Great value for the money, heavy motor and large burrs.
Negative Product Points
Noisy, hopper is a bit bulky, grounds get caught up a bit, PF fork is useless.
Detailed Commentary
The Tranquilo is my third grinder in a series of attempts to find one I liked. I tried a Rocky DL for a week, a KitchenAid Pro Line for about two weeks and had it to compare with the Cunill and overall the Tranquilo wins.
I chose the Tranquilo over the others specifically because it’s worth the money I paid for it. Rocky was a bit too much for what I felt less than acceptable build quality and the KitchenAid is a good attempt at a new grinder but missed the mark.
The timer isn’t as a pain as I thought it would be. I have it roughly set to fill a double basket in two hits; it also gets me close enough for grinding drip. That’s my favorite part of this thing. It’s incredibly easy to go back and forth between grinds. Albeit the dial isn’t marked at any way so you have to tag it yourself. The burr carrier is fit well and I didn’t notice any play when it is seated.
The funnel is a great idea although I have gotten a little static from it and I don’t think it needs to be anywhere near as large as it is. Also, the fork is completely useless. It just gets in the way and it looks to be tac welded on so I'm not sure I can get it off. I may just bend it out of the way. The exit chute tends to get a bit of build up on the right side but a little tap gets the loose stuff off. The hopper is incredibly WIDE for no real reason other than style I think. You could cut its diameter back a third and it would be much more manageable. It also has a shallow slope in it that might not be enough for all kinds of beans to slide in but I don’t fill it so it’s not that big of a deal.
My biggest complaint is this thing is loud. Partially due to the big motor, but I found the main contributor to noise is the funnel. First the lid on the funnel fits rather loosely so when the unit runs, the lid rattles badly. Second, the way the funnel is attached causes it to vibrate against the body. I found that just placing my hand on the funnel top to hold the lid and keep the vibration down makes it much quieter. The burrs give off a nasty high pitch when actually grinding.
A last note is the power cord. It exits the unit from underneath and the feet are just 4 rubber pads which the unit will probably cut down into after a while. This means the chord goes under the base and the unit is pretty much sitting on the chord. I’ll come up with some method of propping up the unit a little to get it off there, or just drilling out the back of the unit to let the chord go out that way. How it’s designed now is a bit odd.
Overall I’m very happy and right now. For the money I don’t think you can beat this thing.
Buying Experience
Bought it from sovranastore on sale for $220 ish delivered. Very quick shipping and got a notification when it went out. Very pleased.
Three Month Followup
I'm still liking this grinder. I've noticed the chute collects a bit due to static, but for the most part it's collecting the finer particles. After each use I can pull anywhere from a teaspoon to a tablespoon worth of grounds out of there.
Still a bit noisy for my taste but oh well. If the housing were a hair thicker it would be better. I also still haven't addressed the housing sitting on the power cord although there is only a slight indent in the cord casing.
Last thing I've noticed is the chute tends to empty towards the back of the opening or the furthest from you as you're standing at it. This means for expresso into a basket, it piles up on one side. The PF fork actually gets in the way at this point because you want to put the PF further under the spout but can't. I'm ready to bend it out of the way since it's tacked on.
One Year Followup
I've been lazy and haven't made any mods. The PF fork is still in the way a little but I'm dealing and I still wish it were a little less noisy, especially when grinding fine. It gets very high pitched and is a little bothersome.
But regardless, I'm still very happy with the purchase.
