It's probably best to have one for coffee and one for Spices. B/c you don't want your coffee to taste like your spices. It's a little cumbersome to clean thoroughly. Even if you do, it still smells a bit like stale coffee (or spices). But for the price, it does the job extremely well. I've found that for coffee you can get coarse-ground with a 5-second solid push of the on button. Medium ground (my preference) for a 12 second press. And very find powder for a 20 second press. Pro-tip: Gently/slowly Shake the grinder while it's grinding to help make a more consistent grind, otherwise you end up with a mix of fine and coarsely ground particles.
An absolute must for anyone that enjoys freshly ground "whole-bean" coffee made in a French Press! (compare to any chain coffee shop, you will never go back!)
This would have been a 5 star review had the machine been better at regulating the strength of the coffee and had a larger pot. I may be the reluctant "Queen" of grind and brew machines. I have had quite a few in search of everything I want: ease of use, control of strength, little or no maintenance, easy clean, large pot, and a heater plate. I have tried Cuisinart (several makes - about 3 different ones), Kenmore, Breville, Capresso, and Gourmia. In my quest for a decent grind and brew, I found many were quite flawed because they broke or jammed easily, they were hard to clean and required in depth cleaning often, or were cheaply made with inferior plastic parts. So when my most recent machine (a high end Breville) started to to go after just 9 mos of ownership, I was exasperated. I was tired of searching for what didn't seem to exist, and for paying big $ for poorly engineered machines. Yet I did not want to give up the grind and brew type because it makes the best coffee I believe. So I came across this Krups. I decided to chance it as I had not tried Krups yet.
When I received the machine, I quickly realized it is essentially a Capresso. However, it so far is not as persnickety as a Capresso and is much easier to clean and maintain. The coffee is great and the machine is easy to use. It keeps the pot hot for several hours - an important feature for me because the thermal higher end pots do not do this to my satisfaction. Plus they pour lousy. It is kinda loud while grinding, and it is a bit slow in making the coffee, but those are minor flaws I can easily live with. The biggest knock I have against the machine is how much beans it uses and how it does a poor job of regulating the strength of the coffee. On any setting or grind level the coffee comes out the same - strong. I like it that way, so I can deal, but I would prefer to have it work the way it is supposed to so I have control of flavor. I have had it for 1 week at this writing, so we shall see. I am glad I bought it so far. I hope it lasts a long time, and maybe when it dies there will be an improved version. For now it is the best I have found.
He works so hard for such a little guy. I use my Krups grinder for grinding spices and coffee (I go through with a chopstick to loosen up the stragglers hanging on to the edge of the walls and also grind a piece of bread that cleans up the smells and excess grindings handing about.)
That being said I find it great for people like me who just do single cups of coffee in a Kurig. It does blend a bit on the fine side, so sometimes you need to like the custom cups with a little paper to prevent sludge from happening.
It's a great blender for the price and it's size, definitely!
I had the older version of this Krups Grind and Brew. It made the perfect cup of coffee every time! I was crushed when it finally didn't work anymore, but elated to find the new model here on Amazon. It's even better than the original model. Amazon always has what I need, carrying quality product lines for the best prices. My Krups arrived as promised in excellent condition. LOVE THIS PRODUCT!
Very happy with this grinder. Replaced a 10 year old Capresso that would no longer come apart for cleaning and could no longer be adjusted for grind level. It was also a regular (non-conical) burr grinder and it made phenomenal coffee, both for our Bunn and for our espresso machine. We didn't want to go above $30-$35 range so chose this one instead. It comes apart more easily than our old one (great for cleaning). It has the words "fine" and "course" on the adjuster so I won't forget which way to go (on the old one I never could remember if 1 was fine or course!!). And I LOVE LOVE LOVE that the bean hopper on top is blocked from view by the silver "Krups" pedestal. Bean hoppers get so greasy and grimy with coffee oil that they don't stay looking cool for very long. And the button to turn it on is huge and required only one finger, which our 5-year old thinks is super fun. Great design, Krups!
Feature Product
- THE PERFECT GRIND - The perfect amount of coffee, grounded on demand, at the touch of a button
- EASY TO USE INTERFACE - Just choose the number of cups and the Auto-Dose Grinder will automatically deliver the grinds to achieve the Golden Ratio for a balanced cup of coffee, every time
- LARGE GRINDING RANGE - Bean hopper designed for easy coffee filling with a large 14oz/400g capacity for an entire bag of coffee
- REMOVABLE HOPPER - It is designed to be easily removable to transfer coffee beans or cleaning
- HOPPER AUTO-SHUT DOORS - The bean hopper is engineered with auto-shut trap doors to hold the whole bean coffee when the hopper is removed from the grinder body. This allows the transfer of coffee beans to be stored when grinder is not in use
Description
Better coffee starts with a quality burr grinder. The Auto-Dose Grinder with Scale is built with stainless steel conical burrs to deliver consistent grind size for the optimal coffee extraction. Select from a range of 39 grind sizes for use in Espresso, Pour Over, Drip, Cold Brew, and French Press brewing methods. Adjust one grind size notch at a time to expose different flavors of your favorite coffee. Gain the ability to produce consistent results by precisely measuring your grind quantity. The integrated scale on the Auto-Dose Grinder with Scale automatically doses by weight, giving you the best coffee taste. Choose to dose by cups, grams, ounces, or through manual operation of the grinding cycle. To preserve the delicate flavors of coffee, always grind right before you brew. Brew like a pro barista, without being one, by programming the exact dose you need for your daily routine. And grind exactly the amount you need to maximize the usage of every single coffee bean. Drastically improve coffee flavors with the Krups Auto-Dose Grinder with Scale.
