|
Customer
Reviews
Customer Review #1
"The
Braun KMMM30 is a very reliable grinder. My
Braun coffee grinder after a year of use is
still working great and has never jamed on me
unlike some others. The grind is consistant. I
don't think that there is a better coffee
grinder in its price range. The only negative
is that if you pull off the side coffee ground
holder for cleaning, a very small amount of the
grounds spill out onto the counter from the
exposed hole where the grounds exit into the
hopper on the upper side.
Some coffee snobs say the espresso grind from
this Braun is not quit fine enough for their
high end $500+ espresso machines such as the
non-presurized finicky Rancilio Silvia.
However, my Braun produced a nice espresso
grade powder for my everyday pressurized
espresso machine when I wanted it. This Braun
coffee grinder will produce satisfactory
results for most of the more predictable and
less finicky everyday pressurized espresso
machines.
Espresso geeks with high end non-pressurized
more finicky home espresso machines such as the
high quality Rancilio Silvia or Solis SL70 may
want to consider a more elegant and finer
coffee grinder such as the Capresso Infinity,
Solis Maestro, or Kitchenaid Pro-Line and such.
However, I sent back my much touted bean
jamming Solis Maestro and am quit happy with
this Braun grinder instead. The everyday coffee
drinker (or espresso drinker with an everyday
pressurized espresso machine) will probably
love this reliable yet reasonably priced
grinder.
Pros: A very reliable "Can Do" Coffee Grinder,
one of the best in its very affordable price
range.
Con: A little messy pulling out side feeding
ground coffee holder for cleaning (however, the
lid on the ground holder can be removed for
easy access of the grounds with the included
spoon. Yes it is a little noisy but not that
bad at all.
Note: Although there is no pulse grinding
button, you can simply move the timer slightly
and hold it until you have ground what you want
then let it go and it will turn off
instantly.
Alternate buying suggestions: If you don't mind
spending twice as much for a more refined
coffee grinder, the Capresso Infinity,
Kitchenaid Pro-Line, and Solis Maestro are good
machines. The Kitchenaid and Solis however are
known to have the beans get caught in the
hopper occasionally requiring you to shake the
grinder or poke the beans to resume the
grinding. Also, both the heavy duy Rancilio
espresso machine and the lower priced
pressurized but still good Solis SL70 put out
great high end espresso and can also be
purchased at an even lower price as
refurbished-factory returns. Unless you are a
coffee geek or just make lattes, etc, lower
priced espresso machines will do fine. The
Delonghi Bar32 makes a nice espresso machine
with a stainless boiler and porta filter (no
aluminum). It is one of the few stainess lower
priced espresso machines around. The Capresso
Espresso pro is a good espresso machine and
says all stainless but has an aluminum porta
filter although the filter cup is stainless.
However, if you are in the Capresso Espresso
Pro price range, you may want to look at the
Solis SL70 instead."
- Actual review from
Amazon.com
Customer Review #2
"This is a very nice
piece of equipment. I guess how you will react
to it depends on your attitude about coffee. If
you're a real coffee fan on a budget, you'll
love it. If the idea of grinding coffee fresh
is new to you and you're not sure it's worth
it, you might find this one too much trouble --
start with one of those little chopper mills
(the ones with exposed blades like a
blender).
My favorite feature is that the grind is
*really* adjustable, which wasn't the case with
the conventional Krups grinder that served me
for many years. My wife likes French press
coffee (very coarse) and I like an extra-fine
drip. For years, she's been making do with
"sorta coarse" and I've been making do with
"kinda fine," but now she gets coarse and I get
fine (I use the coarsest espresso setting).
As for faults, yes, it's a little messy,
although it's not like it spews coffee grounds
on your ceiling. I keep mine on a paper plate
on the counter, which contains the debris just
fine. The noise is considerably less than
either conventional grinders or chopper-type
mills -- it's loud, but you won't wake everyone
in the house unless they're very light
sleepers. And of course the setting on the side
doesn't = the number of cups -- how big is a
coffee cup anyway? Assuming you make coffee in
the same pot every day, you'll quickly figure
out the right amount of beans and the right
twist on the knob.
My last Krups machine lasted 15 years. This
one seems well built as well."
- Actual review from Amazon.com
Customer Review #3
"
We have been using these grinders for 18
years, replacing them every 6-7 years (Only
love is forever!). And I had used one for
some years before we were married. They are
excellent, reliable units, producing great
coffee consistently. I have always used the
finest grind setting in conjunction with
Melitta-type filters (paper only!) and
fresh-ground coffee beans which we buy in
small quantities so it is always . . .
fresh.
These have always been operated by a timer
knob. I recall that they originally had a
scale for the number of cups, but this was
only approximate since everybody's idea of
the right strength for a cup of coffee is
different. More recently the scale is for
second of operation. Once you figure out
the right amount of grinding for the amount
of coffee you want to make, you are
set.
Since my wife uses only decaf, we have two
different coffee makers (we will probably
buy a "dual" machine when one of these
burns out). Switching from one bean to the
other is no problem with this grinder. If
you use beans with flavors you must
understand that some of the flavor will
linger in the grinder for the next batch of
coffee.
In use you will surely find some fine
grounds on the countertop around the
machine. We have never thought of this as a
problem. Actually, everybody we know who
has any other brand of grinder has pretty
much the same experience. What can you do
in the kitchen that does not require you to
wipe the counter when you are through?
A couple of caveats: (1) After grinding
your coffee you ought to clean out the
orifice where the ground coffee passes into
the clear plastic container or it will
eventually clog up; (2) Due to static
electricity you need to gently scrape the
inside of the container to get all your
ground coffee out (don't whack it with
anything--it's only plastic!). The biggest
caveat: This makes a great pot of coffee
but you should NOT try to grind large
quantities of coffee. The motor is not
built for such heavy use and will burn out.
I am speaking from experience! For large
quantities you need a commercial
grinder.
There may be even better grinders around
for more money, but this one has kept us
happy for many years."
- Actual review from Epinions.com
|
