Baratza G 285 Maestro Conical Burr Grinder Review

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(More customer reviews)I've owned this grinder for a year. I needed a cheap burr grinder with a good reputation, capable of properly grinding beans for espresso (a difficult task). At $99, the Maestro was the best choice to accompany my Starbucks Barista (manufactured by Saeco), bought locally through craigslist. I'm not crazy about the pressurized portafilter (nor are most espresso drinkers) but this is best I can do until I get out of grad school and can afford the Silvia.
Procedure: I buy freshly roasted beans, grind them with the finest grind, preheat the portafilter, and tamp with an aftermarket aluminum tamper.
The result: weak espresso that runs fast and lacks flavor and crema. In one year I have never pulled a good shot--just mediocre shots that are better in mixed than straight--and I can still taste the poor quality when mixed.
To investigate, I broke one major rule and ground the beans ahead of time with Whole Food's commercial grinder in the store (ideally, you grind seconds before brewing--I brewed the next day). Next day, same routine. Results: delicious, near perfect shots, worth sipping and savoring. Dark red crema, slow pulls, complex flavor. I never pulled a shot like this before.
Conclusion: I'll be grinding my beans in the store from now on. It wasn't the machine, it was the grinder. So don't buy the Maestro if you want good espresso, it WILL NOT do the job. ("minor" side note: for those interested in good drip and french press coffee, the Maestro is a great choice).
To quote coffeegeek.com: "I can make a better shot of espresso with a $200 espresso machine and a $400 grinder than I can with a $2,000 espresso machine and no grinder (or a blade grinder)... and it's absolutely true."

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The Maestro Conical Burr Grinder is one of the most eye pleasing grinders on the market, but the beauty isn't skin deep. Inside is the heart of a great grinder that can grind coffee beans for any coffee brewer, whether it is an espresso machine, drip coffee maker, or French press coffee maker. The Maestro is designed and assembled in the USA with lots of innovative features built in including a list of unique features requested by some of America 's most respected coffee experts.Some of the most requested features include: smooth, quiet operation, (from enhanced motor noise isolation); conical (coned shaped) Swiss made cutting burrs that give a fine grind critical for perfect espresso extraction and more than a 50% greater grinding adjustment compared to other grinders in its class. You can adjust the grind range from a fine setting for a Turkish grind and espresso, up to a nice, even, coarser grind for a French press.

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Lello Ariete Burr Coffee Grinder Review

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(More customer reviews)(UPDATE 2008: What's with the $50.00 price tag? When I bought this, it was $30.00 and well worth the price! It still works as I've listed below, but I would never contend that there aren't better grinders. At $50.00, it's approaching the price of more functional machines. Yes, it works well, but $50.00?)
This grinder works well. It's a very significant improvement over my blade grinder. It has two ridged wheels facing one another with an angle of somewhere between 10 and 20 degrees between the edges of the wheels. The beans go in the hopper up on top and fall through the shoot into the spinning wheels. The ridges on the wheels are dull to the touch, so the beans get crushed as they pass through with no cutting occuring at all. The grounds come out extraordinarily uniform in size and by turning the hopper, you can select a grind size from the fineness of flour upwards to a size larger than one would generally use for drip. It's also very fast; MUCH faster than a blade grinder. Unlike the reviews I've read of other low-priced burr grinders, this one is very clean. The chute from which the grounds are expelled projects slightly into the collecting bin, so they are all neatly collected without spillage. The collecting bin comes off of the grinder, which makes sticking a scoop in the bin to transport the grounds to the espresso filter easy. Also, because the whole collecting bin comes off, it's easy to rinse the bin in the sink after every use. The body of the machine is made up of about one quarter stainless steel and three quarters plastic. Of some concern to me is the report of a later poster that his machine is all plastic: I wonder if Lello altered the machine construction since I posted my review in April of 2006? Ah well, I can only report on my own results...
Unlike another reviewer, I had no problems manipulating the various parts of the grinder (e.g., removing the collecting bin), the collecting bin's cover did not fly off spontaneously, and the hopper cover was easy to lift off of the machine. I do agree with one reviewer that, unlike a blade grinder, this machine is a bit large to store in a cabinet between cans of tunafish. Plan on setting it on the counter.
The two potential complaints I have about it don't bother me much:
1- It's very loud, but because it grinds so quickly, this doesn't bother me, as it's not loud for long.
2- You select the amount that you want the machine to grind, but at the lowest amount and the finest setting, it doesn't grind the amount selected, so I have to set the dial to grind for four cups when I want two. Not a big deal once you figure it out.

