Some excellent reviews on Amazon
Lots and lots of good reviews (4.3 out of 5.0) over at Amazon
Great reviews (4.8 out of 5.0) over at Macys.com
I have one of these and I love it!
Can anyone speak to how this performs against a Brartza Virtuoso Preciso? The price sure is more enticing, but I’ve come to trust the burr group on the Preciso and newer Virtuosos.
[QUOTE=deafinoneear, post:6, topic:380826]
Can anyone speak to how this performs against a Brartza Virtuoso Preciso? The price sure is more enticing, but I’ve come to trust the burr group on the Preciso and newer Virtuosos.
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This has stainless steel blades, vs ceramic. It’s a great grinder, but it’s made mostly of plastic, which is where you’ll see a difference with the nicer Italian models. The Breville should be expected to last five years, as opposed to the longer life of the Baratza. You get what you pay for, but at $119.00 this thing is a steal!
[QUOTE=wootkirk, post:7, topic:380826]
This has stainless steel blades, vs ceramic. It’s a great grinder, but it’s made mostly of plastic, which is where you’ll see a difference with the nicer Italian models. The Breville should be expected to last five years, as opposed to the longer life of the Baratza. You get what you pay for, but at $119.00 this thing is a steal!
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Plastic? Where did you get that info? The housing on the Breville is made of stainless steel and the whole grinder feels solid. I should know, I have one.
I’m leery of the 6 month warranty and squaretrade doesn’t do refurbs. Are there any other options to extend the warranty?
Or Woot, is there a reason this one doesn’t qualify for squaretrade refurb like some of your refurbs?
[QUOTE=ICantAffordIt, post:9, topic:380826]
I’m leery of the 6 month warranty and squaretrade doesn’t do refurbs. Are there any other options to extend the warranty?
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What about a credit card like Amex? I know some or possibly all purchases made with an Amex may carry warranty services.
[QUOTE=turner02, post:8, topic:380826]
Plastic? Where did you get that info? The housing on the Breville is made of stainless steel and the whole grinder feels solid. I should know, I have one.
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I actually passed this over for the Krups GX610050 just because of the serviceability (or lack thereof) of the Breville.
Breville is a great company and a great brand, but their products have no customization and you get what you get. My problem with this stemed from my Breville Infuser espresso machine which has no pump or thermocoil adjustment. You can’t even hack it since everything is solid-state, there is no rheostat hidden inside somewhere like on most Italian machines.
So the reason I got the Krups grinder is because it is completely serviceable. Breville will not sell you replacement burrs or even a washer if your grinder breaks. If it is under warranty, they give you a new grinder. If it isn’t under warranty, you can trade it in for a light discount toward a new model, or pay to have it fixed (which costs $100 for replacement burrs on the Smart Grinder, btw…I checked)
Krups will sell you a plethora of replacement parts, from the bean hopper blade springs to the rubber mat on the base. And, of course, burrs, bearing and washer, for $30.
And since the burrs are easily removable and ride on a bearing instead of an internal motor driving a shaft, you can customize the spacing of the burrs to dial in your grinds:
In short, the Smart Grinder is an amazing grinder at this price, but the Krups is better in every way.
I think it’s very fair to say that Breville is a lot like Apple - Quality, beauty, and virtually no user-serviceable parts.
I got both the Breville YouBrew and the Breville Frother here, and they are easy to use and work perfectly, and I use them almost every day. Yummmmmmmy coffee.
But I’ve already discovered that there’s virtually no market for replacement parts unless you’re scrounging the broken bins on ebay.
CoffeeGeek has a few, but pretty positive reviews,
http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/grinders/brevillebcg800xl
I have had my Breville Smart Grinder for over a year and I love it. Check it out at http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/breville-smart-grinder. The videos they have on that site are great. You can compare the Baratza there too.
I have an older Breville Espresso machine that I have kept working with the help of http://www.ereplacementparts.com.
Love my Brevilles!!
Given the features, reviews and Breville reputation, this seems like a no-brainer.
I’m tempted even though I’m happy with my Baratza. It’s hard to pass up a deal on a coffee gadget…
[QUOTE=turner02, post:8, topic:380826]
Plastic? Where did you get that info? The housing on the Breville is made of stainless steel and the whole grinder feels solid. I should know, I have one.
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I own one as well, and I am happy with it. The reference to plastic was a response to the question about a comparison the Baratza. The Smart Grinder has a stainless exterior, but is lightweight next to grinders that are $400-$600 and up. If you dispute the ingredients in the Smart Grinder you need only look at the product description itself. “All parts that come into contact with coffee are BPA free.” Yep - that means plastic.
It was great for a day. My review:
Back it went. The Proline that I got instead has been running like a top every since. My original Proline probably would still be running, except for the fact that my wife is truly a disaster in the kitchen - read the review for more details on that 
Can I use this to grind grain, like to make bread flour or chicken feed, or would it get too hot grinding several cups’ worth of grain at a time?
[QUOTE=Samus, post:11, topic:380826]
I actually passed this over for the Krups GX610050 just because of the serviceability (or lack thereof) of the Breville.
Breville is a great company and a great brand, but their products have no customization and you get what you get. My problem with this stemed from my Breville Infuser espresso machine which has no pump or thermocoil adjustment. You can’t even hack it since everything is solid-state, there is no rheostat hidden inside somewhere like on modest Italian machines.
So the reason I got the Krups grinder is because it is completely serviceable. Breville will not sell you replacement burrs or even a washer if your grinder breaks. If it is under warranty, they give you a new grinder. If it isn’t under warranty, you can trade it in for a light discount toward a new model, or pay to have it fixed (which costs $100 for replacement burrs on the Smart Grinder, btw…I checked)
Krups will sell you a plethora of replacement parts, from the bean hopper blade springs to the rubber mat on the base. And, of course, burrs, bearing and washer, for $30.
And since the burrs are easily removable and ride on a bearing instead of an internal motor driving a shaft, you can customize the spacing of the burrs to dial in your grinds:
In short, the Smart Grinder is an amazing grinder at this price, but the Krups is better in every way.
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Thank you for such thorough information!
[QUOTE=purplekanga, post:18, topic:380826]
Can I use this to grind grain, like to make bread flour or chicken feed, or would it get too hot grinding several cups’ worth of grain at a time?
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I’m more interested if it would be good to grind grain for making beer!