( 68 reviews )
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Aug 13 2009
For a month, I've had the KitchenAid pro sitting next to the Capresso Infinity and have compared the two. Which to send back? Here are my observations, including reference to my Zassenhaus hand grinder, dusted off for the occasion. Grind quality: At first, I was alarmed with the KA grinding performance and that's why I ordered the Infinity (no prior experience with electric burr grinders). Note, though, that individual unit variation might be at fault for those of us that report uneven grind--I don't know. Settings 1-2 are so coarse as to be useless. "Dust and boulders" captures it. For French press, which is all I've done with these, I set it to 4 even after nudging the gear to the finer grind alignment, and I've never had a ground in my cup. "4" on the KA is in fact equivalent to "1" on the Infinity, at least with my units; and the KA's max setting will, because of the ability to adjust the burrs, be absolutely the consistency of powdered sugar, whereas the Infinity does not go so far. The KA grind is not especially uniform. I would say that half the grinds are of the setting size, while the rest range from slightly larger to all manner of smaller grinds, down to dust. I'm not sure I would be able to guess how it had been set if you handed me a bowl of grounds. Performance improves as you select a smaller grind, because the burrs move closer together. This is true for any grinder, but the Capresso Infinity delivers a somewhat better grind. Only somewhat, though: grinds still range from the selected size down to fines in a fairly linear fashion, but with "sharper" feeling grinds due to the conical burrs. It seems a bit more even overall than the KA, with the difference between the two becoming less noticeable as smaller grinds are selected. If I'd bought the Infinity first, that would have been the end of it. The Zassenhaus DG169, by comparison, delivered the same sharper grinds but poorer performance than the Infinity and with loads of dust (Zass has come under fire for quality control in recent years). Back on the shelf you go, Zass. The KA uses two flat plates with very dull burrs to crush the beans between them. The Infinity and Zass both grind the beans between a conical inner and outer pair of burrs, which is a better architecture in theory. But I don't think it's possible to have the KA's clog-resistant, easy-cleaning straight path with a conical burr design. Occasional complaints over the dullness of the KA burrs seem misplaced: "grinding" means to crush the beans. The Infinity burrs are sharper, sure, but not sharp enough to cut skin, much less a bean. E.g., it's still a grinder, and it's great being a grinder... I'm told. The KA spins at 450rpm, the Infinity at 420, and the Zass at 70 if you have a really good arm. Obsessiveness aside, how important is evenness of grind, really? Extraction is directly related to surface area (perhaps especially with French press). So, different-sized grounds extract and over-extract at different rates. All that having been said, I'm sure I cannot tell the difference between coffee made with the KA, Zass, and Infinity. I think I can tell burr-ground from blade-ground, although at least in part this is because I'm too brain-dead before coffee to have any sort of timing, tilting, checking routine with a blade grinder. In short, I think this debate is entirely theoretical, at least excluding hyper-sensitive aficionados who have trained themselves to have a more expensive/discerning palette. That makes choosing between the Infinity and KA very difficult. Infinity=half the price and better grinding; KA=better aesthetic experience, durability, and "probably" the same taste. Build quality: There's a lot to be said for the aesthetic experience of using machines that are part of your daily ritual. Cars aside, we went several decades without acknowledging that. As a machine, the KitchenAid grinder screams 1950s in the sense that it's a big, metal-and-glass beast that will last longer than you will. Removing the burrs reveals the same story: all the parts are equally industrial-strength. But it's also an eye-catcher, if you're into that. Yes, the grind-collecting bowl is somewhat thin glass. If it breaks, use anything you like to replace it: a glass measuring cup, coffee cup, your hand... the grounds drop straight down into this large space. By contrast, the Infinity housing is plastic--adequate, but not an aesthetic experience like using the KA indubitably is. The Infinity's grinds are shoved forward and down a shoot. Still, I would feel comfortable leaving extra grinds in the Infinity's somewhat sealed container, whereas the collecting container on the KA is open-top and the sturdy plastic bean hopper lid isn't a tight fit. Clean-up: Both the Infinity and KA spew a small amount of grinds. I believe it is slightly more with the Infinity, either because of static or from tiny gaps around the hopper base and receptacle. In terms of clean-up, though, the KA wins out decisively because the Infinity's plastic