Lowest price since 2019. Its no Breville Smart Grinder Pro, but its conical burr. Got mine from Appliance Online Ebay (last one). TGG has some in stock too for the same price.
Original coupon deal: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/749236
To be fair, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro, which is the standard recommendation over this grinder, used to be available frequently for $160ish back then - now you're looking at $220-$250 on sale (dont think it's been below that for about 2 years).
Would still probably recommend spending more and getting the SGP (or something even better) - but for someone with a pressurised portafilter machine, or who isnt too fussy and just wants something that can grind coffee for their entry level machine / cant justify spending more, it's a tougher sell to move up to the SGP at 4x the price.
I'm sure there are plenty of people for whom this would do the job. You cant expect much more than that at this kinda price, but you'd probably be hard pressed to find something better for the same money (unless you go for a hand grinder).
(Didnt neg you, btw)
Im using a kmart style "grinder", so this will definitely be an upgrade for me. I spend too much time on that spice grinder sieving the coffee grind and moving to back to the spice grinder to make it finer.
Curious to see how coarse this will be at the finest setting in comparison.
Have both stock and non pressurised for the dedica.
If the SGP ever falls to 160ish again ill go for that.
I have one of these. The same model but like 4 years old.
Unless they have changed it now, it used to be quite coarse at its finest. There is a hack though, you can add some washers to the grind mechanism, some have even been lucky and have had Sunbeam ship the washers for free.
Easy mod.
Edit: Actually mine looks the same but I think it has another model number. So its likely they have changed it from back then.
@ripprind: Not sure about this model but I've got the EM0480 - It goes plenty fine enough with the shim (washer) mod. They should send you one out if needed, but prety sure I got one from ebay for a few bucks delivered years ago)
ps. goes way too fine on setting 5 - taking a while to dial in the grind for new beans (have to go finer as they get older).
For the BES920, can you use a cheap grinder like a Kmart one? If yes, then what would the difference be for milk based coffees (latte, cappuccino etc).
BES920 is a pretty decent machine…personally I think it would be a travesty to use a cheap Kmart blade grinder with it! (ie. You wasted your money getting a BES920 if you were going to use a blade grinder with it!)
Definitely get a Smart Grinder Pro, at a minimum, I'd say. Something even better, preferably!
Whatever you do, dont get a blade grinder! Lol
@caprimulgus: What are the reasons though? Just inferior tasting coffee? Do you think it's a significant improvement with a smart grinder pro vs cheap grinder?
@arcticmonkey: Yes, absolutely, the results will be night and day different.
Honestly, if you are going to use a blade grinder, I would suggest you to sell the BES920, and buy a much much cheaper coffee machine with a pressurised portafilter. You'll probably get better results from the cheaper machine with a pressurised portafilter than you would with the more expensive BES920 (if using a blade grinder, I mean).
The common adage is that you're supposed to spend more on the grinder than the machine - while it's not really that simple, in this case, the machine would be completely out of proportion to your grinder!
@gosund: From what I understand it's pretty much the same as the Smart Grinder Pro (same burrs etc), but I think with less adjustments?
I've never compared them back to back, but I would guess they would be pretty similar, or the SGP maybe a bit better.
Personally, I would prefer the SGP (with a different machine), because it's an external grinder, and can be replaced with an upgrade (rather than being stuck with an unused built in grinder if you upgrade to a better grinder). But, if you have a BES870 already, I dont know if SGP is going to be a worthwhile upgrade…I'd save up for something better, honestly.
@caprimulgus: I’ve heard the built-in internal grinder is far inferior to the SGP, not even taking into account the fact that if it breaks under warranty you need to send the whole machine away.
@Meconium: Well I mean, "far inferior" is a matter of perspective, yeah? To me they are much of a muchness - except potentially in adjustability, I believe (which you could argue is far inferior, sure). Yes, as I said, I think the SGP is better, and would choose that between the two - but I dont think I would bother upgrading to the SGP if I had a Barista Express: I'd upgrade to something far better, that would make much more of a difference.
If your built in grinder breaks down, and you want a replacement, then absolutely: SGP is the natural choice! But if you're looking for an upgrade to the built in grinder, I'd stick with what you have and save up for a more meaningful upgrade to something even better. That was the point I was trying to make.
To put it another way: any difference between the built in grinder and the standalone SGP pales in comparison to the difference between either of those two and a Niche or DF64 or Lagom Mini or Eureka Specialita, etc. You know what I mean?
