Hamilton Beach Portfolio 15 Cup Coffee Grinder: The Corvette of Coffee Grinders
Written: Sep 28 '03 (Updated Sep 29 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to measure beans, ease of cleaning, one-touch grinding, cord storage
Cons: didn't grind all the beans for me on the first go-round
The Bottom Line: I can now grind beans easily for my espresso machine, coffee maker, or to use in our percolator over the campfire with this coffee grinder.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Hamilton Beach 80340 Electric Blades Grinder |
Around my house, one thing we appreciate is a good cup of coffee. When I threw in the towel on our Cuisinart Grind & Brew Coffee Maker because it was annoying and we were having a garage sale, I knew no matter what coffee maker I chose next I was now going to need a new coffee grinder.
A coffee grinder is a pretty basic appliance. You put coffee beans in it, the machine grinds it, and you dump it into the coffee maker. Seems pretty simple, and I haven’t come across a grinder that doesn’t do that job.
However, the Hamilton Beach Portfolio 15 Cup Coffee Grinder does so much more.
The design of the grinder is quite nice. We chose the stainless-steel exterior with black trim. The cover is clear plastic, and locks into place while the grinder is in use (the grinder will not work if the lid is not in the locked position). The lid is also marked to measure the coffee beans prior to grinding at intervals of 4, 8, 12, and 15 cups. The cord retracts into the base of the grinder with a few twists, meaning there is one less cord getting tangled on my counter.
Rather than one standard grind that's the staple of every other coffee grinder I’ve used, this one provides a selection. On the front of the grinder is settings, based on the number of cups and the fineness of the grind. There are settings for a percolator coffeemaker (coarse grind), an automatic drip coffeemaker (medium grind), and an espresso coffeemaker (fine grind). Each has four settings for the number of beans that is the same as the measurements on the lid.
The on/off switch is also on the front of the grinder. After the beans are in and the cover locked in place, I simply press the button and the stainless-steel blades automatically grind the beans to the desired grind. The first few times I used this for 12 cups on the automatic drip coffeemaker setting, I found not all the beans were getting ground, so I simply switched it to 15 cups and it seems to work fine now. When this happened, I just pressed the button a second time, although this produced a much finer grind this way.
After the coffee is ground, I simply turn the grinder upside-down to get the grounds into the lid. This allows the coffee to be dumped into the basket of my coffee maker. If some of the coffee is stuck inside the grinder, it’s also easy to tap it a few times to get the coffee grounds out into the lid rather than banging it on the machine and trying to aim for the basket.
Cleaning the Hamilton Beach Portfolio 15 Cup Coffee Grinder is a breeze. After unplugging the cord, I twist the base to draw it in and out of the way. I use a slightly damp paper towel and just wipe out the inside, the blades, and the lid. The unit should never be immersed in water, so a wipe down is all it should ever need.
Hamilton Beach provides a two year limited warranty on the Hamilton Beach Portfolio 15 Cup Coffee Grinder from the date of original purchase. During this period the unit will be repaired or replaced at no cost, although it does not cover “a defect resulting from abuse, misuse, neglect, use for commercial purposes, or any use not in conformity with the printed directions.”
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I like that I don’t have to hold the button down to make the grinder work. We had that with the grinder we owned two coffee makers ago. The ability to measure the amount of beans right in the cover is a big plus for me and eliminates the guesswork. I wish the beans had been ground a bit better on the 12-cup setting, but that was easy to fix. I don’t mind a finer grind since I like my coffee strong. However, if I did want to grind beans for15 cups, would there be a problem?
I can also now grind coffee ahead of time for camping and take it with us, instead of guessing. We use a percolator over the fire or camp stove, and I was never sure if I could judge to grind the beans to the right consistency on my own. The Hamilton Beach Portfolio 15 Cup Coffee Grinder makes doing just that quite easy.
At $17.99 in our local Target, I thought it was a bargain. Other grinders that don’t do as much were only a dollar or two cheaper. I plan to be using this grinder for years to come.
Hamilton Beach Customer Service Information:
US # 1-800-851-8900
Canada # 1-800-264-2826
website: www.hamiltonbeach.com
Other coffee-related reviews:
Mr. Coffee 12-Cup Coffee Maker
Cuisinart Grind & Brew Coffee Maker
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Online
© 2003 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
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AliventiAsylum
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