De'Longhi, Coffee Grinder KG79, Black & DLSC058 Coffee Tamper, Stainless Steel

Smart looking little unit { boxy, deco'ish } that works brilliantly , simple to use, just set your grinding level, how many cups its for { I use just under recommendation } press start and allow the machine to do its work, { very quick and quieter than others I have used } if your moving from a spinning blade type grinder to this burr type you will be impressed by how constant and uniform the grind is, good large hopper for your beans, easy to remove the burr mechanism to brush clean, The only downside I can see is the catchment ground coffee hopper, its on the flimsy side { lid fitting } and has a lot of static in it { just tap on your work top to release } overall a very impressive little machine that easily fits into my kitchen and life, after using a burr grinder I will never return to a blade one { mine is now a herb grinder } so take the leap if you are thinking about it, I did and I don't regret it.

After studying budget burr grinder reviews here and elsewhere I decided to buy the De Longhi KG79. Some reviewers say it doesn't grind coffee fine enough for espresso, however I find the result on the minimum setting is a fine powder which works well in my espresso machine. It's at least as fine as ready ground espresso coffee and the powder clumps together as it should if held in the hand. Certainly the taste of the coffee it produces is very satisfying, which is the main thing. The De Longhi grinder is extremely easy to use. Just put enough beans in the hopper, select the grind and the amount required and press the button. I find it produces a little more powder than selected, but this isn't a bad thing. Rather too much than too little. I haven't had any problem with the ground powder not being collected properly and spilling under the machine. It all ends up where it should. Because the powder is fine some can collect in the upper corners of the box so I just tap it gently on the worktop after sliding it out and before taking the lid off. The lid on the bean hopper and the powder collection box fit snuggly and positively in the grinder. This is integral to the safety mechanism as the grinder will not work unless both the lid and the collecting box are correctly in place. It also adds to the high quality feel of the machine. Obviously grinding coffee isn't going to be silent, but I don't find this machine too noisy. If it runs out of beans the noise gets much louder, so I always check sufficient beans are in place before starting the machine. Overall I couldn't be happier with this De Longhi coffee grinder. It looks good, is well made and produces the fine coffee powder necessary for espresso machines.

Perfectly adequate grinder with one or two disappointing features. The bean hopper doesn't hold a whole bag of beans, which is irritating. The lip for removing the grounds container is quite small and difficult to hold with arthritic hands. After grinding, the static in the grounds makes spillage almost inevitable because of the side opening. My previous grinder (a different make and seemingly no longer available) had none of these issues and lasted more than10 years. However the machine does the job effectively and has controls that are easy to use

I invested in a filter coffee machine a couple of years ago and since then have been either buying the bags of pre-ground coffee from supermarkets, or making the odd trip into Starbucks for my favourite blends and asking them to grind it for me. I had heard that grinding the coffee beans just before brewing the coffee tastes a lot better, so I was keen to give it a go. I spent ages looking at all of the different options, mainly trying to choose between one with blades and what they were calling a burr grinder (i'd never heard of it). Every review and guide that I read said that the Burr grinders were better because they gave more even results, didn't burn the coffee beans. Only problem was the price, the blade ones were within what I wanted to spend (around £20) and the Burr Grinders looked to be 10-15 times that amount. I was a little sceptical with this one because it was just a little more expensive than the blade grinders but gave it a go to see what it would be like, it was really the positive reviews on here that convinced me. I found it very easy to set up and use. You really do just pour the beans into the top, replace the cap and press the button on the top. I like that you can do this and then just go away and leave it to do its thing, rather than have to stand and hold the button like some of the other options. I do notice that once or twice it does not seem to want to switch off, and just keeps going. Tends to be when there is maybe just a bean or two bouncing around inside, it keeps going until it catches them. You do get to choose how course or fine the grind is, I have been using it on a medium setting since I set it up and haven't really found any cause to change it. All in all, I have been very impressed with this. Like some people have been telling me, the filter coffee does taste a lot better when it has been ground just before brewing, or least in my opinion after trying it vs the pre-ground bags. This grinder is small and unobtrusive, it matches my (black and chrome) filter coffee machine well and the quality seems excellent. I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Unless you're looking for one for commercial use, this little grinder does a great job at a very reasonable price. Love it!

