BCG820DBL Smart Grinder Pro for Coffee and Espresso, Damson Blue

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.

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 :-)

This is one heck of a grinder. First of all, it's very attractive looking. It honestly looks even nicer than it does in the photos (I think the photos make it look kind of like cheap plastic, but that's not at all how it feels). The grind size is extremely consistent and it doesn't take terribly long to grind. (Grinding 42 grams of coffee at setting 52 takes about 28 seconds). It's really easy to adjust grind size with the big knob on the right. You have to experiment a little with choosing the number of cups or shots you need, but it's all very customizable. For instance, say you making 4 cups of coffee in a French Press. If you're like me and you measure your beans first, then put them in the hopper and grind right before using, the 4 cup setting at a coarse grind size might not complete all the beans in the time it use right out of the box. No problem though -- you can use the knob on the front to adjust the time to grind for 4 cups. It adjusts in 0.2 second increments. The one thing I haven't tested is the consistency of the weight outputted once you dial in a time. (Because I just do the weighing first and don't store beans in the hopper). I haven't tested this for espresso because I don't drink espresso, but everything I have seen online indicates it works very well for an espresso grind (for this price range, of course. This isn't a $1500 grinder or anything). It does come with two portafilter holders though, which is very cool. The hopper seems to seal pretty darn well. As a bit of coffee obsessive person, if I wasn't trying new coffees all the time through a subscription service, I wouldn't hesitate to store a pound of beans in there and just grind what I need each morning. And honestly, the container for the ground beans seems airtight enough that I wouldn't sweat it too much leaving some extra grounds in there until the next morning. The adjustable burrs are an awesome feature, but I haven't had to adjust them -- I've been happy with the factory range so far. (I almost exclusively brew using a Chemex and I'm happy with the grind for pour over use). It's pretty easy to clean the machine of loose grounds, so that's not a big deal. If you're looking at this machine, in all likelihood you're also considering the Baratza Virtuoso or Encore. I can't speak to how those machines function -- I haven't owned either. I can say that the knobs and LEDs and stainless steel of the Breville appealed to the nerd in me, and the grind produced by this machine is acceptable. Everything I've seen on the Baratza machines indicates they are absolutely excellent as well, but given that this machine and the Virtuoso are the same price, I opted for the style I like. I have not been disappointed. EDIT: Since I wrote this review, I learned a couple of things. First, the espresso-level grind is very fine and very consistent. I tried it for a cold brew and it worked out great. Second, you can hold down the start button and it will grind until you let go. If you put in an amount of beans you have weighed, this feature will allow you to either get a good idea of how much time you'll need to grind to get the amount you want if you intend on filling the hopper with beans, or, if you only put in as much as you need to grind, not have to mess with the timer at all and instead just grind until you hear that it's empty (the burrs make a very different sound when no beans are being ground). Third, I haven't found the weight output based on time to be consistent enough for my needs. I'm pretty anal about ratio and I only want to grind exactly as much as I need each time. I don't think this is Breville's fault. They can't control for bean size, etc. For the anal people like me, it'll be best to not fill up the hopper and store your beans elsewhere, then just grind what you need.

Easy to use. Small foot print. Cool color. I bought this in olive to replace a comparable cheaper Bodum brand grinder that was highly rated super cute but rather flimsy hopper and just stopped working after 6 months and for which I couldn't get support from the manufacturer. So I gave up and bought this Breville and it is sturdy, and has some heft to it without taking up too much space and fits on the counter under cabinet. The hopper works better and has a better lid. The receptical is mess free compared to the previous brand and closes completely to make a nice storage container. The control dials even feel sturdy and the whole machine has a quality/luxury feel and seems like it will do its job for a long time to come. No issues after several months. Couldn't be happier. Highly reccomend!

Having tried a few lower cost models (including those from highly rated brands), this is the ONLY one that feeds Starbucks French Roast whole beans consistently. Holds a few days of beans in an airtight hopper, is not too noisy, and the receptacle cup fits snuggly keeping ground coffee from flying around. The plastic though holds a bit of static which allows ground coffee to escape when the cover is removed from the cup. Overall this is a fantastic grinder!

