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Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

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  • #31
    Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

    I am a newbie to the forum but have been lurking for a while.
    I am that impressed with this grinder after my purchase today and playing with it tonight .
    I bought the Sunbeam em 6910 with the bonus grinder em480 package advertised at the moment.
    After reading this review I still grabbed the BCG 800 and left the 480 in the box.( will leave it as a spare)
    The 800 is so easy to use straight out of the box even for a beginner, looks great and has so many features.
    Hard to believe it is made by Breville.
    Amazed me and I was so impressed I wanted to share..

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    • #32
      Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

      Originally posted by 5E66666D64686A090 link=1288871951/26#26 date=1289992960
      Hard to believe it is made by Breville.
      I think people dont rate breville highly enough these days.

      I know everyone loves sunbeam (and I love my 0480), but sometimes it just doesnt live up to the hype.I bought a cafe series mixmaster, and am not happy with it. Im on to my second handheld mixer in three years (both sunbeam) and just yesterday this second one had issues with the beaters not popping out.

      Breville isnt half bad nowdays.

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

        Im hoping this grinder isnt as good as a Vario, because I just bought one!
        It does seem to be designed using similar principles though, with some very good ideas such as the airtight hopper and the ability to automatically maintain the same dose amount even after making grind adjustments. I am waiting for an electronic scale from China to test out how the Vario fares in this aspect, but Im pretty sure setting changes effect the dose amount (for a given grind time that is). As far as results for espresso, perhaps having approximately 10 times the number of adjustments and ceramic burrs may give the Vario an edge, but hey it is more than double the price!

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        • #34
          Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

          Originally posted by 21392B30313634392C313E580 link=1288871951/28#28 date=1290001745
          I am waiting for an electronic scale from China to test out how the Vario fares in this aspect, but Im pretty sure setting changes effect the dose amount (for a given grind time that is)
          Of course it does. This should be obvious?

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          • #35
            Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

            OK, so I picked one of these up today from Chris to use as a pour-over grinder in the office. From TC I headed straight over the Veneziano to pick up a pour-over & broke out the grinder while there so we could play.

            We plugged it in, dropped some beans in the hopper & hit the grind button. We got a couple of seconds of grinding then an awful grinding sound that sounded like something in the grinder had gone. A call to Chris, a trip back across to Northcote where Chris gave me the one off his bench, then back to V to try again.

            Plugged it in, threw in some beans & this time we were greeted by a reasonably quiet, entirely expected grinding sound Played around with the grind settings near the percolator side of the scale after deciding that the filter setting was too coarse, and tested how clean it was. Seng threw in 7.5g of beans & got 7.2g of ground coffee out.
            This thing is clean The grinds are reasonably even & certainly well better than what you expect at this price.

            Seng threw in some more coffee (I dont know what) & made us a pour-over that was lovely, sweet and pretty clean.

            We then dialed it down to the espresso end to see how it went. Seng using his normal dose on the Synesso, it took the finest setting available to get a good looking pour of bella.

            At home this arvo Ive run a couple more shots from the grinder using the harar I roasted a week ago and again found that the finest setting with my regular dose just cuts it.
            It is worth noting that the harar doesnt require the finest grind of the coffees I drink, its also not the coarsest. It might take a decent up-dose for this grinder to manage monsooned malabar for example, since it needs a finer grind on the Mazzer mini that lives next to my junior extra. For the record its in the low 20s here today in Melbourne.

            So, my initial impressions are that this will serve its intended purpose nicely for pour-over. Can it do espresso? It depends.
            With the right dose and a suitable coffee Id say you could definitely use this as your espresso grinder. Youll probably end up adjusting your dose or tamp slightly to get the pour youre looking for, or choosing coffees that suit. It certainly wont replace my mazzer mini, but then I wouldnt expect it to.
            On the plus side, its very clean & your better half will thank you for not making a mess. Its also very easy to use, so for those starting out it will probably improve your consistency.

            Ill try to remember to post an update once its seen a little more usage.

            Comment


            • #36
              Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

              Thanks for your observation dsgfh,

              FWIW, we are 4 notches from the finest setting for a normal dose on Dens Linea (and hes not a particularly high doser).

