ISO Burr Grinder in GTA ($150 range price max)

[ylsf]

Hello All,

Looking for a Burr Grinder for my parents that currently are using a blade grinder for their espresso machine and keeping the pre-grind beans in a tupperware container on their counter! Figure it is time for an upgrade. If I find a deal will likely be 2 or 3 machines for other people at the same time.

Any suggestions on what to get in the Toronto area? (I am more on the west end but can go pretty much anywhere in GTA).

I see Green Beanery sells them but there are so many options, not sure what is good/good enough... My parents are using a Saeco machine, it is far from top of the line (branded by Starbucks) but it is pretty decent.

On other forums people recommended this:

http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catal...

But that is out of my price range.

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Green Beanery
565 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[Bobatt]

The Saeco machine you mention doesn't need a true espresso grind because of it's pressurized portafilter, it actually works best with a grind about the consistency of table salt. This is good news for your budget. Either the Baratza Maestro or Maestro Plus is capable of delivering a consistent grind of that size. I have experience using a Maestro with a Saeco machine and it's a good match. The Maestro doesn't have the range or adjustability of the higher end grinders but that's not necessary for the Starbucks Saeco machine, unless they are using a unpressurized portafilter.

[sweetie]

I saw a burr grinder at the WIlliam Ashley warehouse sale. It was some mass market brand though.. I can't remember the brand, it was $100 though.

[foodyDudey]

I own a Rancilio Rocky which is not in the price range you are looking at, but it works extremely well. No problems after 4 years and roughly 5000 shots worth of beans ground.

I know nothing about this $80 Krupps burr grinder, but you could always ask the people at the GB:
http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catal...

[Food Tourist]

I am looking for a home-use burr grinder, also. Under $150 would be great. I saw one last year at the Espresso Machines shop at Dixie/Dundas in Mississauga next to Magnotta Wines. Still need to shop around a bit.

[jayt90]

The entry level Baratza Maestro has been upgraded and may actually be good for undemanding espresso brewers.
http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catal...
I bought their mid-level Virtuoso two years ago and it it has worked flawlessly every morning.
The technical guy at the Greenbeanery King St. location is very helpful for advice and maintenance tips.

[BlueTeam]

I bought a Cuisinart burr grinder @ Tiger Direct of all places. I believe it was refurbished but I couldn't say no for $34. I'm not using it for espresso, only to grind fresh coffee for my office percolator.

[LUV_TO_EAT]

Curious which model burr grinder and which store you went to?

[ylsf]

Checked on their site and found this (if it is the same one, they dropped the price to $19)

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/application...

Unfortunately this model won't do a fine enough grind for espresso...

They also have a cheap burr unit at Real Canadian Superstore but again it says right on the box it isn't meant for Espresso

[BlueTeam]

Yeah, that's the one. Like I said, I wasn't using it for espresso. Its nice because you can set it for how many cup of coffee you want and it will grind the appropriate amount. My regular coffee maker has never tasted so good.

[sweetie]

Thanks BlueTeam! I do not grind my own coffee very often. So I was looking for a cheap burr grinder. With S&H it came to $33, you just saved me at least $20. If anyone went to the cuisinart warehouse sale and got this grinder cheaper please don't tell me. Ingnorance will be my bliss in this case.

[elvisahmed]

Welcome to the club :) I have the same grinder and I got it of XS cargo and have had it for more than 2 years now. Works perfectly and I think its a good starter grinder. I don't think I will use much after I upgrade to my Nespresso machine next year :) In the meantime it does the job and at this price its a great buy.

[elvisahmed]

I would recommend this grinder as well. I upgraded from a simple blade grinder. I use it for espresso it doesn't get the coffee as fine I would like but it works nonetheless and is a big improvement over the blade grinders. If you want to buy in person Caynehouseware in Thornhill is a good bet. Like me if you don't mind shopping online Amazon Canada has several options including the well reviewed Bodum Bistro Models for under 150$. I have also seen grinders at Costco Canada website once in a while don't recall the prices.

[ylsf]

Thanks for teh Costco link.... I thought they had the Capresso Infinity but it turns out I was look at the USA site!