For years, I have had coffee aficionado friends, my mother-in-law, and a bajillion online forum posts telling me that a good burr grinder was the key to quality espresso. All the money in the world on a prosumer machine wasn't going to amount to a hill of gourmet coffee beans as long as I was chopping them up with the $20 Krups blade grinder which I've been using for 15 years. But I just couldn't see how it could make that much of a difference. And certainly not at the prices that rivaled the espresso machines they were meant to feed! But for that same 15 years I've had a prosumer espresso machine that I bought after going through several cheaper models (in our house, the espresso machine gets worked fairly hard). I've had it serviced and overhauled every few years. It's plumbed in on a dedicated, filtered water line, and it's plugged into a digital timer so it kicks on 30 mins. before the alarm goes off in the morning and is fully warmed up and ready to go every day. So a couple months ago, I took it for service and decided that rather than pop for a shiny new machine, maybe I'd try upgrading my grinder to see what difference that might make. I did my due diligence and researched the options before settling on the Breville Smart Grinder. Yes, I was considering a new $2K espresso machine, but I wan't spending that kind of small fortune on a grinder! What sold me on the Breville were several features. The removable hopper (you can leave beans in it when you take it off), the adjustable grind size and dosing, and the magnetic switch triggered by putting the portafilter in place. It took me a week or so of fiddling with the timing and grind size to find the sweet spot for my machine, but once I got it dialed in I realized the advantage of the high-end grinder. For years, I could get a decent shot out of my blade grinder probably 7 or 8 out of 10 times (I had nearly perfected the art of counting a certain number of seconds). But now, I was pulling shots at just the right pressure (9 bars) with thick, rich 'crema' every single time. I had accepted the Gospel according to St. Grinder! Okay, so why did I give this grinder 4 stars instead of 5? No machine is perfect and this one has a couple of VERY minor drawbacks. One cool feature is the mid-grind pause. To keep from making mess all over the counter, the grinder can be paused, allowing me to tamp down what's in the portafilter and then pick up the rest of the dose with the same precise timing. Cool! But if I take too long to restart it, the timer goes back to the default and starts a whole new cycle. I wish the time allowed for a pause we're just a few seconds longer (a relatively easy software tweak, I'd guess). The other downside is the hopper is just a little shy of being to hold a full pound of beans. Not a huge deal, but it's a slight inconvenience to buy a one pound bag and then have to store the last couple ounces in the fridge until there's room for them. Having said that, I just started buying Lavazza brand beans on Amazon in a one kilo (2.2 lbs,) bag. So now, of course, I have to store what doesn't go in the hopper in the fridge anyway. And here's the interesting thing: when I changed beans, I had to totally recalibrate the grinder. You'd think coffee beans are a pretty uniform size and hardness so should grind the same. But the beans from my local gourmet grocer would have to have the dial set much finer and the timer longer to get a decent shot. It took me several tries before I got the grind size dialed down to a little coarser and shorter cycle with the Lavazza beans. The bonus is, the Lavazza beans are a less expensive than the ones from my local grocer. A couple of months in, and I'm very happy with this grinder and would recommend it to any serious home barista.

Great grinder. Adjustable and very quiet. I use a course grind with a single cup reusable filter. Great coffee. There is residue of very fine coffee in the bottom of the cup when done just like hot chocolate reside which is barely noticeable same if you used a French press.

