Your going to love it. I have one at home and one at work. I grind 45 grams each day each place, and its never blinked. At home I go everywhere from drip to pour over to french press so I am adjusting all the time, again never a hiccup.
We used the Cuisinart like the one you returned for many years and it never had any problems. But the static issues were horrible. I used a brush to wipe the grounds out of the bin, but no matter what I did they always went all over. We have stainless counters and that isn’t a huge deal, but it was a pain.
We upgraded to the Virtuoso and it does not have the static problem. The grounds pour right out of the bin. The weather can have some effect on how much cling there is, but I’ve found that a couple taps on the grinder bin before I remove it and a couple more when I pour it does the trick. I haven’t pulled out my brush since we got the Virtuoso. Despite all that we do end up with some stray grounds around the grinder that I have to clean up every so often. Fortunately, we have stainless counters and cleanup is trivial.
Final report: The Krups works well. It takes three rounds of grinding to get what we like to do at one time (not so concerned about freshness as some), but taking the bin to the sink to empty into the sealable container we use has eliminated the mess. There’s static clinging of grounds to the bin, but it doesn’t fly around because it has a lid. One more step for man!
The Capresso on sale at Costco
Ah, nice to see this thread pop up. I’ve recently got a manual burr grinder, it’s cool and fun… for about 60 seconds. Doing research now to find something a bit more ‘electric’…
Read the whole thread. The Braun we settled on (last of three but & try’s) is working very well, but the Cuisinart grinds two or more times the amount of beans in a single fill. If not for the ‘static flyaway’ issue I’d make it #1 in this price range.
Unfortunately not finding the Braun locally. Looking like I’ve got two real choices of the Cuisinart DBM 8KR and the Krups GVX 242. Leaning toward the Krups, bit smaller, I grind beans just before making coffee so that size is cool.
so far, I love it. No significant static issues either.
Ditto this rec… I think we’ve had ours for at least 5 years now, and it gets used more than 300x per year. We are satisfied with the product, and will probably buy it again when ours craps out.
Spoke too soon, I guess. The Capresso conical burr grinder, bought in mid-2014 on amazon for $135 (stainless steel) died yesterday after daily morning use. I called Capresso; they said the motor “burned out” and that there was nothing to do but order a new one…no repair, no help. Since it was beyond the one year warranty, Capresso offered a “discount” on a new one: would sell it for $99…the same price it is now on Amazon. No thanks. No more Capresso; too expensive to have lasted only 2.5 years…and no help from Capresso.
I ordered the Barzata Encore, based on this thread. But, I also ordered a 4 year warranty extension, as these machines aren’t very durable in my experience. I mainly use coffee for Technivorm machine…and only occasionally for espresso. So, I dind’t think the next more expensive Barzata was warranted.
We’ll see.
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This is the best one we’ve ever had. Been using it for a few months. Nice deep cup, easy-ish to remove the top. Grinds pretty decent for a blade grinder. Not particularly noisy.
https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-Grinder-Stainless-3-Ounce/dp/B00004SPEU
Krups F203
I used one like that for probably 15 years. Kept thinking that when it finally went, I’d invest in a burr grinder…except that it kept going and going.
So I got a burr grinder anyway.
Got one as a gift almost 20 years ago. Works like a charm.
I’m on the hand crank Hario bus as well. I own that exact Skerton model you’ve linked to above. The consistency of the grind is excellent. Combined with an AeroPress and a Nespresso milk frother I can make a very good cup of coffee at home or on vacation. Someday I might switch to an espresso machine at home but for now I’m very happy with the cost/benefit ratio of my setup.
And with regards to the physical labor required with a hand crank, I think my mate Matt’s (who put me onto the Hario grinder in the first place) comment on that situation is quite insightful. His view is “coffee’s a drug, so a timewasting ritual is totally OK.” I never thought of it in that way but I reckon there’s a bit of wisdom in that statement.
A blade grinder isn’t really a grinder, it’s a chopper. It shatters the beans and the subsequent larger pieces, producing a distribution of sizes of the ground coffee rather than the uniform grind from a high quality burr grinder. Sure, it lasts forever. But it’s not a grinder.
-Al
Baratta Preciso for me. Fast and even grind. Had the Encore but it died. Love this more costly one.
I bought a 4 year "protection"plan with the Barzata Encore I just bought. No chances this time…the Capresso died after 2.5 years; a kitchen aid I had that was built like a tank…died after 6. But the Saeco I got many years ago with my Technivorm is still working…though you have to hold the grinds hopper in as the latch is gone.
We’ll see this time…
If the price of the burr grinders is off-putting for a beginner, one can also get the same quality with a refurbished model; just check their site to see what’s in stock: Refurbs: a Win-Win! - Baratza
FWIW, as its name suggests, the Encore did an encore, too, dying at almost precisely two and a half years. Now, to find the details of this extra plan, which I had compltety forgotten about. Any thoughts on the best ones these days, including durability? I’m just curious, as I hope I paid for something that will cover a new one. But, it’s nice to know the current state of affairs.
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We lost ours several years ago after 30 years of daily use. ‘‘Twas a sad day