Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

> UPDATE == I was lucky enough to get a Baratza Vario as a gift, and have posted my impressions in a review of the Vario. While I still love the Breville and it scores much higher in terms of ease/convenience of use, the Vario does produce a more consistent grind. Best value = Breville. Best grind = Vario >>Original review I've spent the last three months looking for a decent burr grinder that didn't break the bank in terms of cost. To jump to the end of the story for those who want the bottom line, the Breville wins out as providing the best mix of convenience features and performance of any of the several I've tried (both less and more expensive). Highly, highly recommend. I started out by going cheap - the Cuisinart DBM-8. This packs a lot for the price, especially if you can find one for about 20 bucks at a warehouse club. Even at the regular price (under $50) it gives you a lot for your money. It worked very well for the medium-fine grind I need for my Senseo, and was passable for other tasks (espresso and a french press). But, it's also loud, messy and does not give a consistent grind - you get a fair amount of dust. But, for the price, I have no qualms about recommending it for a drip application, and will be keeping the one I bought. The next stop was also a Cuisinart, their CBM-18N. A definite step up, but it had some quirks that I found really irritating, such as a display that never turned off unless you unplugged it. The grind was better than the DBM-8 in terms of consistency, but still not good enough for my needs. This went back. I then tried a Bodum Bistro. Nice to look at, but it lacked the convenience features that I liked (such as automatic grind amount based on number of cups), plus it states you can only use it for 20 seconds before letting it rest for 5 min to cool down. To me that's a sign of an undersized motor. But it did have a glass bin to cut down on static, and the fine grind level was very nice and more consistent than the Cuisinart. The coarse grind, however, was not as coarse as I wanted for a french press. Good choice to give as a present for someone who prefers style over function and is mostly a drip brewer. For me, it was another return. The next two were borrowed from a friend: the Baratza Vario and the Virtuoso. I absolutely loved the Vario - perfect grind for everything from my espresso maker to my french press. Real workhorse, and solid construction. The catch is the price - about $450. Not in my price range, but if you're willing to spend the money, it's a very nice grinder. The Virtuoso is more what I was looking to spend, and that also is a nice grinder. I had zero problems producing a grind fine enough for espresso; my french press grind was excellent as well. The burrs on the Virtuoso are not as high quality as the Vario, but certainly up to the task of a typical consumer user. I was set on the Virtuoso until I tried out the Breville. I had no problems getting it fine enough for espresso (although I should note that I use a pressurized portafilter which is not as fussy in terms of the grind as a non-pressurized). French press grind was spot on, and everything in between came out nearly as consistent as the Vario and just as consistent as the Virtuoso. What really sold me on the Breville was the convenience features. You can dial in the number of cups (or shots) you want, and the grinder puts out the needed amount. You can fine tune the amount up or down as well. The hopper is big, has a very nice lid, and can be removed without dumping out all of the beans. Nice looking overall, with lots of stainless and high quality plastics. Best of all is the fact that you can grind right into a portafilter or filter basket. I do my drip brewing using a My-k cup attachment on a Cuisinart k-cup brewer. I grind right into the basket with zero - and I mean ZERO - over spray of ground coffee. Just hold it by hand under the spout and the coffee shoots right in nice and fluffy. It goes into sleep mode after a few minutes, and wakes up with a push of any button (retaining your last grind setting). Easy to clean the burrs. Pretty quiet. I could go on for pages as to the positive features, but I'll save you the trouble of reading my ramblings by summing it up as thus: if you're looking to spend less than $200 on a grinder, this is the one to get. Tips: 1. (Apologies to Amazon). You can get this at the bed bath store using their 20% coupon. You have to put in the order at the store to use the coupon, and if you ask nicely, the store manager will waive the shipping charges. That brings the price to $160 plus tax. They only seem to carry it online. 2. You can get a shim kit that will allow you to go even finer. It's free from Breville - I got mine four days after emailing them about it. I haven't used it since it already goes fine enough as it is, but wanted to have it in case I upgrade to a better espresso machine down the road that needs a finer grind. There's a video on the Seattle Coffee Gear site on how to install it. 3. You can buy extra hoppers from Breville so you can keep different coffees ready to go in different hoppers. There is a small amount of beans left in the machine when you remove the hopper that you have to shake out between changes, but having multiple hoppers makes it quick to switch between types of beans.