With over 14 settings from coarse to fine, you can deliver the ideal grind for any brewing method. But there's more to it than that. Most coffee grinders use plastic containers to receive the ground coffee but plastic and ground coffee don't go together well. The powder gets statically charged and spills all over the place. The new Bistro comes with a borosilicate glass container to catch the grounds. The glass catcher is inherently static-free, reducing the amount of overall static and "jumping" coffee grounds.
This and the tight silicone/nylon lid make for an excellent, no-spill coffee grinder. The borosilicate glass container comes with a silicone band to make it slip-proof, an especially important feature when touched with wet hands. The Bistro is made from borosilicate glass, steel, plastic, rubber and silicone and comes in black, orange, red, green, and white.
Everything I need, without spending a fortune!
By Dan S.
I've been drinking coffee for years now and know a good cup from bad. I bought this unit after doing lots of research online and going to local stores and inspecting the grinders up close. I found that most machines in this price range are using ABS plastic where the burrs are located. This to me is a big NO NO and a huge red flag. The ABS will break. This unit uses nylon or UHMW plastic at first glance. These plastics are more ductile and will last. Being a machinist, i am very picky with build quality. The burr set is conical and looks to be Stainless Steel or somesort of hardened steel. Nonetheless, both good options and the burrs look very nicely built. They have been machined and ground and look a lot like burr sets you'd see in units that are 2-3 times the price. The outside of the machine is wrapped in rubber and looks nice. The top hopper is a clear plastic, but seems strong, especially where it matters (the point where it meets the machine). The container receiving the grind is GLASS wrapped in rubber. This is great!! No static, which means, NO MESS! My first attempt at a burr grinder was poor. I just bought something from the local superstore without any research. It had flat burrs and rotated at the speed of sound, or so it seemed. Everything was plastic and grinds flew everywhere. Hated that thing!
I'd say the only thing that may bother some, is that the timer goes 20 secs. Now for me this is more than enough, but for others its not nearly the time they would need. Bodum recommends after 1 20sec run to leave the machine idle for 5 mins to prevent the motor from overheating(i read the manual). I thought this would be an issue for me, but my daily use only requires a 10 sec run at a time which delivers about 1/2 the jar or enough grind to yield about 3-5 cups(my small french press is 3cup capacity, which is really 1 mug). I am not grinding for espresso and have not tried the finest setting yet, but intend to and wish i had to make this review more complete, but my results so far are very consistent and from what i can see im sure itll do a fine enough grind for espresso and if not, im sure it can be modded easily enough to provide. I plan to start into the world of home espresso extractions, but not at this time as im still experimenting with other methods.
Also if you were to use for espresso, it looks to me that you could easily remove the bottom jar, pop the portafilter in place(obviously holding it) and run the machine. The grind should fall nicely into the portafilter.
UPDATE : I'm still using my grinder after 2-3 months and I still love it! I've started grinding for espresso with great results. Glad to see that most everyone is as content as I am with this little guy! Clean up is a breeze, and its never once clogged up on me personally, although i read one review where someone said theirs did. Happy Grinding!
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