A terrific buy in a sturdy but inexpensive home coffee grinder adequate for espresso use.
Positive Product Points
Could work as an espresso grinder for a low budget home setup or as a dedicated decaf espresso grinder. Probably best as a high end grinder for vac. pot, press pot or drip.
Negative Product Points
Bean hopper is pretty cheap in both appearance and feel. Adjusting worm screw is tedious to use and there is no visual indication of where you are in the grind range between fine and coarse.
Detailed Commentary
The Innova Conical doserless grinder is a terrific buy at $135 on the Espresso Parts NW website. It looks great and feels very solid. Its appearance suggests a much more expensive item than it is, and hence it will look pretty good even in a high end kitchen. In a low budget home espresso setup I think it is just about the cheapest thing out there that will do.
For my money this grinder is best as either a dedicated second or decaf espresso grinder, or as a grinder intended for coarser grinds such as vacuum or presspot or even (gasp) drip methods. In a pinch when your primary espresso grinder is out for service or a burr replacement, the Innova Conical Doserless could pinch hit for a while as your primary grinder.
I would not want this grinder as the long term centerpiece of my home espresso setup, however. My suggestion is to buy this instead of a $60 burr grinder for coarser grinds. It should last a long time and at the modest price differential over a cheap burr grinder, you will get something worth keeping for a long time that can aspire to espresso grinding service when needed.
Buying Experience
Absolutely painless. Great online buying experience as always with EPNW. I asked that they hold off shipping for 2 days because I was going to be out of town and they complied exactly with my request.
