Best Review on Breville BCG800XL Smart Grinder
I was skeptical at first. Not so much in a brand of coffee grinder, but in grinding coffee on-the-spot for brewing. I was wrong, dead wrong. I have a Breville espresso machine. After years of living in Spain, I came to appreciate good coffee. Upon returning to the US, I bought my Breville espresso machine and bought coffee already ground and off the shelf. (Bad idea) Always Italian roast or French roast. I like it strong. After many months of using "off-the-shelf" already ground coffee and becoming more and more dissatisfied with what I was tasting I broke down and bought this Breville coffee grinder. I've owned Breville products before. What always struck me about Breville was the engineering in design and intelligent functioning. They actually think about what they make before they make it, period. This is a smart company who listens to the people who use these products. When researching for a grinder (I would never buy a $200 grinder w/o reading and researching) the biggest complaint from folks was the grind. Mostly, folks wanted a fine grind for their espresso machines and many of the products wouldn't grind the coffee FINE or CONSISTENT enough .... two of the most important aspects of grinding coffee for a great taste. I chose this product because nearly every review, people mentioned how the grind was fine and consistent enough for espresso ..... AND because, in my past experience, I believe Breville products are intelligently made products which do the job they are made for. (I have a Breville espresso maker and Blender and now this Grinder .. all are excellent products) Leave it to the Aussies.
This product delivers and delivers it very well, in a stylish and very clever way. I don't know if it is smart, but it definitely delivers a consistent, fine coffee ground very suitable for any espresso machine, and it does it w/o using the extreme choices on the dial ... meaning I could get even more fine a ground if I desired. (For those Turkish coffee lovers for example.) This machine works exactly as advertised. And my coffee experience has improved 100% because of it. I love a good coffee and a good grinder IS the key to making good coffee.
I owned a coffee house in the mountains above Santa Cruz California and we tested and sold a number of different grinders over the years. When I sold that shop, I continued to buy and sell espresso equipment on Craigslist and eBay, mostly higher-end and commercial units. Many purchases were to test and evaluate, then sell, the equipment I bought.
BalasHapusUntil 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!
I was skeptical at first. Not so much in a brand of coffee grinder, but in grinding coffee on-the-spot for brewing. I was wrong, dead wrong. I have a Breville espresso machine. After years of living in Spain, I came to appreciate good coffee. Upon returning to the US, I bought my Breville espresso machine and bought coffee already ground and off the shelf. (Bad idea) Always Italian roast or French roast. I like it strong. After many months of using "off-the-shelf" already ground coffee and becoming more and more dissatisfied with what I was tasting I broke down and bought this Breville coffee grinder. I've owned Breville products before. What always struck me about Breville was the engineering in design and intelligent functioning. They actually think about what they make before they make it, period. This is a smart company who listens to the people who use these products. When researching for a grinder (I would never buy a $200 grinder w/o reading and researching) the biggest complaint from folks was the grind. Mostly, folks wanted a fine grind for their espresso machines and many of the products wouldn't grind the coffee FINE or CONSISTENT enough .... two of the most important aspects of grinding coffee for a great taste. I chose this product because nearly every review, people mentioned how the grind was fine and consistent enough for espresso ..... AND because, in my past experience, I believe Breville products are intelligently made products which do the job they are made for. (I have a Breville espresso maker and Blender and now this Grinder .. all are excellent products) Leave it to the Aussies.
BalasHapusThis product delivers and delivers it very well, in a stylish and very clever way. I don't know if it is smart, but it definitely delivers a consistent, fine coffee ground very suitable for any espresso machine, and it does it w/o using the extreme choices on the dial ... meaning I could get even more fine a ground if I desired. (For those Turkish coffee lovers for example.) This machine works exactly as advertised. And my coffee experience has improved 100% because of it. I love a good coffee and a good grinder IS the key to making good coffee.
BalasHapusWe've been using this thing everyday for the last four weeks, since the day it arrived. We use it to grind directly into the porta filter for our espresso machine. Here's my breakdown:
BalasHapus- The porta filter basket holder is very convenient
- The constructuction is very solid
- I was a bit concerned about the electronic controls before purchasing this, but they've worked great so far. There are a number of automatic features that I think certain types of users would really appreciate.
- Since this is the our first burr grinder, I'm not too sure how this compares with in general on loudness to other grinders, but it doesn't seem too loud. You know when is running, but now I kind of like the sound: it's now associated with a great cup of coffee.
- For reliability and durability, only time will tell, but it's worked without hitch for us.