I am delighted with this Hobart KitchenAid A-9! I think this is the 2003 remake of the 1947 version and was about 100 USD on ebay. I've been contemplating about getting a beginner burr grinder like Baratza Encore for a couple of months but didn't find one that made me happy. I even started building one using Hario Sketron ceramic burrs and a motor a ripped out from another device. I came across this model and really liked the straight forward design and its faithfulness to its basic function. Something gets lost in the design of modern injection mold plastic devices. They probably function better but don't inspire joy.




The default "fine" setting isn't quite fine enough for espresso so I simply removed the screw in the back went three more stops. I'm grinding single doses straight into the basket and am getting very good reproducible shots. I'm thinking of ways to make it continuously adjusted for even finer control. This can probably be accomplished by removing the spring loaded stop rods but would require an alternative clamping mechanism. Replacing the burrs should also be easy enough

Just be careful of retention. As I recall, the chute fills up with coffee so the first 5 or 10 grams out are from the last time you ground. The flap over the chute is there to insure that happens so the coffee comes out nice and neat.

Ira

medicalcoffee wrote:I am delighted with this Hobart KitchenAid A-9! I think this is the 2003 remake of the 1947 version and was about 100 USD on ebay. I've been contemplating about getting a beginner burr grinder like Baratza Encore for a couple of months but didn't find one that made me happy. I even started building one using Hario Sketron ceramic burrs and a motor a ripped out from another device. I came across this model and really liked the straight forward design and its faithfulness to its basic function. Something gets lost in the design of modern injection mold plastic devices. They probably function better but don't inspire joy.

Love it! If my kitchen (coffee bar area) were big enough... I'd buy one just to have it on display. Wow... I wasn't aware they reproduced them again in 2003. Cool. I know KitchenAid reproduced the line for a short time back in 70's. The original manufactured by the Hobart Corporation out of Troy Ohio was first sold in 1936 and were produced through the 1950's. They considered the first electric coffee mill made for home use. Just FYI: Hobart formed the KitchenAid division back in 1919. As of 1986 KitchenAid now belongs to Whirlpool. Anyway... like most appliances manufactured during the mid 1900's they were built like tanks and many are still in running condition today!

ORDER NOW FOR CHRISTMAS!


If curious this is what the first version looked like.

Wow! Thank you for sharing that! I think my grinder is a 2003 version given the round flap and the flat design of the underside of the base. It still feels hefty and solid so hopefully they didn't skimp on the metal or build quality. I imagine that continuous use of the original model would eventually lead to motor failure from wearing down of the brushes so at least that's an upside of having a newer one. I have gotten many complements about it and several people liked its apparent resemblance to a gum ball machine.