This was my husband's "BIG" gift for the holiday (2010), and he hasn't liked a gift this much in a very long time! He likes to think he is a coffee buff, but never had a burr coffee grinder before, and after comparing model after model, name brand after name brand, I chose the Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder for his gift.We used to have a nice $50 Cuisinart grinder for years, and it still works well, but the noise it produced was horrifying (and I am NOT exaggerating, the NEIGHBORS even knew we were up when they heard the grinder, we live in a 2 story single family home), and the coffee grounds my husband left all around the machine when he removed the grounds bin was a daily annoyance. That coffee grinder has been cleaned & now happily residing at his office, where they can enjoy the mess and the noise, and a pretty good cup of coffee.
Now you wouldn't think that switching grinders would have an overall impact in the coffee quality, but did it ever! The coffee tastes so much richer, fuller and more aromatic than before! Even our 23 year old son said "Wow mom, this coffee is good, did you switch beans?" Was he surprised to find out all we did was switch grinders!
NOISE: Minimal, I can't even hear it when I'm sleeping. Our old grinder running used to be my wake up call upstairs, on the second floor, in the opposite corner of the house! The Breville's noise is semi~pleasant, like another reviewer stated, and not annoying at all, almost comforting. Happily, the noise just stays in the kitchen now, so only the smell of great coffee wakes me up on the opposite end of the house, YUM!
MESS: Zip, ziltch, nada. I am very pleased that the coffee grounds are housed safely & neatly in the attractive container. No issues with grind mess everywhere.
COST: OK.. can't find it anywhere below $199. I compared a lot of models out there, the two I ALMOST went with were the Kitchenaid $160~ish dollar model (Kitchenaid reviews weren't as good, and there was mention all over the internet about bulk and footprint of the machine), and the cheaper Breville around $95 or so, but the grindings all over the place by a couple of reviewers was enough to turn me off of that model. I opted for spending a more, and got a great machine my husband absolutely loves.
SIZE: Smaller than I thought it was going to be, packs a big BIG tower of conical burrs for massive grinding power. Just takes up the same small footprint of our old Cuisinart model, but a bit taller, so no issues there.
LOOKS: Stylish and elegant. It looks like a sophisticated appliance that can take a lot of wear & built to last. We display it proudly next to our old faithful "BUNN" coffee maker.
QUALITY: No flimsy hardware here, it all performs & appears like it will last for years. Backlit display seems very durable as well, and is very nice to aide pinpointing the perfect grind. The conical burrs are super sharp, super tough, and plentiful. My husband was impressed.
CLEANUP: Not difficult. They provide a nice brush that does a good job, esp since we enjoy a dark french roast with some beans being quite oily. Have to clean it more often with those types of beans anyway. No issues here.
GRIND CHOICES: OK.. WOW is all I can say. The description says it all, pick your grind, pick the strength, pick the amounts, whatever. Tons of ways to tweak the grind out to your liking.
HOPPER: (Amended 1/5/2011) Know now, that this hopper is NOT completely 100% AIRTIGHT. Our old Cuisinart hopper lid was very loose, just sat there and if bumped could fall off, but Breville's hopper lid is tight, and holds a whole 1 pound bag of beans with ease. No need to constantly refill! As per a commentor's statement, this is NOT airtight, and they were disappointed. It has a tight lid on top, but the bottom I did not take into consideration (as the bottom of the hopper is open to the bur wheels and exit, thus not 100% airtight. Even though it can hold up to 1 pound of beans, the guide states it does not recommend storing the beans in the hopper. I must mention that since we've been using this for over a year now, & we go through a full hopper of beans about every 4 5 days, we've detected no loss in coffee quality as per our tastes. Even though we keep the beans in the hopper, and we use it 1 2 times per day, the coffee still tastes phenomenal in our opinion, from day #1 to day #5. I also agree that finding a completely sealed air tight bean storage on a grinder will probably be next to impossible to find.
There are a lot of other attachments & things to do with this, but I hit the highlights for what we use it for. Our morning cup of YUM, and boy did this ever deliver.
CONS: Haven't found any yet, other than the $199 cost. Only time will tell if this machine is as durable as we think it can be. But since it only had a few reviews, and I always go to Amazon first, I needed to write this to add it to the happy family of 5 star ratings for this grinder.