I spent some time considering the best way to "upgrade" my coffee experience using a 12 year old Russel and Hobbs combi coffee maker. I like my coffee made with the expresso method, but with a bit more water than most peoples tastes. I looked at £300 bean to cup machines, new combi devices at around £125 (I need to be able to make pots of coffee too) and finally settled on this £32 grinder and a £6 water filter jug for beter water quality. I have to say as I sit here drinking my freshly made coffee I am very pleased with my purchaes, I do not think I coud have found a more cost effective way to improve the quality of my favorite drink. It looks,smells and most importantly tastes better than ready ground coffee. I only grind enough coffee for one cup at at time and put it into the machine within seconds of grinding, with it ready presurised and the jug and cup ready warmed. From everything I have read I think using good quality beans, water that tastes nice on its own, and having as short a prepartation time as possible is far more important than the kit you use. The machine itself is very compact and exudes quality despite its plastic casing. The settings are straightforward and seem acurate. It is a bit fiddly getting the ground coffee out without making a bit of a mess, but I am getting used to it. As for the fineness of the grind I can only say it is perferctly good for my tastes, I use it about 2 clicks up from finest and thats plenty good enough for me. Its certaily a lot finner than the ground coffee I was using. As for longevity well we will have to see. If the machine lasts a couple of years befere it dies I think I will have had my moneys worth. At that point I can either buy another one or perhaps upgrade to that £300 cup to bean machine afterall. This comes highly recomended to anyone using ready ground coffee, together with an inexpensive water filter.

Died after 14 months of use. Apart from that did a great job it ground the coffee perfectly. Incredibly easy to use add coffee beans and push go. It took a bit of fiddling to get grind right.

I've owned blade coffee grinders in the past. They are messy and uncontrollable and produce a poor grind. Mine have been thrown away. I decided on the KG79 after reading reviews on Amazon. I've been using the grinder for a week now and I'm very happy with the performance. I can't comment on the long-term build quality of course. I like the ability to preset the number of cups and the fineness of the grind. I use two coffee makers: French press and an AeroPress. Pre-ground coffee is too fine for the French press and results in excessive fines. It's great in the AeroPress however -- but it takes longer to make a cup. After a couple of day's experimentation I found the setting for a courser grind that works well in the French press and produces full-flavoured coffee while minimising fines. It's easy to use: load with beans, press the button and in a few seconds there's your ground coffee ready to go. Nice product - I recommend it. Update 19 October 2011. I've now been using the grinder for three months. Very pleased with the grinding performance and general quality of the item. But it has a flaw. This flaw is not unique to this product but all grinders that use a particular type of plastic for the ground coffee container (polycarbonate I think it is). Static electricity. The plastic builds up a charge attracts the grounds and makes it almost impossible to get the grounds out without spilling some somewhere, usually over the kitchen bench. I used to tip the grounds out but now I use a teaspoon for most of the grounds and tip up the container only for the last bits. Even with care I still spill something, either under the machine or around the plunger. You have to remove the lid of the coffee container and this always has fine grounds clinging to it. These will spill on whatever you rest the lid on. I put it in the kitchen sink to minimise the problem.

This Christmas a colleague decided to feed my coffee prob..iss... passion with a manual bean grinder along with a bag of beans. After 3 days of improved coffee and what was already a duff wrist and an inconsistent grind I deliberated on the purchase of this.. it's a hefty investment. After a week, here is my take away... The hopper can hold approx 225g of beans, howevre in doing so tends to render it non functioning.. I believe this has something to do with either volume or the hopper lid.. still..it's not enough to annoy me. The Volume...nothing to write home about.. makes noise sure.. but...hey it's grinding. The dials.. I prefer course for my french press and it stays on course.. man does it make a great cuppa. The minimum cup selection is 2. You can either chose to utilise this as your strength or as it is 2. I use my fresh grounds and leave the rest in there for later..usually making for 2 cups. You could grind more but if you're going to get into the ultimate coffee making side of things then you need to look into appropriate storage..there are legit proper filtered tins for this sort of thing. All in all I get 4 tablesspoons out of a 2 cup blend. I work at 2 tablespoons per 8 fl oz and brew at 4 minutes after stirring and before plunging. The collection box does have static.. but no biggy. The takeaway.. This is a great blender and like any device is open to having issues out of the factory. There is a warranty so make sure you keep the leaflet that comes with. Make sure you maintain it, and clean it out and don't let everything get clogged up.. get into a routine. I can't complain.. this has made me a happy man. The only negative I can think of is the packaging. This comes in the polystyrene base and top padding fashion and I feel that it could be better.. but that's just me.. it's not enough to annoy me but could result in damage if the package is thrown around.