort to make great fresh coffee/espresso, you should probably only grind what you are going to use and store what you are not in an air tight container.SINGE CONCERN - The only issue I have is that if the hopper gets empty before the timer runs out it spins at a super high rpm and sounds like it is going to damage the machine which it probably would if I were not there to turn it off. So while its nice to not have to hold my finger on the machine the entire time maybe have an auto shut off mechanism that senses when its empty. They probably have that on more expensive ones so its not really an issue just know you should not leave the room if you think there are more cups selected than beans in the hopper.CONCLUSION - I bought this one because it is the best value for a "conical burr" machine and it got great reviews. I can at least feel that my coffee grinds are as good as they can be and all my fancy coffee/espresso gadgets are not being degraded by the inferior grind. I am giving my beans and equipment every opportunity to make a great cup of jo!

12/8 UPDATE: This grinder has all but stopped working. Customer service was barely helpful, just responding with an address for warranty work. I cannot recommend this grinder.11/11 UPDATE: Having owned this for less than a year, we're having problems with it. We now have to slam the grinder on the counter every time we put the basket back in for it to grind. I'm guessing it's a faulty safety switch.Also, some coffee blends produce a TON of static in this grinder. This was not an issue with our previous grinder.I want to like this grinder, but it's kind of letting us down.ORIGINAL: Great, consistent grindWe bought this grinder after our old one broke. The old one was our first burr grinder and while we liked it, I can't say it had the amazing consistency of grind for which burr grinders are known. It was also incredibly noisy. You get what you pay for.In researching what we'd get next, I learned that "conical" burr grinders are better than "disc" burr grinders. This grinder meets that requirement (being conical) but also provides a much more consistent grind. While the construction doesn't feel industrial/commercial quality, it feels very sound. There are about 20 (more or less) grind settings of which we use 1, but at least we know we could switch to French press or drip without changing grinders. Finally, and perhaps this is relative to the old one, this grinder is pretty quiet. Not "baby is sleeping and I'll use it anyway" quiet, but it's still quiet for a coffee grinder.

My experience is totally the opposite of some of these reviews. First, it is not quiet, it sounds something like the vacuum cleaner - but that doesn't bother me for the time it takes to grind enough coffee for a cup.I've started grinding again recently as I've been buying my beans in bulk (cheaper). Pulled out my old Pavani, which I use for regular coffee, and bought this Espressione unit which I use for decaf. I only do one cup at a time.The grind is beautifully fine (and consistent) - and I could go finer if I wanted to, which would be several grinds finer than my Pavoni gives me. Whenever I finish grinding with the Pavani, there are grounds sticking to the top and sides of the gound coffee hamper; I open it up and get a certain amount of ground coffee around the counter area. When I grind with the Espressioni there is very little static, no coffee is stuck to the lid and very little to the sides and bottom. My counter stays completely clean, and I don't waste any coffee.In contrast to another reviewer, my ground coffee container does have a max line, but I don't get anywhere near it grinding one cup's worth at a time.I plan on buying a second one for my regular coffee, it is such a pleasure to use!Added 25 Sept 11: I purchased a second grinder, this time from Amazon. There are differences from the first. The labels on the grind coarseness/fineness are different. The first one labels them clearly from fine to coarse, with several degrees you can choose in between. The second one labels only 1 to 15, and I had to hunt through the manual to find where it said which end was fine and which was coarse.As one reviewer complained above, there is indeed no marking for MAX on the cup. Not a big deal, as the max line is right where the little lip is at the top of the collection cup that its lid sits on.The cup for the second grinder is slightly less anti-static than my first one. So obviously there are differences from one to the next - I guess these can be "treated" non-uniformly.A reviewer complained that they had to keep giving the grinder a shake while grinding as it would stop pulling the beans into the grinder. Yes, I have experienced this with my first one - but not the second one. I give it a little shake or slap on the side. ;) Works everytime. Again, not a big deal.All in all this grinder is still head and shoulders above any other coffee grinder I have ever owned.