Inexpensive grinder for espresso, french press, drip, vac pots, etc.
Positive Product Points
The resultant coffee grind is very consistent. The machine rips through the beans effortlessly and without heating up the beans. The price tag is very nice. Grind is sufficiently fine for most home pump espresso machines. Large bean hopper stores about 8 oz. of beans. Fairly quiet
Negative Product Points
Grinds get stuck in the chute and the feeder channel. There is a fair amount of static, but not as bad as the Capresso 585 or 551 disk grinders. Cheap plastic construction. Uses a mechanical timer that's likely to wear out over time. Based on the cheap construction and cheap-looking burrs, I estimate that this grinder would not stand up to heavy use in a coffee shop. Unlike more expensive grinders, the grind is not infinitely adjustable, but this may not be necessary. Edit: In my experience, unless you're using a manual piston-driven machine or maybe some high-end pump machines that are not very forgiving, you're not going to need infinite adjustability. I will debate this point with anyone who wishes.
Detailed Commentary
This machine is great for first timers or for folks who are pulling no more than 3-4 shots a day. If you're looking for a burr grinder, but don't want to or can't spend a fortune, give this one a try. You won't be sorry. A very good value for the money.
Grinds get stuck in the chute, especially dark, oily beans. I've found the best way to counteract this is after each grind, give the top of the machine a couple of sharp, firm slaps with an open hand, much like you would do when drumming with a hand drum. Clean out the chute with the included brush or a short popsicle stick after each use. Make sure you also clean the feeder channel every few days or so. Edit: I have used white rice in the grinder to remove the oils, seems to help.
All-in-all a good machine for light-to-moderate consumer use. The shots I pulled with this machine were excellent. Definitely better than a blade grinder or even a nice low-end disk grinder.
Edit: In my experience, unless you're using a manual piston-driven machine or maybe some high-end pump machines that are not very forgiving, you're not going to need infinite adjustability. I will debate this point with anyone who wishes.
It's worth noting that this conical burr grinder grinds at 420 RPM, far slower than the 600 RPM that more expensive conical burr grinders that are 3 times price grind at. Slower speed == less heat. Less heat == less flavor and aroma removed from the beans. Virtually all grinders this side of $500 performs about the same in terms of static and dust. (There are few, if any exceptions -- read the reviews on this site if you don't believe me; just beware of glowing reviews that list few if any negatives. Don't believe them unless they're talking about the Mazzer line or something equally competent).
Ignore the manual in regards to grind setting. For espresso, you need grind settings in extra-fine range. I'm currently using the 'middle' extra fine setting and I'm pulling Guiness-effect shots by tamping nice and hard and temperature-surfing my cheap themoblock Hamilton-Beach (non-pressurized portafilter) machine.
Buying Experience
Amazon's price was competitive. Shipped the product on-time, proper e-mails were sent. I used the free super saver shipping, ordered on a Tuesday and received it by Saturday.