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Lello Ariete Burr Coffee Grinder

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Capresso 560 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder, Brushed Silver Finish Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought the model 565 instead because it is actually metal and weighs about twice as much as the plastic one. I wanted something solid. This one is. It sits vibration free on the counter while grinding. I tried two other grinders before this one. You will find negative reviews on them somewhere here.
I have been using this one for a couple of weeks now and LOVE it. It does a great job grinding the beans, even flavored, very oily dark roast, the bane of most grinders.. I found the right grind setting for my beans,gold filter and Krups drip pot after only a couple of tries. Makes wonderful coffee. I don't make Expresso, so I can't speak to that. There are five finer settings than the one I use and ten that are courser. I think most people could find one that would work for them. I don't clean it after every use as recommended. Maybe once a week or so. I've had no problems so far.
It's much quieter than any other grinder I've used and I have had very little static problem. Nothing a light tap on the side doesn't handle.
It's not perfect, but as close as I can afford. Bottom line: spend a little more and get the 565. It's worth it.

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For maximum aroma and flavor retention nothing beats the Infinity Conical Burr Grinder.Computer controlled special grinding heads cut the angles and shapes of the steel burrs to within 1/10 mm precision.Burrs are produced as matched pairs and are hand assembled in Switzerland for precise fit.The multiple gear motor produces the slowest grinding action of any grinder resulting in highest precision grinding from Turkish fine to percolator coarse.The Infinity is also the lowest noise conical burr grinder in its class.Timer can be set to grind from 5 to 60 seconds.See through bean container holds up to 8.8 ounces of beans and the tight fitting ground coffee container holds up to 4-ounces of ground coffee.Cleaning Brush and Measuring Scoop are included.The Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder gas elegant, timeless and user friendly design.

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Baratza Virtuoso Coffee Grinder - Baratza 585 Review

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(More customer reviews)Since I have only had the Virtuoso for three months I will not discuss the long-term quality. Because I use it primarily for press pot, drip and small espresso batches I was not looking to get a solid consumer grinder, like the more expensive Rancilio Rocky or Mazzer Mini.
Previously I have owned a Starbucks Barista (the Solis verson, not the newer Saeco Titan verson) and the Capresso Infinity 560 Black. The Barista had a long and happy life, and after performing the hack (see coffeegeek.com), made great coffee and pretty good espresso. The Capresso was excellent for drip & press coffee, but only adequate for espresso. I would happily recommend each of these for people that just want a pretty solid cup of Joe, and do not mind it being slightly heated in the process. The Capresso was still running solidly, so do not infer it died early (it cheerfully grinds my wife's flax seeds very well now), I just wanted something better for my espresso shots.
After briefly considering the Gaggia MDF I looked at the Virtuoso, mainly for three, important, reasons.
First I was very happy with my Solis/Starbucks grinder, it lasted for over 10 years of heavy use. The hack allowed it to make good espresso. Baratza has been involved with selling the Solis products, and are the designers of the Maestro and Maestro Plus grinder (yes, thats right they are THEIR machines, not Solis). After talking to a few of the locally operated coffee shops, invaluable advice, I was able to learn more about the company.
Second, many of the negative reviews were early in the introduction of the product. What I appreciated, and what the shop owners told me about, is the serious approach to resolving any issues the product has and updating the product itself. Each issue has been addressed, burr design, machine rpm, cleanliness, fineness settings, etc. Important to me was that the later reviews, specially by some of the talking heads, were far better than the earlier versions of the Virtuoso.
Third the current version of the product, it is an affordable ($200 in some cases slightly less) grinder with a professional burr, over 40 settings (it can be easily hacked to allow for finer or coarser setting- something I have not needed to do yet. That information is posted in the FAQ of the Baratza website), and lower rpm motor (very important if you do not wish to heat the ground beans, or use a heavy French Roast as I do). It is easy to clean with the supplied brush, but hand wash and rinse well, the washable parts. Absolutely do not wash the container in the dishwasher, unless you wish destroy the anti-static properties of the container, plus it isn't necessary.
After figuring out what settings work best for my three purposes, I am getting a coffee that is as good as I would get in even some of the better local establishments in Portland. My espresso is not quite as good, but then I do not have Mazzer's and a thousand dollar plus espresso machine. For my purposes the espresso is far better than I have made on my own in the past.
It may be only a perception, but it seems as though I am using fewer beans as I have in the past as well, important as coffee prices rise. This is a great grinder for its niche, one can get better, but you will have to pay more, and be seriously addicted to Barista quality espresso.

