Excellent Machine
Written: Jul 30 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Uniform grind, excellent performance, easy to clean - would buy again!
Cons: Timer duration unrelated to output amounts
The Bottom Line: You will not regret buying this machine. If you love coffee, there is no substitute for freshly ground.
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| pleh42's Full Review: Starbucks Barista Burr Grinder |
I received the Barista burr grinder as a birthday gift four years ago, and it has served well. The conical burr seems to do an excellent job of creating a uniform grind. I used to think it was pretty noisy until I heard some of the competition!
The machine is easy to use. The large hopper on the top gravity-feeds the beans to the grinder, and the grounds are collected in a removable plastic cup beneath. The hopper rotates to select the grind coarseness. A single dial (timer) is turned to begin grinding. Sometimes we had to turn the dial more than once to grind the amount we wanted - especially toward the end.
When set on the finest grind it makes perfect espresso. When set in the middle it's a great drip grind. I never tried coarse, but have no reason to suspect it wouldn't work.
Cleaning is pretty easy. The hopper turns and releases so it can be cleaned separately. Once the hopper is removed, the cutting block can be lifted out, exposing the burr.
After nearly four years of multiple pots of coffee a day, the grinder finally wore out. Apparently there is a piece beneath the burr that helps direct the grounds toward the discharge chute, that finally wore out. As it got older, it would take longer to grind the same amount of coffee, but it never affected the quality of the grind.
After researching and trying out some alternatives, I think I'm going to go buy another one. BTW, for all you "Good Eats" fans, this happens to be the coffee
grinder that Alton Brown uses, too.
A NOTE ABOUT STATIC:
I've read a lot of complaints about static for various grinders, and I can say from experience that this is completely dependant on the type of coffee bean you're using! It isn't related to dark roast or oily beans, either. Some coffee -- like Starbucks Verona will fly out the moment you remove the cup. But the Gold Coast Blend stays put. One year the Christmas blend was static-charged, and the next it wasn't.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pleh42
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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