From Bargain to Doorstop ... alas
Written: Jan 04 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Convenient size, easy operation, relatively quiet, good grinder BUT not for dark roast
Cons: Jams griding dark roast, some of grind bypasses cup, easy to mis-assemble, static
The Bottom Line: A good buy that turned into a doorstop when I couldn't grind my favorite beans.
|
|
|
| frankns's Full Review: Starbucks Barista Burr Grinder |
I have owned the Barista for almost a month, grinding the supply of beans I had on hand without a hitch. Unfortunately, about two weeks back I shifted to a darker and more oily roast only to find that the grinder simply would not feed beans reliably. I have cleaned the burrs and washed the "hopper" carefully, but still experience very poor results. In order to "do my daily grind" I am now prodding the beans into the burr with a chop stick!
Although Solis makes the Barista for Starbucks -- and at $30 less I thought it would be a bargain -- this grinder is different from the Solis machine in two important ways: 1.) the Maestro's hopper allows roughly twice the open space for beans to fall through and reach the burrs, and 2.) the Solis hopper is made out of frosted or "slightly textured" plastic. I am guessing that this results in fewer jams. So what started out as a bargain, became a doorstop. Alas.
I returned the unit to my local Starbucks and had great service. The guy behind the counter had been a tech for them and quickly cleaned and began trouble-shooting my machine. He reproduced all of problems I had experienced. After about 30 minutes, he held up the hopper, filled with dark espresso roast beans. They were completely stuck. Not a one would drop. Diagnosis confirmed and my money was returned -- cheerfully.
One other note ... In disassembly and cleaning, I did not experience the breakage problems noted by some users of the Maestro. But I did find it relatively easy to misalign the burrs when putting the unit back together. If this happens, you can use the hopper to rotate the top element/burr (usually counterclockwise) until it falls back into place.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
frankns
|
|
Member: Frank S
Location: Chicago
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.