Hopefully, this will be the last grinder we will ever need for quite a L O N G time. We are amazed at everything about this machine & the coffee it makes.
Thanks Amazon members for putting the reviews out there, this helped us make a great decision.
UPDATE: (03/20/2012): I must also state that finding a similar priced grinder that matches this one, (in finished grind, features, performance and taste of the coffee), will be difficult to duplicate. We have had no disappointments in regards to this grinder.
Until recently, I was using a Pasquini Livia espresso machine paired with a Nemox Lux doserless grinder. The Lux was OK but it was a mess to use. Coffee grounds all over the place. I have since replaced the Livia with a commercial Nuevo Simonelli Mac Digit.
When I came accross the new Breville and read that it had an insert for a 58mm commercial portafilter, I was very interested. I had been looking at more expensive commercial grinders in the $400-$600 range but just wasn't ready to spend that kind of money so I bought the Breville.
This is simply one amazing grinder. Evenly ground beans with no clumping, a fine enough grind to use with my commercial Nuevo Simonelli rotary-vane pump machine and not one stray coffee ground after grinding directly into the portafilter. Another nice feature is being able to remove the bean hopper without having to empty the beans. This way I can have another hopper filled with decaf and can switch from regular to decaf beans in a few seconds. No more having to empty a bean hopper and replacing the regular beans with decaf beans. Very nice!!
I would recommend this grinder for the most hard-core coffee afficianados out there. You will not be dissappointed!
Buy Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder Now
This is my 2nd conical burr grinder. I used the earlier Breville grinder BCG450XL for a year, and while it gave me reliable daily service, it sure made a mess when removing the grinds container. Breville appears to have listened to its customers and totally redesigned this grinder. The grinds container is a sturdier translucent plastic with a stainless steel lid that seems to have solved the grinds sticking to the lid. There is absolutely no grinds scattering! The bean hopper holds 1 pound which is the size of freshly roasted beans I purchase at the local coffee shop. The ability to choose the size grinds and the amount is just outstanding. As you adjust the grind size to the finer grind, it asks you how many shots? As you adjust to medium or more coarse grinds, it asks you for how many cups? In addition to grinding into the well-designed grinds container, it claims it will also grind directly into your coffee filter. So I put that to the test using my Technivorm mochamaster cone filter holder, but that cone filter holder was too large. However, my Swiss Gold cone filter I use with it fit perfectly by itself, and the grinds poured nicely in it without grind scatter. It also comes with several size portafilter cradle holders to grind directly into your portafilter for espresso drinkers, but I don't have an espresso machine to test it out.Breville includes a special brush to easily brush clean the conical burrs every now and then, with easy instructions.
Without need to measure out the coffee beans or the coffee grinds, I no longer need to have coffee scoops laying around. The grinder looks very attractive on my kitchen counter, better looking than the tiny picture reveals. And the grinds themselves? Even, consistent-sized grounds, just what you'd expect from a well made conical burr grinder. All in all, it was well worth the extra expense.
Read Best Reviews of Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder Here
> UPDATE == I was lucky enough to get a Baratza Vario as a gift, and have posted my impressions in a review of the Vario. While I still love the Breville and it scores much higher in terms of ease/convenience of use, the Vario does produce a more consistent grind. Best value = Breville. Best grind = Vario>>Original review
I've spent the last three months looking for a decent burr grinder that didn't break the bank in terms of cost. To jump to the end of the story for those who want the bottom line, the Breville wins out as providing the best mix of convenience features and performance of any of the several I've tried (both less and more expensive). Highly, highly recommend.
I started out by going cheap the Cuisinart DBM-8. This packs a lot for the price, especially if you can find one for about 20 bucks at a warehouse club. Even at the regular price (under $50) it gives you a lot for your money. It worked very well for the medium-fine grind I need for my Senseo, and was passable for other tasks (espresso and a french press). But, it's also loud, messy and does not give a consistent grind you get a fair amount of dust. But, for the price, I have no qualms about recommending it for a drip application, and will be keeping the one I bought.
The next stop was also a Cuisinart, their CBM-18N. A definite step up, but it had some quirks that I found really irritating, such as a display that never turned off unless you unplugged it. The grind was better than the DBM-8 in terms of consistency, but still not good enough for my needs. This went back.