receptacle has some internal angles that aggressively collect grinds. It can be a small chore to clean the Infinity. The KA's glass is a pleasure to handle and work with. It is also much easier to clean the KA internally--it's a fully-exposed straight shot when you remove the outer burr. To reduce grind-spew from the KA, jiggle the receptacle against the plastic grind-catcher it sits under before pulling it away. I've been grinding Columbian and medium roast, neither of which are very oily. Noise: They are very close to the same. The Infinity is slightly quieter, but only just. Both are slightly less annoying than a cheap blade grinder, my only point of comparison. The Zass is much quieter, especially because most of the time you will be massaging your wrist instead of turning the crank ("Zassenhaus" is German for Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, I think). Controls: The Infinity's mechanical timer might be what breaks. It's hard to resist using the timer to turn the machine off (to do this, instead twist the bean hopper). In short, I hate the Infinity's timer. I love the old-school solid metal switch on the side of the KA. Much better than the plastic light-up kind. The ginormous KA adjustment knob directly moves the outer burr back to decrease the grind size. The Infinity bean hopper turns to accomplish the same thing with the conical burr, but it's plastic--it'll last just fine, but doesn't scream "invincible" the way the KA does (do you apprehend the theme here?). So what'd I do? The answer would imply that I take one grinder as better than the other, but it's apples and oranges: grind quality (at a level my nose and tastebuds probably aren't trained to discern) versus overkill "counter jewelry" aesthetics. As a side note, I'd read the most recent 3-star review carefully and ask yourself if you can really tell the diff from a $20 blade grinder, much less 8 times the diff. One thing I can say is that I loathed everything about the blade grinders, from scraping the grounds out from around the blades to the whine. I'm paying for that as well as for more reliably good coffee.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 30 2009
After decades of using an inexpensive blade grinder, I decided to make my first move up on a middle priced model from KitchenAid, since I have had their appliances before and was impressed with the quality of manufacture. As a mechanical engineer, I was looking for simplicity of maintenance, quiet operation, rugged and well built construction, acceptable end results, and straightforward operating techniques. I found all of those qualities in the KitchenAid machine. I use it for grinding a fine-grind drip coffee to brew in a manual-pour drip coffee maker, brewed as rich and dark as possible with a non-press technique. I ordered the nickel pearl finish, which mimics the retro appearance of hand held power tools of pre-1960 when everything was made of steel and metal-alloy. It is also available in gloss black. The grinder holds up to 7 oz. of beans in the heavy glass storage vessel above (about the thickness of a mason jar). The lid to the storage vessel is more or less press-fit with a rubber compression ring, so it is reasonably air tight. I have read about the complaints people have with the glass receiver below. True, it is thin glass, so just be careful when you handle it. The design of the receiver is tapered up to the discharge opening of the grinder, which adds to the possibility of dropping it if one is careless. I cradle it with a hand below when carrying it. The glass receiver could be improved by KitchenAid if they would add a grip-strip around the sides of it, such as an etched ring band. But frankly, it is quite usable if one is careful. And replacements are available on line, for $10 plus shipping if it gets broken. Another commenter recommended to not use the receiver at all, but simply grind directly into coffee maker's drip basket below. This is possible also, since grinding is done slowly and steadily, and there are no fugitive coffee grounds that are scattered about. Some have complained about the switch on the side, and slightly to the rear. This is no big deal. You have to probe around for it the first few times you use the grinder, but soon you'll learn where it is and your efforts will become automatic. I appreciate the standard steel construction of this toggle on-off switch. It is not some cheap plastic type. I expect it to be easily replaceable if necessary, and available from most hardware stores. Cleaning is simple and straightforward, using minimal tools for disassembly - and thanks to the excellent instruction manual that comes with the grinder, the process is explained very clearly. The burrs are easily adjustable as well, which increases or decreases their grind size throughout their range from fine to coarse. The machine grinding control has detents for 16 discrete levels of fineness in grind, so I would recommend trying it first and adjusting the burrs later as they begin to wear down. The burrs are rated for a lifetime of 600-800 pounds of