Breville Smart Grinder Pro Coffee Bean Grinder, BCG820BKSXL, Black Sesame

For years I’ve done grinding with a hand grinder, and honestly I’m convinced that’s the best/quietest/cleanest way to grind your own coffee. But with a new baby and increased work scheduled constantly hand grinding finally got to be too much. I settled on this one for a number of reasons:1) The Breville brand. I’ve always found their appliances to be good quality with well thought out designs.2) Based on review videos online this seemed to be one of the quieter electric grinders.3) Easy to use interface with more than just a simple timer.4) Capable grinding different sizes from French press coarse to finer grinds for drip and aero press with plenty of setting to fine tune for personnel preference.So far it’s been a great grinder and It seems to be of quality build. Definitely feels sturdy.Do not expect whisper quiet, I do not think that’s ever going to be a thing for electric grinders, but it was definitely quieter than some of the others I’ve seen. My newborn infant gives it zero thumbs up… because he’s somehow still asleep while in the same room 20ft. away, but YMMV. For me that’s a decent sound level.The grind levels are great. There are almost too many to chose from, but it does give you plenty of options to find your perfect grind. I use a drip brewer during the week (automated/quicker) and a pour over (preferred) on the weekends. I’ve found different grind levels that I like for both. And having so many grind size options means it’s easy to adjust for bolder/lighter coffee as needed.My only real issue with the grinder, and this seems to just be another thing for electric grinders is the mess. Breville tried to make it a close fit between the output shoot and the container that catches the grinds, but some does escape, and some of the grinds static cling to the inside of the lid and jar. All to say, you end up with some on your counter when you grind and when you open the container to move the ground coffee to your preferred brewer. Nothing a quick wipe with a paper towel can’t take care of.One last note: Most electric grinders, this one included, run based on a predetermined time. Cheaper ones leave the amount of time up to you to figure out. The Breville bases the time on number of selected cups and your grind size. If the time doesn’t match up for you, it’s easy to reprogram the machine to a time that better matches your expectations. Personally I still find it easier to weigh my beans first (a cheap 500g scale is highly recommend, and had many uses in the kitchen) then place them in the hopper. This way even if your timing is off you still end up with the right amount. Either way you choose, I believe this is a great grinder for the money and hopefully will last for many years like the other Breville products we’ve had over the years.

This grinder replaced my dearly departed Baratza Encore which worked tirelessly for me for 4 years before giving up the ghost. I was leery of switching to something different but now I am glad I did. This unit is a step up in quality, functionality and ease of use!One piece of advice: get the silicone bellows made for it and use it! This solved the only problem I had with the unit initially: that a significant amount of grinds stay in the chute after grinding. That stuff gets nasty and can spoil the next batch you make unless you clean it out. And cleaning it out with a brush is tedious, messy and wasteful. Better solution: install the bellows and give it a couple pumps after each use. The extra grinds are almost completely removed from the chute and are added to your dose where they belong! No waste. No mess.As far as the grinder itself goes, I have nothing but positive things to say. It's fast, quiet, accurate and produces consistent sized grinds. Plus it's easy to tweak +/- for any dose level you desire. AND the unit remembers all your tweaks. Very impressive.I cannot sympathize with reviewers online who spend time sifting grinds out, measuring them with calipers or looking at them under a magnifying glass. My questions were probably more like most of you: Is it easy to use and clean? Yes! Do the grinds look consistently sized by eyeball? Yes! Do the grinds look consistent from one use to the next? Yes! Can I tweak the grinds up or down in tiny increments easily? Yes! Does the coffee I make taste awesome? YES!I try not to be swayed too much by those who are over-analyzing and trying to impress you and themselves with their supposed superior senses. In reality they might just be trying to justify the $100s they dropped on grinders that produce identically tasting coffee. That or they've crossed the fine line between enthusiast and freak :-)