Comments on: How to buy a coffee grinder

By: ewr2san

ewr2san — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:11:54 +0000

I got the Saeco Titan 12/11, and have to say, it’s poorly made and complete crap..
Like yours, The burr was poorly made, and very low quality. Tried a friends Bodum Bistro made a much better grind for me.. Especially since im using French Press most of the time.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:42:24 +0000

I didn’t experience the problems described here about the Saeco Titan. My Titan functions perfectly, producing consistently well-ground coffee. I never experienced the “mud” the author complains about. I also inspected the burrs, and although not perfect, were quite satisfactory. The catch cup does slip a bit, but it’s easy to keep propped in place.

I Also bought my Titan at Fry’s for $99 and am quite happy with it. I found it to be a quality machine well worth $100. For a moment, I questioned whether the author and I are actually talking about the same machine, as I see it in a completely different light. As an avid audiophile, I’m extremely picky about the level of quality of fine machinery. The Titan passed my tests. The Breville and Cuisinart versions that the author is considering are, in my opinion, mass-produced disasters. Not in the least comparable to the elegant-looking Titan.

I frankly don’t know why the author had such gripes about this grinder at all. Examining anything under a microscope will yield imperfections. I think the author has to ask himself if he’s getting good coffee results or not, rather than going over every millimeter of the machine with a fine toothed comb.

I think reconsideration of this fine machine is in order.

By: James in Palm Sprins

James in Palm Sprins — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:26:39 +0000

I also fell for the Titan at Costco. I used it for the first time a few minutes ago and had the same results along with a counter top covered with coffee grounds due to a statically charged cheap POORLY designed catch cup. Also the cup kept coming out of the grinder as it ground the beans spilling more onto the counter.

All I can say is that this grinder is JUNK and it is being returned today. Thanks for the tip on Williams Sonoma. I will stop by their store in Palm Desert after my gas wasting trip to Costco.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 15 May 2008 03:18:32 +0000

Costco is selling the Saeco Titan for $59.99 at their walk in stores. When I emailed Saeco about where their grinder was made, the reply was Switzerland so today I headed out to buy the Titan.

When I got there I took a good hard look at it, then decided it wasn’t worth the purchase. Like your burrs, the ones in the new unit I looked at was poorly made but in a different way. Your burrs look machined. The ones I looked at look ‘as cast’ and not machined at all! The cutting edges were all rounded, there was ‘flashing’ in the metal that was not removed, there were voids in some of the cutting surfaces from poor casting.

This isn’t even worth $60! Maybe they figured that you don’t actually need cutting surfaces, just mashing surfaces to grind coffee beans like a cheap pepper mill.

I was very disappointed. The other costco near me has the Capresso Infinity. That unit is made in China but feels like it has more metal parts inside (vs all the plastic housing and gear housing in the Saeco). This weekend I’ll take a look at the burrs and see if they’re better made.

By: Strixy

Strixy — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:53:38 +0000

I wasn’t in the market for a burr-grinder… until I read this post and was reminded of the manual grinder I used back at the coffee shop. That was a great grinder. It was hand made in Italy in 1965 and still made impressive, evenly ground coffee 25 years later. It was, to some, the best espresso in downtown Calgary – worth a $5 tip on a $5 coffee. (It may have been my foam

I loved that cast iron, 120lb shiny red grinder imported from Italy back in the 80′s when nobody in North America even knew what an espresso was. I’m tempted to go back to that little shop and see if they still have it… and if I can persuade them to part with it for a few dollars.