Sunday, September 12, 2010 Capresso Cool Grind Coffee Grinders Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm disappointed with this product.

I've only been using this grinder for a week with my Aeropress brewer so I'll keep it short... and yes, I purchased it because of the Cooks Illustrated recommendation.

It's noisy. The motor/bearing assembly seem to be cheaply constructed as it oscillates between a semi-smooth whirring and a nasty vibration sound while grinding.

It's slow. I bought the Krups 203 today to compare grind speed and consistency side by side... no contest. A 20 second grind using identical amounts of identical beans in each grinder yields a MUCH finer grind with the Krups. Grind consistency in both was close enough I suppose but the Krups grind looked more uniform, probably because it was finer.

This also brings up the point of the "cool grind" feature. It seems to me that you are negating any benefit if you have to grind twice as long (which heats up the beans more) to achieve the same consistency as the Krups.

The Krups motor also feels more powerful and it certainly runs more smoothly and has a more precise feel.

I'll wait a while to actually review the Krups officially but the Capresso was a disappointment and is going back to Amazon.

UPDATE:
OK... I added a star to the review... here's why...

The Capresso makes a superior TASTING cup of coffee compared to the Krups!

After using the Krups to actually make coffee I noticed a strange, chalky aftertaste/film left in my mouth by the Krups ground coffee. This is using the same beans I was using with the Capresso and trying many different grind times and coffee amounts, the funky taste was still there.

In disbelief I pulled the Capresso out of it's return box and made a cup with it... the funk was gone... wow.

Something about the higher RPM, more power, and/or blade profile of the Krups is not doing fresh coffee beans justice and I probably never would have caught this had I not tried both grinders.

I am still not happy with the QUALITY of the Capresso grinder so it will be returned (along with the Krups) but I have learned a valuable lesson about coffee taste being VERY noticably affected by the grinder and if this is the case, I have no choice but to try a burr grinder.

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Product Description:
Capresso 501 Cool Grind Blade Grinder, Black