Great machine for coffee, not necessarily espresso.
Positive Product Points
Connical Burr. Simple straight forward design. Quality grind. Grind directly to porta filter. Timed or push button grind.
Negative Product Points
Mostly Plastic. A little noisy (your'e grinding coffee, come'on.) Allows static when grinding. Could be heavier.
Detailed Commentary
Ahhh, my $40 Burr Mill Grinder. It just couldn't cut the mustard or grind the coffee for that matter. I tried everything: cleaning it, playing with the grind, changing the coffee, begging it, persuasion, manipulation, intimidation even sheer force of will. Nothing worked so I decided to invest in a quality grinder.
After reading reviews on the Solis Maestro (coffee geek, I love you) and doing extensive research, I decided on this one. I needed a quality grinder that wouldn't break the bank. Not quite knowing what to expect I anxiously awaited the arrival of my new toy.
When I received the grinder it was larger than I expected. I was also impressed with the heavy-duty burrs. I read the manual, cleaned and quickly assembled it for my first use. Almost instantly I started to pull better quality espresso than most of the cafe's in my area.
I have a Briel Chamonix espresso machine, with the smallest grind setting, fresh coffee and clean burrs; I can pull a 25-sec shot. The espresso even has a little tiger striping. But you have to keep the grind as fine as possible. So this probably isn't the best pick for espresso, but its not a bad pick either. I plan to buy a quality espresso grinder some time in the future. But till then this one works splendidly.
Buying Experience
Bought as a refurbished item from Whole latte Love. There were no problems, either with shipping or the product. I have a whole lot of love for, er... a Whole latte Love.