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Includes Baratza 585 Virtuoso Coffee Grinder.

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Baratza 885 Vario Espresso Coffee Grinder Review

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(More customer reviews)I agonized for a long time before spending over $400 on a grinder. I started off thinking that I would spend no more than a quarter of that amount but after reading numerous reviews, I came to the conclusion that the cheap grinders just don't work very well. The Vario is so new that I didn't find any meaningful reviews but I took a chance based on its specifications. I'm very satisfied with it. It looks good, it grinds extremely fast (at least compared to anything I have used before, 20 sec. for enough coffee for a 32 oz French press), there are lots of different grind settings (macro and micro giving lots of combinations), and there are no static problems to throw grounds over the kitchen worktop. The grind appears to be uniform as far as I can tell.
I use it for grinding coffee for a French press. I find setting it a little finer than filter gives the right results for my tastes -- I don't know whether that means its pre-settings are too coarse or whether I just prefer a rich, dirty cup of coffee (I think probably the latter as I'm a Greek/Turkish coffee fan as well as a fan of French press). I have tried it for Greek/Turkish coffee on its finest setting but it did not get it fine enough for that purpose -- that does not matter to me as I already have an Athena brass hand-mill. I use the Vario twice a day to make coffee for my French press and it works just great albeit I set it finer than the manufacturer's setting for French press.

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The Baratza Vario is a professional grade coffee grinder suitable for use at home, at the office or in your café. The Vario has a small footprint with impressive features including 230 distinct and repeatable grind settings from fine grind for espresso to course grind for press pot. One touch dosing is made easy using three user programmable buttons. The 54mm ceramic burr set is manufactured in Germany by Mahlkönig and provides accurate, fast grinding performance, remaining sharp for up to twice the lifetime of the finest steel burrs. The high torque DC motor and belt drive transmission insure smooth operation with minimal heat generation. All controls are mounted on the front of the Vario for easy accessibility. It also includes both a ground coffee collection bin and also Baratza's exclusive PortaHolder for hands free grinding into an espresso machine portafilter.

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Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder Review

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(More customer reviews)I have used three grinders in the past 5 years, one blade and two wheel burr grinders, all broke or were dusty and noisy. This is the first conical wheel grinder I have owned and I cannot compare it to its comparable competitor, the Capresso, and I have only used it a dozen times or so, However, I am impressed by its quality, it is beautifully made and the huge reduction in noise was most welcome. The big plus...I set the timer, press start and walk away, no holding lids down, no coffee flying around etc. Just for the reduction in noise, its quality and the fire and forget operation makes it a 5. It grinds coffee very consistently and the grind is adjusted easily. Is it perfect? No. Two items I noticed. It has a 30 second timer...I need more time so I set it for 20 seconds and do two grinds...not an issue but for me, but wanted to tell you. Second, the ground coffee compartment is shaped in a manner that has insets so its not as easy to clean out and I have to empty the coffee carefully. Still I recommend this and am impressed. It is quality!I will provide a six month review to see if this maintains its operation.
After six months my initial views remain the same, a very fine grinder!