Definitely agree about the inconvenience of the built in grinder, as you say! It's the flipside of the "convenience" of having an all-in-one machine - which is definitely NOT my preference!! :)
K-Max is same price as SGP plus you get big arms
Firstly, I was talking about the Sunbeam for $59.
Secondly, I specifically wrote: "unless you go for a hand grinder" in brackets.
Thirdly, I personally would choose J-Max over K-Max, but that is personal preference.
If you were referring to recommending the SGP: I also said in brackets: "or something better" - the something better would include a J-Max/K-Max, if the OP is OK with hand grinding.
I had one of these as it came with my Sunbeam EM6900 standard. Was reasonably happy with it but it made a tonne of mess with coffee flying everywhere so you'd need to get a funnel to sit on top of your basket.
Recently upgraded to a smart grinder pro, makes a solid difference to the quality of the coffees my machine makes…
Did you make sure to install the little rubber spout that slips over the plastic spout? The rubber spout directs the grind directly downwards whereas the plastic part come out on an angle.
Yep, still makes a mess.
Dose your coffee as required. I.e. pre weigh. Then stir with a moistened spoon, then add to hoppee. That gets rid of the static and your mess.
I really like this grinder. I get excellent espresso at setting 6.
@bargain_knight: agree just grind directly into the group handle
No issues at all for years and years (EM0480 though)
'grinding too coarsely even on the finest setting.'
Seems to be the most common negative in reviews of this one
You can add or remove the shims to get finer or coarser grinding iirc
Does it come with shims now? I bought one a few years back and it didn’t but I have heard you can get them. I tried it once with my in-laws non pressurised basket and it was too not fine enough, ok with my crappy pressurised basket machine though.
I got a ?10 or 13mm washer from Bunnings and filed the hole in the washer to be larger. Fits well. Grinding perfectly since then though I'm mindful not go to go the finest setting or it might make metal shards
ugh. I'm getting flashbacks spending hours opening up this junk grinder and mucking around with shims just to get the grind right. Persisted with this for about 4 years then decided to get a replacement (same model) thinking I had a once-off dodgy machine. Nope, same behaviour with the new one. Returned it and got the EM0700. Never looked back
Is ot good for grinding nuts and coriander and so on
Its not $0 delivery even with ebay plus?
Thankyou, updated.
Can you set amount of grind?
Would this be good as a spice grinder?
would work for pepper and it’s something i was wondering so that i can have fresh pepper for my slow cook smoker, the hand grinder is a nuisance, some spices like cumin seeds are very fine and soft so not sure if the blades would grind against each other, but at this price it’s worth a go
Seems the complaints about it not grinding fine enough for espresso are common - It looks as though this can be fixed easily with some cheap shims from ebay. Ironically I had to do the same mod to my old Breville Smart Grinder.
Good deal for the price if you're willing to add shims.
I shim modded my one and ended up getting a SGP a week later 😅. Imo i wouldn't bother getting this for espresso at all.
Yes it's fine and they used to send some out as a fix.
Still got my em0480 with a gaggia classic from circa 2008 and haven't felt the need to upgrade. Have done a few little repairs/upgrades to the machine and bottomless handle.
Not that messy ground straight into the group handle, mine had a plastic thing on though not just as pictured
I had one of these years ago. It didn't grind fine enough for espresso. Plus, it spewed grinds in all directions - too messy. Gave it away and bought a Smart Grinder Pro. While in the lower echelon of grinders, it is still night and day between the SGP and Breville.
DISCOUNT IS OVER. CODE REVOKED BY EBAY.
Bought one for my cold brew addiction. Thanks OP
I have this grinder and find it to be excellent. E.g. I avoid static using James Hoffman's technique and setting 6 is fine enough for espresso. If I go down to 5 it's too fine.
I'm not suggesting other's concerns are not valid, but I can't figure out why my experience is different.
Do you use setting 6 for a non pressurised portafilter?
I'm tired of hand grinding with my commandante, will this be reasonable for a temp electric grinder?
i think its a decent option if not willing to buy the SGP.
I've been watching this particular product on the Good Guys site since July 2021, but the original ad could be older than that. I would have thought that by now at least someone would have corrected the "funny" spelling mistake in the product desciption, but here we are more than 18 months later and now I don't want to them to correct it. It's like an inside "joke" that gives me a chuckle every now and then.
The Sunbeam Grindfresh Multigrinder features a comical burr design with 24 grinder settings from coarse to superfine
lol
Good for cold brew and espresso makers using pressurized baskets