KitchenAid Proline is becoming a sour word in my mouth. First, let me explain. I was a huge fan of KitchenAid products after buying a used KA dishwasher that was over 25 years old and still no damage to the rack liner, no rust, and fully functional. I got years of use out of it before I sold it. Then, three years later, I bought it back from the buyer. 2 years later, I finally sold it for good at a garage sale only to have the buyer never return to pick it up. He even paid in full for it! I ended up donating it to the Salvation Army.
That is the background. Since then, I have purchased their kitchen utensils, and stand blender, and a hand blender that I love. Then the espresso machine. I had been flirting with it for over a year, when I saw the price drop by $300. I jumped at it. Little did I know what was ahead. For more details on that, visit my KA Proline Espresso review.
Over all, I have no major complaints about the grinder. It is quiet, looks good, isn’t too messy, and doesn’t generate static. I do love that! However, I wish I had done my research on grinders before I bought it. I wouldn’t have in that case. However, I was having problems with the espresso machine, so I figured I would buy a matched grinder. It didn’t help at all. It is a huge improvement over the Braun KMM-30 standalone grinder I was using until I got my Saeco Via Veneto with a built in grinder. And it is better than the Saeco built in. But, once you have tasted the elusive ‘God’ shot, there is no going back. I needed better.
The first problem I noticed was difficulty in getting a really fine grind. My second issue, is the huge change in grind from one step to another. The final problem I found when I was cleaning it. It is very easy to adjust and clean, however the burrs are garbage. They really aren’t sharp at all! This is astounding to me. How can you design something that has so much potential only to cheap out on the most important component!
Anyway, the burrs will be replaced with used Mazzer Mini burrs that Erik gave me. Even used, they are much sharper than the factory burrs provided by KitchenAid. I will solve the stepping issue by modifying it so that it is stepless. Hopefully, between those two mods, I will resolve the first problem. In the meantime, I will now use my Compak K5. Most likely, I won’t keep the KA grinder, but you never know. It might be good to have a backup. Depends on the results of the mods. |