I did a lot of research on grind & brew machines (Capresso, Cuisinart, DeLonghi, Krups, Kenmore) that weren't a few hundred dollars (Breville) before buying the Krups. Background: I had a Cuisinart grind & brew (DGB550) for 6 years before the filter basket started popping off whenever I used whole beans (vibrations from grinder), which spilled coffee & grinds all over the countertop and in the machine. I had taken for granted the need to wash (not just a quick rinse) the grinder+lid, filter basket+lid, and carafe every single time we used the machine. I was thus determined to find a grind & brew that made decent fresh coffee, wasn't a pain to clean, and didn't cost an arm and a leg.
I've had the Krups for 2 months now and overall it's great. I had to return the first one because every so often, it wouldn't start ... after speaking to Krups customer service, the only way was to go through a non-grind brew cycle, then the machine would essentially reset so that I could run a grind-brew cycle. Pretty sure it was a specific unit defect, haven't had the issue since I got it replaced with a new one.
The main complaints I saw on Krups reviews was that 1) some of the grinds were wasted during brewing because they would not be wet, 2) too many beans being used, 3) inconsistent brew strength, 4) loud when grinding, 5) small bean holder. Feedback: 1) whenever I brew, all the grinds are wet and level in the filter, so I haven't seen any issue. 2) I haven't found grinds hiding anywhere, so I'm not sure it's using significantly more beans than is needed to brew the coffee. 3) As long as the coffee isn't weak-tasting or super concentrated, I'm good with it. The coffee has tasted fine on all strength settings. 4) Yes, it's loud, but not any louder than my Cuisinart. Any mechanical grinding action is going to be loud unless it's encapsulated deeper into the machine or has additional barriers to reduce the sound transmission (I would assume more expensive machines may do that better, but not necessarily a primary consideration when designing a coffee maker. 5) We brew 5-6 cups (2 full big mugs) almost every day and have to refill the bean holder every few days ... for me, not too inconvenient.
Other observations: the carafe is a bit flimsy, especially the lid that flips open when you pour the coffee ... always have to remember to keep my thumb on the top; cleaning is easy as only the filter basket needs to be emptied and rinsed along with the carafe; the gold tone filter is common amongst most coffee machines and I've never found it to be effective (vs. paper filter). Overall I'm very happy with the Krups grind & brew.
KRUPS F203 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Blades, 3-Ounce is NOT a burr type grinder!! I did not seek a burr grinder so this model fits my needs.
(1) It's rated at "3 ounce" which is not explained anywhere. Some mention should be made: to weigh 3 ounces of unground beans means having a suitable kitchen scale.
(2) The manufacturer tries to imbue this grinder with the mystique of accuracy and finesse. That's on them: this product is not "accurate" in the sense suggested by the manufacturer. IT JUST GRINDS AND DOES IT IN A FEW SECONDS. (how many seconds? they leave it to you to experiment!) And: the amount of ground coffee to water ratio is ridiculously small for the average coffee drinker. "7 grams of ground coffee per 5 oz. cup" is only 5/8 of AN ACTUAL 8-ounce cup.(and who in the United States bothers to use grams when our entire history is based on English Measures?)
(3) The one accurate thing in the packaged instructions: DISCONNECT the machine when not actually grinding! (it's easy to depress the activation button while handling the machine).
(4) Not "easy to clean." I use a brush about the size of a tooth brush then wipe clean with a damp sponge.
Anyone wanting more or better will have to pay more to get the coffee/spice grinder which meets their needs.
Just got the grinder today and registered it with the manufacturer. As a first test, I ground some toasted sticky rice or glutenous rice (khao niew). After disinfecting the inside of the grinder, I put 2 ounces of the toasted sticky rice in the grinder and put the lid on. In under 15 seconds of pulsing the grinder, I had a very good medium fine grind of the now khao khua. Rice is pretty hard anyway and when it is toasted much of the water content evaporates leaving a very hard kernel. Traditionally, a pestle and mortar are used. With a little care and patience, the Krups grinder will not over heat the spices you grind if you take your time between pulses to keep the temperature down. I'll grind other whole spices as I need them and they will be much fresher than the pre-ground spices we buy. I was able to clean up the bladed part of the grinder using a dry paper towel and tapping the powder out, while rinsing the lid. All in all it worked fine.
This is a perfect little grinder. I use it to grind seeds (flax and chia) which it does quickly and well. The one asterisk is that if someone else is sleeping within audible range, the grinding does make a sharp noise. Maybe they should make a deluxe model with a muffler :). I had one of these for something like 20 years, and it still worked fine (only discarded it because it'd been so long since I'd used it that it was too tedious to clean). I have no reason to believe this one won't last as long.
I like this coffee grinder above other styles I've used.
The grinder works very well and has consistently for a few years now.
This is my second one of this exact same style. I have a Jura Super Automatic coffee machine that grinds my beans internally so I gave my other one to a friend and just bought this exact same thing for replacement when I started back with my French Press for variety.
I like that it holds a proper amount of beans for my French Press or my Stovetop Espresso Maker.. on the Espresso pot I can grind beans 1 time and get 3 pots out of it.
I also like that the top is large and after grinding you can flip it upside down and the ground coffee is now in the top as a 'cup' which is easier to pour into the coffee pot without making a mess.
It grinds well at various levels of coarseness, it is easily cleanable, the price is GREAT on here, and it has worked reliably for years.
I suppose the 'burr style' grinder is better for coffee flavor but I have never been able to tell any difference between the two.
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