They do have two models in Canada, this one :

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10338549&search=grinder&Mo=3&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=grinder&Ntt=grinder&No=2&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

and this one :

http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.a...

The Capresso Infinity is $99 on the USA site, but, it looks like the stainless steel model vs. the plastic model from Green Beenery...

[elvisahmed]

Have you looked at the Bodum one on Amazon Canada website. It has been well reviewed from what I have read in reviews. Among the cost one's I would go with the Espressione’s as it has good reviews on Amazon and Nesco one has just a so so feedback.

[ylsf]

Hi, I was looking for some reviews related specifically to espresso grind and I didn't come across anything at the time. There are no costumer reviews on the Amazon site:

http://www.amazon.ca/Bodum-Bistro-Electric-Coffee-Grinder/dp/B0043095WW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291673976&sr=8-1-fkmr0

I have seen this unit at a bunch of different kitchen supply stores including one down the street from me for the same price ($89) but I don't know enough about these machines to know if I am better off spending the extra $40ish on the other models discussed above (and one of those models is $40 more than the bodum but includes $20 in coffee beans)..

BTW, I am sure you will enjoy your Nespresso... I have one at work and when I get one of these grinders for my parents I will borrow it to try the "pod-hack" where you can use old pods to refill with grinds and cover with tin foil just to see how it turns out...So, you still might get use out of your grinder, although, I really enjoy a lot of the variations Nespresso has as is

EDIT: - Okay, saw reviews on Amazon.com but all of them are using it for French Press it seems:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004...

[elvisahmed]

Hmm I swear I saw some reviews for this one including one on you tube. If it is the same price as the store ask them if they will let you use a display model. Take some beans with u and give it a spin (pun intended)
I read about reusable pods for nespresso I guess I will explore it more once I have a machine. For the price you pay for Nespresso machines I think its hard to beat the quality of the espresso shot you get.

[jayt90]

I can see you are doing your homework! The Baratza, with $20 in coffee beans from a fine import store, offers 240 watt motor, which is direct current. This means a faster start up, and more even low temperature grind.

[itsvince]

I bought a Capresso Infinity burr grinder a couple of years ago at Espresso Planet on Dixie. Not sure if the store still exists (their website is not working right now), but the grinder is excellent, I use it every day and have not had any problems with it. I believe that it cost around $150.

[Food Tourist]

http://www.espressoplanet.com/espress...

This seems to be the same business that I was referring to as "espressomachines.ca" at Dixie and Dundas.

[bigmackdaddy]

I second the Capresso Infinity. It's been giving me the perfect grind for my french press for three years now.I have never had a problem mechanically or otherwise. Just a tad noisy for the morning, though.

[Royaljelly]

I use the Capresso Infinity as well, love it for my morning coffee. 681 reviews on amazon (4/5 stars). Some reviewers said it's not "perfect" for espresso though, but they maybe comparing it to the more expensive grinders. I ordered mine from Greenbeanery, very fast shipping. Lots of grind does accumulate in the grinder portion, but using the included brush gets it out easily. It is loud, but not nearly as loud as my Krupps blade grinder was.

Review: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AR7SY/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000DDVS2&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0XY92D342NPV1F90RDS1

Greenbeanery: http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catal...

[grah7830]

Speaking as a huge coffee snob, buy a Maestro Plus from the Green Beanery.

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Green Beanery
565 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[ylsf]

UPDATE:

Just a quick update that I decided to go with the Maestro (non-plus version). Bought it at Green Beanery. I was originally going to go to the King street location but they aren't open on the weekends so ended up at the Bloor Street location. I definitely understand what people are saying about staff lacking knowledge on the products they sell... It is a shame, they really should train the staff on the products too!

Thanks again for all the tips/suggestions in this thread!

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Green Beanery
565 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S, CA

[Food Tourist]

How much did you spend and was it conical?

[Food Tourist]

I took a chance and bought the Capresso stainless steel burr grinder model 585 at Premier Gourmet today for $59.99 US because it was the same as amazon.com etc. They were selling the conical Infinity Capresso for $30 more ($89.99). We just had to pay 13% duty at the border. The Krups (non-conical) grinder was $49.99 at Premier (plus tax)