Breville BCG820BSS Smart Grinder Pro for Coffee and Espresso, Brushed Stainless Steel

There are many bad reviews here about this grinder seizing or stopping, and a few even that talk of a burning smell... this is an easy problem to get around. Bottom line, this is a truly superb entry level grinder with one major drawback that is easily overcome. I'll get into what makes this grinder great in a bit, but first, the one thing you NEED TO KNOW if you buy this model. If the grinder slows down or stops grinding before it has run its cycle, PAUSE THE GRINDER. You do this by pressing the button on the right. Then remove the hopper (consult the manual - this is easy to do). Remove the upper burr (also easy to do - read the manual). Dump out any beans inside the grinder (just pick the machine up and turn it upside down - I dump the beans back into the hopper). Brush out the lower burr area (Breville supplies a small brush for this). Put the upper burr and the hopper back together. Restart the grinder (press the right button). It will complete the remainder of the cycle that was paused. You may wish to manually grind a bit more to make up for any lost grounds. Why does this happen? The motor in this model is a bit underpowered. It can get hung up while grinding. It is rare, but there it is. It's happened to me once in months of daily use. When it happens, follow the steps above and you should have no issues. It's what I did, and the grinder went right back to flawless operation like it had never happened. Why is this still a great grinder? It's pretty simple - the ONLY thing that matters about a grinder other than reliability/durability is how consistent the grind is (how uniform is the size of the individual specks of ground coffee). The better the consistency, the better your coffee will be, period. This model **absolutely excels** in consistency. Hands down, independently tested, it blows every grinder in this price range out of the water with more than twice as much "optimal" size grounds as compared to the next best make and model. You can spend 2 or 3 times this amount and still not get a more consistent grind than you will with this guy. Where it counts, this grinder is the king, unless you want to spend far far more for a true professional model. Some additional nice features: ---With a bit of experimenting, you can dial in exactly how much coffee you want it to grind per cup (for drip) or per shot (for espresso) and easily program that amount in so you don't have to think about it again. Once that is done, you can simply tell it 1 or 2 shots, or how many drip cups (up to 12) that you want to make, and then you can ALWAYS grind the EXACT amount of coffee you need. This means you can always make coffee with only freshly ground beans without ever wasting a single bean. That is pretty awesome. ---You can experiment with up to 60 grind sizes to dial in exactly what you want. Personally, for espresso, 15.8 seconds at size 14 grind gives a perfectly dialed in double shot on my Breville espresso machine. For drip, I'm liking the mid 40's, but I haven't decided exactly where yet. The difference from one setting to the adjacent setting is really hard to taste with drip coffee. ---If you don't need super fine espresso grinds but want courser grounds than setting 60 will give you (to get French Press just so), you can adjust the upper burr (easy to do - read the manual). There are 4 more positions that will adjust all 60 settings and make them coarser. Conversely, if you want even finer espresso but don't need the coarsest settings, there are 5 more positions of that upper burr that will make the whole range of the machine finer. One video review I saw said this makes for 600 grind settings, but I'm sure most of those 600 are overlapping. It's at least 69 different grinds possible, at any rate. ---Large hopper. Not as big as a professional grinder's hopper, but you can put a full pound of beans into this grinder with some room to spare. ---Cleanly removable hopper. In order to remove the hopper, you twist a knob to "lock" it. This closes down the feed ports at the bottom so no beans will fall out when you take the hopper off. If you want to get crazy, you could buy a second hopper (or more) and switch between espresso and normal coffee easily (although the first few beans ground will be from the previous hopper, left behind in the burr, unless you dump them out when switching). The removable hopper also makes it very easy to clean after it starts to get oil buildup (which can contribute to the machine seizing up). ---Magnetic removable catch tray. Grinds get everywhere, and this makes cleaning up of (most) loose grinds very easy. ---Magnetic portafilter holders. You get two, one for the standard 58mm PF size, and one for the smaller PF's found on Breville automatic espresso machines. You can set your portafilter in the holder, and grind right into it without any mess. There's even a button so you can set the portafilter in, then activate the grinder by simply pushing on the portafilter. Some things that could stand improvement: ---More powerful motor... that would make this grinder just about perfect. ---Could be a bit quieter. It's not especially loud, as grinders go, but it's not the quietest I've owned either. But a more power motor would probably be louder, so they may have been trying to find a balance here between powerful and quiet. ---The included catch "cup". It seals airtight, which is nice, but the mouth does not line up with the grinder port when it's inserted fully. Push it too far back in and the metal lid sticks to the magnet designed to secure the portafilter adapter, but if you line it up just right with the grinder port, the vibration of the grinder tends to make it to slide out of place during grinding. The fix is to just grind directly into your filter, or take the lid off the "cup" and set it all the way in to catch your grounds. OVERALL RECOMMENDATION: ---If you mainly make drip or pour-over coffee, and/or espresso, this grinder is unbeatable unless you can afford a true professional model. Stay vigilant if it binds up (again, that's rare but potentially damaging for the motor). But if you take good care of this grinder, and spend some time customizing the settings, it will deliver superior grinds in exactly the amounts you need, every time. ---If you primarily make Press coffee, and really like extremely coarse grinds, then there is probably a better choice for you out there.