Review and 4 updates Original Review (Purchased Sep 19, 2021) This review details my experience in switching from automatic espresso machines to a Breville BCG820BSS Smart Grinder (no longer recommended) and Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine, both purchased on Amazon. We've had automatic espresso machines since returning from a trip to Italy in 2006. We've owned 4 in total, 1 Saeco and 3 Delonghis. I once opened up our Delonghi Magnifica and the insides are a cornucopia of hoses, wires, and complexity. All 4 were prone to failure and long delays for round trip servicing. Our last Delonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300 round tripped for repairs 3 times in under 3 years. And the prices have risen sharply! Incorporating grinding, tamping, and brewing in a single machine creates complexity. I decided to trade a bit less in automation in the hope of far more reliability. That decision launched detailed research and comparison of both grinding and espresso brewing machines. I selected a a Breville BCG820BSS Smart Grinder and Calphalon BVCLECMP1 Temp iQ Espresso Machine, both with free return privileges. The grinder and espresso machine came to roughly $200 less than another Magnifica. I am nothing short of thrilled with my decision. Surprisingly, the total daily time required to service the machines and make an average of 6 single shot lattes per day did not increase. Here is my routine: 1) Walk into kitchen and hit both power buttons (quick startup means the machines are not on all day) 2) Grab the Calphalon portafilter (58mm single shot, double wall, ridged basket) from its resting place on a towel, and insert it into the Breville grinder. The grind stops automatically in 10+- seconds. 3) Roughly level the coffee, then firmly tamp and twist the tamper. By the time the coffee is tamped, the brewer is warmed up and ready. 4) Insert the portafilter into the Calphalon brewer, twist to lock, insert cup under, and move dial to single shot. While the single shot is brewing, I pour 2% low fat milk into the foaming pitcher. 5) Move the dial to steam and wait a few seconds for the temp to increase for steaming. When steam is ready, it pauses long enough to allow tilting the wand and inserting the pitcher. Apply tip to milk at 3 oclock which forces circular rotation. 6) Steam the milk for 45-60 seconds into a very tight, smooth foam. (Calphalon provides an excellent tutorial on steaming which grealty improved the quality of my foam. I prefer the KRUPS XS5012 Stainless Steel Milk Frothing Pitcher (Amazon) to the Calphalon cup for its width and handle.) 7) Wipe the foaming wand tip with a damp washcloth, drop wand tip toward the tray, move the dial to hot water for a few seconds to flush milk out of the wand. 7) Pour the foamed milk into the cup 8) Release the portafilter and flush it thoroughly with hot water spray at kitchen sink, and place on towel to dry. (I tried a knock box but it was messy. The ridge on the basket helps keep the basket in the portafilter when tapping out the grounds.) 9) Empty the brewer tray once a day, occasionally top off the machines with coffee and filtered water (big tank), I plan to descale the brewer and clean the grinder burrs once a month. I've been doing this for over a year now and my lattes are consistently wonderful. The Breville has a dial on the side for precise grind settings from espresso to drip and press. and a button on the front to select the number of shots/cups. The Calphalon includes both single and double shot baskets and dispenses the extra hot water required to dilute espresso to Americano. The Breville has a 1 year warranty so I purchased the extended warranty. The Calphalon has a 3 year warranty. The utter simplicity of the machines and operation lead me to believe the reliability will handily exceed that of the automatics. Update Nov 05, 2021 I have some additional comments and am reducing my ratings from 5 stars to 4 for both Breville and Calphalon. Breville grinder (4 stars) The grinder is under-powered for espresso and I ended up returning the first unit because is labored so hard doing espresso grinds (12 setting). I deeply researched competitive grinders and decided to try another Breville. The replacement is also under-powered for espresso but the price and features make it worth a bit of compromise. I've purchased the 40oz packages of Starbucks French (Dark) Roast from Costco for years but have read that dark roast is hard on grinders. I purchased a couple of 40oz bags of Kirkland Medium Roast to give it a try. I tried the replacement grinder with the Medium Roast and a 16 setting. It still labors but labors less and I'm getting more consistent grinds. Purchasing the extended warranty for this machine was a good decision. Calphalon Espresso Machine (4 stars) I still like this machine and have developed a rhythm in using it. My knock on Calphalon is a total lack of customer service. I used the website contact form to inquire regarding a second portafilter and single wall baskets. No response! Other reviews mention customer service issues. I would not ignore them. Keep in mind that purchasing an extended warranty provides no benefit or backup during Calphalon's 3 year warranty period. Update March 2023 Breville grinder (1 star) I can no longer recommend the Breville grinder. Breville replaced the grinder not once but twice during the first full year of ownership. I give them 5 stars for customer service (they paid for all shipping and replacement) but lack of reliability drags it down to the minimum. The machine is now out of warranty and I am extremely happy I purchased the extended warranty. The next time this dies, I will request a cash reimbursement i/o replacement which I will apply to a better grinder. Aside from the repair issues, I have found another issue with grind settings. I use espresso (grind 12), my wife drinks drip (30). When I move the grind setting from espresso to drip and then back, the grind is always different from what it was before I changed the setting. Calphalon Espresso Machine (4 stars) The on/off and ready lights died a few months ago. While the machine remains under warranty, I'm not inclined to go through the hassle and possible loss of lattes for failed lights. I rarely miss getting it on/off as desired. Running a decalcifying operation without lights is a bit more of a challenge but I've done it often enough that I know the routine. Otherwise, the machine continues to perform well and reliably. I've probably made 3,000+ lattes with it. I buy Kirkland Medium Roast by the case. Update October 2023 Breville grinder (3 stars) My wife has switched from drip to espresso so I've been able to leave the grind setting untouched. I've long suspected that changing grind settings is an issue with the Breville grinder. I've had no further issues with the grinder during the year we've had this replacement. I really like the Breville grinder for value and operation so this may be a good grinder for those who don't need to change grind settings. I'll upgrade this to 4 stars if the grinder lasts another year. Calphalon Espresso Machine (4 stars) I'll be using the (3 year) warranty on this after two years. My wife (who switched from drip to espresso) has had it with the lights not working plus the mode switch is staring to give us trouble. The warranty experience will be interesting since the fine print says we have to ship it back. Update November 2023 Calphalon Espresso Machine (3 stars) I filed a warranty claim online which included a detailed description of the issues and a couple of photos. Calphalon responded within a couple of days with a request to return the machine for inspection and repair. I packed it in the original shipping boxes and sent it off via UPS insured. Shipping cost was $50. Calphalon took every bit of the estimated repair time of 3-4 weeks, then informed me they'd be shipping a replacement machine within 2 weeks. My irritated response elicited immediate shipping. As near as I can tell, the replacement machine was new. 5 stars for honoring their 3 year warranty (even with the $50 return shipping) but 1 star for taking 5+- weeks. My record of espresso machines surviving 18-24 months remains intact with the Calphalon. The good news is that 1) the Calphalon has a 3 year warranty with is far better than the typical 1 year and 2) the Calphalon is much less expensive than the typical automatic. Overall I've probably made 6000 espressos since purchasing the two machines. I am pleased with my decision to switch from fully automatic to separate grinder and espresso machine.