Kitchen & Housewares Capresso 560 Infinity Burr Grinder, Black
- Should last longer for the priceI purchased this grinder last year and while it performed reasonably well, there were several drawbacks:
*It was difficult to clean, and required cleaning often. Because the bean hopper had a gap to allow beans to flow into the grinder, it was almost impossible to remove it without spilling some beans. It would have been much easier to clean after every use (recommended for oily beans) if the hopper could have been closed for removal.
*It was not as quiet as others have said; you could not carry a conversation without shouting, and God forbid I ran it when football was on!
*Like other grinders, it did indeed create static and dust--the entire process was very messy and I ended up putting it on a tray to catch all the 'blow-out'. If only a small amount of ground coffee remained behind the bin, a gap allowed bean dust to spew out the front.
All of this is in the past tense because after about a year, the grinder motor died. I got longer service for far less money from my old Braun, even if the coffee wasn't as good.
Rating:
- Excellent intermediate grinderI replaced a LaPavoni basic grinder with this unit, and there's a huge difference. The LaPavoni was a good basic grinder, but this grinder doesn't get the grinds hot (burning off of essential oils), and the grind is very even with less noise and slower grinding speed. Is every ground uniform in size and shape when measured with a micrometer? Probably not, but then, if that's what you're looking for, you may need to be in a laboratory environment or a straightjacket. For humankind, however, the grind is excellent. Some people have said that this machine won't grind fine enough for espresso, and I disagree. I can make coffee into powder with this grinder, and from what I've read most experts agree that powder is too fine for espresso.
There are two things that could be improved, IMO. First: the rotary timer (feels like an eggtimer). It works well, but there's really no control. I either end up with too much time or not enough. A manual on/off switch would be nice to have in addition to the timer. It's not a real big deal, though. I'm sure a little practice will help to equate beanload and grind time.
Second: It's hard to clean thoroughly. The first time I cleaned out the ground coffee---coffee everywhere!! My recommendation is to hold the unit over the sink with the bean reservoir, upper burr, and grounds container removed and shake or tap lightly. You will need to brush out the remaining grounds with the brush, especially if you like a dark, oily roast of coffee.
Aside from those two minor gripes, however, I think that this is initially an excellent grinder for the money. All that remains is to see how it stands the test of time. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
- Capresso GrinderProduct works great and is simple to use. However, the dial settings from 1-10 do not correspond to the number of cups of coffee and the instructions don't offer any suggestions. You have to memorize the setting for the amount of coffee your brewing and when someone else uses the grinder for the first time they don't know what setting to use. They could give a guide with suggested settings per cup of coffee brewed. It would save having to use the measuring spoon.
Rating:
- It's what I wanted.I have had this grinder for several years. I like it. It's just what I wanted and needed. I have no complaints. Everything works, it's not too noisy, and it does a great job.
Rating:
- capresso infinity burr grinderThis is the first burr grinder that I've had, so I don't have much to compare it to, but I couldn't be happier. Consistent grind, very fine grind for espresso or turkish coffee. I've only had it a little over a month, so I can't speak about the durability, but so far I'm 100% pleased.