I've had two Breville Bambino Plus espresso makers for several years. I like them a lot and I felt they good espresso. But I thought I could do better. I had a coffee grinder that was supposedly a good brand, but it jammed and I gave up on it a couple years ago. But I saw the Breville Smart Grinder and was intrigued. It is an amazing machine and while it can be used with any espresso maker and it's portafilter, the Breville's are it's sweet spot. It has settings for: grind time, number of doses and grind size. You can start i by pushing on your portafilter. I found that freshly ground beans initially take up much more space that ground coffee. So I bought a dosing funnel, good but but too tall and also opaque. I bought the Breville one, smaller and smoke grey so you can see the coffee. The tamper fits in it. Tamping reduces the volume of the coffee; they take it off and put the portafilter. The grind size is very adjustible to you can go from expresso fine grind to coarse for Frency press, and everything in between. I continue to tweak my expresso and my French press is great too. Very pleased with it.

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 Breville coffee grinder has truly elevated my home coffee setup. I was looking for a compact yet powerful grinder - with some flexibility, and this one checks all the boxes. The design is sleek, with a sturdy build that feels well-made. I primarily use it for espresso, which is every day - as an espresso demands fresh griding, but I also use it for brewing my cold brew - where I grind big and a lot of it - and it delivers a consistent, measurable grind that’s essential for quality shots and good cold brew. The adjustable settings make it easy to customize the grind size, which is a huge plus for someone who enjoys experimenting with different coffee styles. Using the grinder is straightforward, and I appreciate the convenience of the preset grind volumes – it saves time during busy mornings. Cleanup is also manageable, with a removable bottom piece that helps keep stray grounds contained. My only minor issue is the cord length, which could be a little longer for easier placement on the counter. That said, the grinder’s quality and performance definitely outweigh this small inconvenience. Overall, a great addition to any coffee lover’s kitchen!

Muy buen molido a decir verdad, buena molienda para esspero, para otros métodos está decente, no resalta mucho, lo único es tiene un porcentaje de retención un poco notorio en la primera molienda cuando está sin nada de café

Bought to go with my new espresso machine and works perfect! Setup was nice and easy for a beginner. Lots of options for grind size and amount with an easy to use and clear display!

Buen producto, ajustes precisos de molienda, se recomienda hacerle limpieza para mejorar su funcionamiento (evita que se acumule café molido en el mecanismo de molienda), perfecto para una cafetería pequeña, ideal para uso doméstico

Personally when I set out to buy a proper espresso burr grinder, cost was an important factor. For something which sole purpose is to just grind coffee beans, it's a bit painful to see just how expensive the espresso grinder market is and how limited the options are, and as a newbie, I can't really gauge the true value of something that costs $500+ more than this. Even this grinder I wouldn't define it as cheap, despite it being one of the cheapest options. If that's the boat you're in, definitely put this grinder in your list of considerations. Keep in mind I haven't used one of the more expensive grinders yet so I can't quite know for sure what I'm missing in terms of extraction and flavor etc. What I was after were the cost, ease-of-use, consistency, and flavor, and this grinder does just that with a nice fine and fluffy grind that can produce espresso that I think even a coffee enthusiast can appreciate. 9 month update: so far this grinder is holding up. The only negatives are the clumpiness, but this is pretty minor as it is easily fixed with WDT. Also had to adjust the inner bur for some coffee beans I had. Still though, it grinds more than fine enough to where you can choke the machine if you wanted. The other slight negative is that it’s hard to fit a dosing funnel on the portafilter while grinding, making spillage pretty common. However, still liking this grinder.