coffee. Under normal once-a-day residential use, these should easily last over a decade before replacement is necessary. The grinder is also sized correctly for an under-counter appliance. It is only 13.5" high, and 10" front to back, and 6" wide - about the size of a stand mixer. It's weight of 11.4 pounds and rubber feet keep it from walking around on the countertop during operation. There is also a 2 year no hassle guarantee from KitchenAid, which is a plus. I would highly recommend this for an everyday drip grind coffee grinder under $200. I am very satisfied. Note: I bought this from Superior Camera for $163 in July of 2009. There were a number of merchants offering this item at substantially less than $200. UPDATE - 8-14-09 I continue to be pleased with this coffee grinder, but I became interested in the complaints by others about the flimsy glass receiver for the grounds. I did find an exact KitchenAid replacement but the cost was $10 plus $6 shipping. Too expensive for me. I discovered that a good replacement might be found in a candle shop. A correctly sized clear glass Candle Bowl (e.g. the 26 oz. Libbey Candle Bowl, et. al) looks like it might be a good fit, and there are others as well. These are made of clear glass, and are undoubtedly not dishwasher safe, but they are very inexpensive - less than $2.50 in most instances. And they look reasonably nice on the counter.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jul 30 2009
After decades of using an inexpensive blade grinder, I decided to make my first move up on a middle priced model from KitchenAid, since I have had their appliances before and was impressed with the quality of manufacture. As a mechanical engineer, I was looking for simplicity of maintenance, quiet operation, rugged and well built construction, acceptable end results, and straightforward operating techniques. I found all of those qualities in the KitchenAid machine. I use it for grinding a fine-grind drip coffee to brew in a manual-pour drip coffee maker, brewed as rich and dark as possible with a non-press technique. I ordered the nickel pearl finish, which mimics the retro appearance of hand held power tools of pre-1960 when everything was made of steel and metal-alloy. It is also available in gloss black. The grinder holds up to 7 oz. of beans in the heavy glass storage vessel above (about the thickness of a mason jar). The lid to the storage vessel is more or less press-fit with a rubber compression ring, so it is reasonably air tight. I have read about the complaints people have with the glass receiver below. True, it is thin glass, so just be careful when you handle it. The design of the receiver is tapered up to the discharge opening of the grinder, which adds to the possibility of dropping it if one is careless. I cradle it with a hand below when carrying it. The glass receiver could be improved by KitchenAid if they would add a grip-strip around the sides of it, such as an etched ring band. But frankly, it is quite usable if one is careful. And replacements are available on line, for $10 plus shipping if it gets broken. Another commenter recommended to not use the receiver at all, but simply grind directly into coffee maker's drip basket below. This is possible also, since grinding is done slowly and steadily, and there are no fugitive coffee grounds that are scattered about. Some have complained about the switch on the side, and slightly to the rear. This is no big deal. You have to probe around for it the first few times you use the grinder, but soon you'll learn where it is and your efforts will become automatic. I appreciate the standard steel construction of this toggle on-off switch. It is not some cheap plastic type. I expect it to be easily replaceable if necessary, and available from most hardware stores. Cleaning is simple and straightforward, using minimal tools for disassembly - and thanks to the excellent instruction manual that comes with the grinder, the process is explained very clearly. The burrs are easily adjustable as well, which increases or decreases their grind size throughout their range from fine to coarse. The machine grinding control has detents for 16 discrete levels of fineness in grind, so I would recommend trying it first and adjusting the burrs later as they begin to wear down. The burrs are rated for a lifetime of 600-800 pounds of coffee. Under normal once-a-day residential use, these should easily last over a decade before replacement is necessary. The grinder is also sized correctly for an under-counter appliance. It is only 13.5" high, and 10" front to back, and 6" wide - about the size of a stand mixer. It's weight of 11.4 pounds and rubber feet keep it from walking around on the countertop during operation. There is also a 2 year no hassle guarantee from KitchenAid, which is a plus. I would highly recommend this for an everyday drip grind coffee grinder under $200. I am very satisfied. Note: I bought this from Superior Camera for $163 in July of 2009. There were a number of merchants offering this item at substantially less than $200.