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Beautifully designed, this conical burr grinder features adjustable settings for various grind options. Choose from ultra-fine for Turkish coffee or large and coarse for percolators. The settings offer consistently shaped grinds and even extraction, which is the key to producing flavorful coffee. In addition, the unit's metal conical burrs preserve more natural bean flavor than blade drivers due to the slower grind nature. The grinder comes equipped with a removable bean hopper that holds 1/2 pound of coffee beans, and its stainless-steel/polymer base offers start and stop control, as well as an on/off switch. Other highlights include a variable timer with 10 to 30 seconds of grind time, anti-static technology, and a removable burr for convenient cleaning. The conical burr grinder measures 5-1/4 by 7 by 11-1/4 inches.

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Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinders Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been through a couple of burr grinders - the Gaggia MM and a Melitta, so when it came time to buy a new one, I knew what I didn't want - a noisy, dusty grinder that wears out quickly. I've pretty much found it with the Capresso Infinity.
I did some reading, and depending on what you need, it's amazing how much you can spend for a burr grinder - they range up to $400 and beyond. The main features I was interested in, though, were available in the sub-$200 range. For my pump espresso machine, these features included:
>consistent, even grind - for better tasting coffee
>"reduction" gearing - where the grinder motor speed is slowed down without loosing grinding torque, resulting in less static and dust
>less noise - it's nice to have conversations while making coffee
>durable, long lasting quality - I wanted to keep my third grinder for longer than a year.
The Capresso Infinity has delivered on the first three points, and looks good regarding durability. It has commercial grade grinders, which produce an even, consistent grind. With the reduction gearing, it grinds with a nice, even drone - more like a diesel truck than a jet plane taking off. And the dust that used to fly everywhere is gone - the slower speed has virtually eliminated the static. I've found it easy to use as well - one twist dial that works like the old dial timers - twist to the time setting you want, and it grinds until the time expires.
NOTE - I did read where one person had a problem with the timer where he couldn't turn it off. That may be because he tried to turn it backwards, which is not what the directions recommend. To stop grinding, you turn the bean hopper to the "no grind" mode; otherwise, you can break the switch.
Overall, I am pleased with the purchase. The only real adjustment has been figuring out the proper grind level again. The "extra fine" settings will create a fine powder that is too fine for my machine. However, once I switched to the "fine" setting, it has worked great. The amazing extra benefit is how much better the coffee tastes - the fine, even grind makes for maximum flavor extraction. So matter what grinder you buy, go for one that grinds more evenly - you'll enjoy your coffee even more. For the price, I didn't find one that had the combination of features (and less noise and dust!) found in the Capresso Infinity.

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Elegant, timeless design.Commercial-Grade Solid Steel Conical Burrs preserve maximum aroma and grind precisely from Turkish fine to coarse.

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KitchenAid Pro Line Series Burr Coffee Mill, Onyx Black Review

