danetrainer wrote:What is the noise level compared to other small espresso grinders, like a Nemox Lux?

Here is my first attempt at a video - Spielberg isn't going to lose any sleep but it does give a sound byte.

EricBNC wrote:What exactly makes it stepped anyway? It marks steps when these ridges:

meets this pin:

The pin is spring loaded - attached to this external release button to allow for fast removal of the top of the burr chamber.

Add a piece of tape over that release button and the steps are gone.

If you disable the detente pin, you'd have to hold the hopper/upper burr in place while grinding, else it will walk.

peter wrote:If you disable the detente pin, you'd have to hold the hopper/upper burr in place while grinding, else it will walk.

I think you would be using teflon tape on the threads which is a pretty common trick for making grinders like this stepless.

Two Questions:

What is the Burr size? I have a Bodum Bistro grinder with the identical looking burrs...they measure around 28-30mm depending where exactly you measure (upper or lower burr).

Although it says "Die Cast" that doesn't necessarily mean it is a metal housing the burr carrier mounts in, what do you find as far as metal vs plastic here?

No info at all on KrupsUSA site, I just emailed them as to why...

danetrainer wrote:Two Questions:

What is the Burr size? I have a Bodum Bistro grinder with the identical looking burrs...they measure around 28-30mm depending where exactly you measure (upper or lower burr).

The burr size is a little smaller than the Baratza Virtuoso Preciso burr set. Baratza lists the Preciso burr size as 40mm.

This photo shows the outer Preciso burr stacked on top of the Krups outer burr



And side by side - the Baratza has many more serrations/edges on the outer burr which I guess helps to explain its grinding speed.

danetrainer wrote:Although it says "Die Cast" that doesn't necessarily mean it is a metal housing the burr carrier mounts in, what do you find as far as metal vs plastic here?

No info at all on KrupsUSA site, I just emailed them as to why...

I mentioned the "die cast" part since the Amazon description could be read to imply the burrs are die cast metal. Some posts on another forum stated agreement with this incorrect position even after seeing photos. Here is the part the outer burr threads into:



The carrier is plastic. ABS? Not sure. I am surprised it is not 100% plastic at this price point. I wonder if Krups intends to support these mills or dump and move on. Not sure either why there is such a price difference between Krups on Amazon.com ($99) and the Graef CM80 on Amazon.de ($148.50).

I think the burrs are unchanged from the Graef CM80 too.

http://haushalt.graef.de/products/getde...&type=faqs

yakster wrote:Nice first look and an interesting grinder at a good price point.

Did you look at what difference in shot time you would get for a step above and a step below the dialed in point?

On setting 14 I get a 30 second shot, on setting 15 I get a 22 second shot - this is shimmed up so my new zero is around 10. A proper size shim to see a zero point lower that setting 5 is my new goal.

Removing the finger guard is another since it does block the grounds. I have resorted to sticking a flexible straw from a can of compressed air into the chute to move out what the guard holds back.

I rate this grinder the equal of my La Pavoni PBC and the Ascaso I-Mini - since these are $250 - $300 items (overpriced IMHO) this is respectable company. Those grinders do not discharge grounds as nice as a Vario or Preciso either even though they are much closer in price.

Taste wise the shots are equally as pleasant as what the Preciso creates.

Even at the end of 30 seconds the stream is not turning blond...

I guess you didn't have to shim it in the first place. I mostly grind in the 9-11 region and if I get down to 5 it is way too fine for espresso no matter what your beans are or how stale(god forbid) they might be.

I have the EU version under the Graef name, and I'd say a step in grinding finesse equals to about 4 sec difference in extraction time on average. don't know if that says sth about the burrs or plastic carrier indentation width.

NaGR wrote:I guess you didn't have to shim it in the first place. I mostly grind in the 9-11 region and if I get down to 5 it is way too fine for espresso no matter what your beans are or how stale(god forbid) they might be.

I agree stale beans would ruin any experiment. The beans used were called Sumatra Dry-Hulled Aceh Bukit that came from Sweet Maria's which were roasted the evening of January 6th, 2012, so these were not stale beans.

NaGR wrote:I have the EU version under the Graef name, and I'd say a step in grinding finesse equals to about 4 sec difference in extraction time on average. don't know if that says sth about the burrs or plastic carrier indentation width.

That is interesting that you measure 4 seconds difference between steps. I will go back and check my results.

Without a shim I was getting 11 second 17g shots at setting one. The Baratza Preciso ran a normal extraction using the same beans and dosage. With the addition of the shims the extraction became similar in length and appearance to the Preciso shot.

I freely admit I can tweak better than I have and get under five with the lowest setting, but the dial numbers did not mean much to me until I was first certain it could grind fine enough for espresso.

Thanks for the information Eric, here is the reply I received from Krups USA:

We thank you for your email via KrupsUSA.com.

This model is not listed on our website which is controlled by the marketing team. We can suggest that they put this unit on our website. You can see the grinder and descriptions on retailers websites, such as http://www.amazon.com and http://www.macys.com. If you have a specific question that I can help you with, please reply.

I have tried to deal with at least three different marketing companies who represented Krups. Over the years they have shown some very interesting coffee items I wanted to review. Each took my contact info and promised to send me samples. Never happened. Even after multiple E-Mails to them, nothing. I think they either need to create their own marketing teams or find a better company as this seems to be a pattern. How the heck does a company allow their marketing company to decide what products to feature? Ridiculous. The horses are riding in the Krups Conestoga wagon which is being pulled by the settlers.