Baratza Maestro Conical Burr Coffee Grinder 8-oz.

Manufacturer : Baratza In Stock : 3 List Price: $115.00 Price: $99.00 You Save: $16.00 (14%) Quantity : 1 2 3

Features

• Model No.: G285
• Type of Grinder: Burr
• Settings: 40
• Capacity: 8-oz. Bean Hopper
  5-oz. Grounds Bin
• Dimensions: 13x5x6-in.

Product Description

The Maestro Conical Burr Grinder is one of the most eye pleasing grinders on the market, but the beauty isn???t skin deep. Inside is the heart of a great grinder that can grind coffee beans for any style of coffee, whether it is an espresso machine, drip coffee maker, or press pot.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating of 3.00 out of 6 reviews

Rating :
I love mine!!! - R. Phillips, Feb 20, 2008

I can't believe all the problems with clogging people are having!!! Mine worked excellent for over two years. It started to grind a little slowly (the burrs weren't "catching" the beans), so I recently replaced the inner and outer burrs and it's back to 100% again and going strong. I often grind beans that are roasted past full city and are slightly oily. I'd probably get the plus model with finer adjustment steps for grinding espresso, but other than that I'm very happy with it.

One thing I noticed on mine is that there's a white plastic piece with fins on it that spins with the inner burr to push the coffee out. One of my fins is broken off. I'm thinking that may be the secret to why mine doesn't clog. This would cause a larger amount of ground coffee to be pushed out at one time once per revolution of the burr. It also might help lessen some excessive air current that keeps the coffee spinning instead of being pushed out of the machine or causes back pressure due to the small opening where the coffee comes out. Maybe the others just got stuck with a set of burrs that weren't machined quite right? I don't know... Mine works great though and I was very surprised to see all of these negative reviews. Parts and service are available from the manufacturer... [..]

EDIT: I see now the newer models have a different motor than mine and the best model has a speed reduction control knob. The newer motors probably turn a little faster and cause the mill not to feed as well. Funny how an attempt to improve a product doesn't always work out...


Rating :
Hard to clean - Other problems - Susanna Hutcheson, Oct 11, 2007

I've had this grinder about two years. So I've had a long experience with it. I use mostly Starbucks French Roast and Italian Roast and I grind it fairly fine even though I use a regular Mr. Coffee coffee maker. I like strong, flavorful coffee. And it will grind that.

But the trouble is, it gets clogged up quickly --- often after one use. And cleaning it is a bear! I have to take a screw driver and get the coffee out of the top and a paper clip to go through the lower part.

I will say that it's easy to get through to support and they're very nice and helpful. But they can't do the cleaning and fixing for you. And I don't have a local place that fixes these.

It's very quiet. And one thing I love about it is that the container that accepts the coffee doesn't have much if any static. So it's clean as far as putting the coffee into the maker is concerned.

If you prefer more course coffee, this might work great for you. But if you like fine coffee and, especially, espresso, forget it.

I've read in several places that you can run some white rice through a grinder and clean it. I've not tried it yet but will. Perhaps that will make the job easier.

For most hard-core coffee drinkers, I don't recommend this unit basically because of the fact it is so hard to clean. And it clogs quickly and often.


Rating :
Not worth the money - Stoneheart, Sep 29, 2007

When I decided to buy a coffee grinder and espresso machine, I researched and read reviews and thought "This is the one!" Unfortunately, it never lived up to its name. After the first few weeks, it wouldn't grind unless you constantly jiggled it to get the beans to seat in the grinder. Yes, I took it apart and cleaned and dried it as per manufacturer's instructions, but it would NEVER grind the beans very fine. I like espresso type grind but had to settle for the coarsest grind it did. As the months wore on, it just got worse. I finally got to the point where I had to use a wooden spoon handle to force the beans into the grinder. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I had spent $140 on this thing and I didn't want to just throw it away. Maybe if you used an extremely "dry" or slightly undercooked roast, it would work better? This used to be made by Solis. I would NEVER recommend their coffee grinders. I do have a Solis espresso machine that I purchased at the same time as the coffee grinder and it works well.


Rating :
Very Happy ! - Jackie J., Nov 09, 2006

I love my coffee grinder. It grinds the beans very fine, so you can enjoy the taste of the coffee. It is the most "quiet" coffee grinder that I have ever owned. Thank you!


Rating :
Better not want to grind espresso beans! Buyer Beware! - P. Langenfeld, Mar 11, 2006

I bought the Solis Maestro (not the plus - much difference?) and promptly filled the bean hopper about 1/4 full with Starbuck's espresso coffee beans only to have it hang up 3 times before it finally finished them off with annoying cleaning and bean rearangement in the maintime. By hang up, I mean the grinder was grinding but no beans were moving or being ground. I had to unplug the machine and manually move the beans with my finger to get the machine running again. Apparently a design flaw allows the oily beans to stick together enough not to feed well. The machine did sound good (not noisy) and did a good job of grinding when it worked. If you don't want espresso (which this machine is supposed to be designed for) it may be a good machine for you. I can't imagine that Solis didn't correct their design flaw with their new Maestro plus but I wouldn't count on it. Better check the new Solis Maestro PLUS machine's feedback if you have your heart set on this machine!

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