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(More customer reviews)ORIGINAL REVIEW WRITTEN IN 1-2009: The Kitchen Aid Pro Line burr grinder has been sitting next to my drip coffee maker for more than a week and it effortlessly became part of my morning routine after its first use! It is solid, quiet, quick and grinds beans evenly with no static mess.
BACK STORY: I have owned burr and conical burr coffee grinders for more than 20 years. Most recently, I owned the Bodum conical burr grinder and it died after maybe 5 years of daily use. I did quite a bit of research and decided on the Breville conical burr grinder Breville BCG450XL Conical Burr Grinder as a replacement. The reviews on Amazon rate the Breville very highly for its price class but I was extremely disappointed when I received it. I found it was extremely lightweight and flimsy in construction. Other than the burrs, it's made of plastic. Worst of all I couldn't get the burrs (which had to be removed for cleaning along with the plastic bean hopper and grind cup before first use) to fit back in properly. I tried and tried. There was no diagram or detailed instructions. No information on the Breville web site and a customer service telephone number that was never answered. Someone suggested just letting the burrs sit "unsecured" under the bean hopper. When attempted, the unit spewed ground coffee all over the kitchen creating a mighty mess and extreme cursing. I wasted four days trying to get Breville customer service! With great aggravation, I returned the Breville to Amazon. Back to square one.
After more research, I decided that I needed to spend more money to get the kind of coffee grinder I could live with. I wanted quality construction, ease of use, good even grind from coarse to fine, reliable customer service from a company that was not going to disappear in a few years, and finally, no plastic parts that contributed to the static electricity that caused the ground bean residue to fly around and settle on to everything nearby.
I chose the Kitchen Aid. The Kitchen Aid is ugly-handsome in a 1930's futuristic, form-follows-function way. Like the classic Kitchen Aid mixer, this grinder delivers what it promises. "Just the facts, m'aam". It is made of solid, heavy metal and the bean carafe and grind carafe are both made of glass. No static! No mess! Heaven! The instruction book is extremely well written and specific to a fault. The unit is surprisingly quiet....no frightened cat! No closing the kitchen door so not to wake the household! The beans are evenly ground. There are over 15 grind settings to choose from. No timer, but really, why have one? I've never used a timer that delivered the quantity necessary. I don't even miss it.
Kitchen Aid offers an excellent, two year guarantee. The glass parts are removable and dish-washable. And, probably most important, should disaster strike, the glass parts as well as the burrs are replaceable! (NOTE 5-10-10: Disaster struck! The ground bean hopper broke! I called the KitchenAid Customer Service 800# printed in the instruction book and ordered a new glass hopper for $12.95 which included S/H. It arrived in several days. While on the phone, I asked the rep why I couldn't find the Coffee Grinder or spare parts for the grinder on the KitchenAid web site. She told me that KitchenAid was coming out with new small kitchen appliances very soon. They are selling out of and discontinuing manufacturing this particular model although spare parts would be available for several years.)
So far, I am delighted!
UPDATE 2-10: Excellent grinder. No complaints! A few months ago I noticed that the normally even grind was getting a bit rough and that beans were sometimes getting stuck in the grind mechanism. I got out the extremely well illustrated instruction book, opened up to the chapter on "Care and Cleaning" and followed the easily duplicated instructions. I loosened two screws, opened the faceplate assembly, removed the burr shaft and cleaned everything out with the supplied burr cleaning brush. I treated the bean hopper and grind container to a wash in the dishwasher. Re-assembly was a snap (unlike earlier Breville re-assembly fiasco) and my problems were resolved. A note to reviewers who have static problems: washing the grind hopper with dish washing liquid solves the problem. Also, I found that cleaning out the burrs and burr shaft helps to reduce the incidence of grinds falling onto the bin platform when the grind hopper bin is removed. Thus eliminating the need to BOP.
I've owned my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer for well over twenty years. Maybe, just maybe this coffee grinder will be around for a long time too!
Hopefully, KitchenAid will continue to offer spare parts!

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Designed to the highest standards of commercial performance and reliability, the KitchenAid PRO LINE Series Burr Coffee Mill is your key to making the finest coffee and espresso possible. Two precision, flat cutting burrs will grind your coffee to superb consistency, while the low-noise DC motor and gear reduction system work to minimize thefrictional heating of the grinds, maximizing your coffee\'s flavor and aroma. The all-metal housing and glass hoppers are not only durable, stylish, and easily cleaned, they help reduce the static \'cling" of coffee grinds common with plastic components.The PRO LINE\' Series Burr Coffee Mill has been designed for years ofheavy use: the durable stainless steel cutting burrs can be easily adjusted tocompensate for wear or replaced if damaged. Like the famous KitchenAidStand Mixer, the PRO LINE\' Series Burr Coffee Mill features performancethat can be enjoyed from generation to generation.The KitchenAid PRO LINE\' Series: commercial quality for the discriminatinghome chef. From the company distinguished by its legendary craftsmanship.

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