              My plan is to take one home and put it up against the Kony-E and see what it can do....next week!

              Chris

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              • #37
                Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                Originally posted by 5D4A5E5F51390 link=1288871951/30#30 date=1290233849
                Seng threw in some more coffee (I dont know what) & made us a pour-over that was lovely, sweet and pretty clean.
                Ethiopian Gabbana roasted like 30 minutes before you arrived. LOL

                -------------------

                This grinder is impressive at its price point. For $300 you cant go wrong and has A LOT going for it. At $100 more than the Sunbeam cafe series, Id still pick this grinder.

                I love the fact that this grinder is so easy to take apart to get to the burrs for quick and painless cleaning.

                The grinder has an extremely short channel that the ground coffee has to travel through before it comes out of the spout and in to the grind container or your portafilter - less grind retention is a big BIG plus in my books (for filter coffee brewing). I wonder how accurate dose IQ is and how consistent it is delivering back to back doses within 0.?? grams of target dose. DSGFH, could you do a series of tests and give me the raw data in Excel? Ill give you a kilo of coffee to play with - I suspect the grinder will actually do better in this area compared to a Robur E because its so much slower.

                I was a little concerned about how warm the grinds coming out of the grinder was as well as clumping evident from the finer espresso settings. At all grind settings, this grinder does not suffer from static.

                Im really considering packing the Rocky away in favour of this grinder for filter - although Id like to play with it a bit more as it seemed to make a fair few fines I could see when brewing the pourover - although I also think it was the sh!tty Hario Buono kettle I was using and not having as much control as I would like from a pouring kettle.

                This grinder is deceptively light weight - a bonus for travelling but I wonder how the motor stacks up over long term use.

                Breville have done an AMAZING job on this grinder for $300. Id pay $400 if I could have some things changed - a few engineering tweaks. Sunbeam have a shite load of catching up to do.

                Comment


                • #38
                  Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                  More than happy to do some testing on it as soon as Ive e-bayed a suitable set of digital scales.
                  Done a couple of pour-overs this morning with some harar that was roasted a little darker for espresso. Aside from my technique/precision needing work, it a pretty tasty cup. Trying to decide now if I try taking the lil thing as carry-on to Canberra tomorrow, or if security will insist on me checking it.

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                    Glad to hear people are as impressed with this grinder as I am. I really do think its outstanding value.

                    Like David, I love the ease in which the top burr comes apart as I think it will encourage regular cleaning without people feeling concerned about how they will get it together again.

                    As for particle sizes, stay tuned. I have some laboratory grade equipment heading my way and will post the results.


                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                      Originally posted by 3325202031333F36363535500 link=1288871951/34#34 date=1290306518
                      Glad to hear people are as impressed with this grinder as I am.  I really do think its outstanding value.
                      Absolutely. Ive already recommended it to two people who want a grinder but dont want/cant afford to by a mazzer or macap. The price it right to make it an impulse buy for that second grinder you couldnt otherwise justify.

                      If it pans out well at work, I may well end up with a second one for pour-over at home :

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                      • #41
                        Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                        I dont suppose that anyone has compared this grinder side by side with the Baratza Virtuoso or Baratza Virtuoso Preciso for manual brewing styles.

                        Doing some reading on home barista these appear to be very highly recommended for pour-over/filter/plunger etc and at a very similar price point.

                        Im after something particularly for manual styles as I have a grinder that Im very happy with for espresso.

                        Cheers

                        Alex

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                        • #42
                          Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                          Thanks for your information on this grinder Chris.

                          It has been very helpful.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                            hmmm, i take it it has 37mm burrs or are they closer to a 58mm like in the k3t? wondering if approx $150 more for a k3t is worth it over this breville?

                            very tempting.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                              Originally posted by 5F7D7A7A797572795669727775791C0 link=1288871951/38#38 date=1290567325
                              ... wondering if approx $150 more for a k3t is worth it over this breville?

                              very tempting.

                              :-? If you can get a K3T for $150 over the price of a Breville, Ill have 20.

                              Chris

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                              • #45
                                Re: Breville BCG800 Smart Grinder

                                and Ill buy one off you

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