I then tried a Bodum Bistro. Nice to look at, but it lacked the convenience features that I liked (such as automatic grind amount based on number of cups), plus it states you can only use it for 20 seconds before letting it rest for 5 min to cool down. To me that's a sign of an undersized motor. But it did have a glass bin to cut down on static, and the fine grind level was very nice and more consistent than the Cuisinart. The coarse grind, however, was not as coarse as I wanted for a french press. Good choice to give as a present for someone who prefers style over function and is mostly a drip brewer. For me, it was another return.
The next two were borrowed from a friend: the Baratza Vario and the Virtuoso. I absolutely loved the Vario perfect grind for everything from my espresso maker to my french press. Real workhorse, and solid construction. The catch is the price about $450. Not in my price range, but if you're willing to spend the money, it's a very nice grinder. The Virtuoso is more what I was looking to spend, and that also is a nice grinder. I had zero problems producing a grind fine enough for espresso; my french press grind was excellent as well. The burrs on the Virtuoso are not as high quality as the Vario, but certainly up to the task of a typical consumer user.
I was set on the Virtuoso until I tried out the Breville. I had no problems getting it fine enough for espresso (although I should note that I use a pressurized portafilter which is not as fussy in terms of the grind as a non-pressurized). French press grind was spot on, and everything in between came out nearly as consistent as the Vario and just as consistent as the Virtuoso.
What really sold me on the Breville was the convenience features. You can dial in the number of cups (or shots) you want, and the grinder puts out the needed amount. You can fine tune the amount up or down as well. The hopper is big, has a very nice lid, and can be removed without dumping out all of the beans. Nice looking overall, with lots of stainless and high quality plastics.
Best of all is the fact that you can grind right into a portafilter or filter basket. I do my drip brewing using a My-k cup attachment on a Cuisinart k-cup brewer. I grind right into the basket with zero and I mean ZERO over spray of ground coffee. Just hold it by hand under the spout and the coffee shoots right in nice and fluffy. It goes into sleep mode after a few minutes, and wakes up with a push of any button (retaining your last grind setting). Easy to clean the burrs. Pretty quiet.
I could go on for pages as to the positive features, but I'll save you the trouble of reading my ramblings by summing it up as thus: if you're looking to spend less than $200 on a grinder, this is the one to get.
Tips:
1. (Apologies to Amazon). You can get this at the bed bath store using their 20% coupon. You have to put in the order at the store to use the coupon, and if you ask nicely, the store manager will waive the shipping charges. That brings the price to $160 plus tax. They only seem to carry it online.
2. You can get a shim kit that will allow you to go even finer. It's free from Breville I got mine four days after emailing them about it. I haven't used it since it already goes fine enough as it is, but wanted to have it in case I upgrade to a better espresso machine down the road that needs a finer grind. There's a video on the Seattle Coffee Gear site on how to install it.
3. You can buy extra hoppers from Breville so you can keep different coffees ready to go in different hoppers. There is a small amount of beans left in the machine when you remove the hopper that you have to shake out between changes, but having multiple hoppers makes it quick to switch between types of beans.
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Had mine for almost a year now, still going strong.Pros:
Grind size and amount adjustment range is great
Not too loud
Fast
Daily user
Cons:
Cleaning
Coarsest grinds generate a decent bit of coffee dust
Cleaning is the biggest con with this machine. The hopper will collect water internally, so you're limited to wipe-downs lest that water get loose on your beans. The O-ring part of the grinding mechanism comes out easily and is fairly easy to clean with the supplied brush and a paper towel. However, the inner conical part of the grinding mechanism is not removable, and wiping it down requires some finger dexterity. Not the end of the world, but annoying.
Additionally, one thing I did find recently was that the grinds chute internally collects a ton of grinds with static charge over time, quite deep in the recesses of the grinder on the bottom side of the grinding mechanism. Ensue pipe cleaners, etc and out poured an avalanche of musty grinds.
I use dark fresh-roast coffees, I find I need to clean the grinder at least every pound. Not sure if this is typical for this range, but I at least expected disassembling the machine for cleaning to be much simpler.
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